Activity level?

mrssnev40

I am looking for input on what I should put for my activity level. I am trying to see if it should be not active or light active. I have 100+ pounds to lose. I am ok with slow and steady. I am a stay at home mom with a one year old child. I am working out 3 days a week. I am up and down and playing with my child but wouldn't say I am standing a lot like a teacher or salesperson like they ask. Any input is really appreciated. Thanks have a great day!

malibu927

Start with sedentary (exercise isn’t included in you activity level) and adjust as needed after 4-6 weeks based on your losses.

heybales

When the activity trackers first started coming out - many mothers with 40 hr desk jobs discovered they were easily Lightly Active.

Shoot, many without kids discovered they were merely from household/family duties.

Whether you undercut purposely or try to nail it - 2 lbs weekly is reasonable for now.

Ditto to reminder that does not include exercise done.

mgtz69

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

I used this to set my calorie levels as I was on my weight loss journey. I then used it to help with my maintenance mode. I err on the conservative side, picking an activity level one lower than I think I do based on the guideline. But, during maintenance mode I've added 100 - 200 calories back if I notice I'm losing weight (yes, it happens when I get really active one week).

Keep to losing no more than a pound per week. You don't get overly hungry or huge cravings as long as you eat clean and balanced. It is also easier to go into maintenance when you reach goal because you retrained yourself to eat healthy and not just diet.

For activity level, I was doing about 45 minutes a day of hard activity (@80%) 5 days per week. I started to pull that back to 5-6 days per week for 30 minutes per day as I found it easier to fit in. I also have 3-4 days of moderate exercise (70%) and the others high (85%). Helped with fatigue and aches. I set my level to moderate in MFP even thought I might be more active. It sets my calories for me and is close to what I get in the calorie calculator link.

But, if you have difficulty finding time, hate the gym, or just don't like exercise, then just walk each day for 30 minutes and set your activity level to light. Honestly, find something you just like to do and don't get hung up on running, cycling, weights, etc. The point is to be active beyond daily household, shopping and work stuff.

Good luck!

DebLaBounty

When I started MFP I just input "sedentary" to see what happened. After a few weeks I started running with the Couch to 5K program. I kept it at sedentary because I was losing weight at the calorie level MFP gave me, plus eating back the exercise calories I burned. After I lost half the weight I wanted to lose, I reset my activity level to "lightly active" so I could eat more. I still lost weight, although at a slower rate.

lynn_glenmont

I have a desk job, no kids, logged pretty much every step outside the house or office as exercise, and still had to increase my activity level setting to "active" for MFP's expectations about my calorie needs to roughly align with what my data (from logging and weight loss) said they were (and even at that, MFP is still underestimating a bit). Your mileage may definitely vary, in either direction, from MFP's (or any other calculator's) best estimate. (For one thing, five activity levels can't account spot-on for all the variation in human lives. Lots of people are going to be in the gaps between those levels.)

The importance thing to remember, as several others have pointed out, is that you can adjust it as you go along, based on your results. If you don't mind doing a little arithmetic with a month or two of data (I recommend two months of data, preferably disregarding the first couple of weeks that might include a lot of water weight), you can even calculate your own maintenance calorie needs, and manually set your calorie goal on MFP to achieve whatever deficit you desire (it doesn't have to be a deficit that's a multiple of 250, which is all the MFP set-up allows for -- maybe you find a 350-calorie deficit or a 650-calorie deficit is the sweet spot where you're happy with your rate of loss without feeling hungry or deprived).

Hanna10679

I have been sedentary for about a decade. I have 2 kids, but they are old enough now that I don't have to run around after them. I am starting out slow. I log exercise as anything I do when I get up. Cleaning, standing for any length of time, walking slowly (slower than the preset speeds). I just try to do a little more each day. Even if that little more is only 5 minutes. It takes time to get active. I am weak now, but I'm getting a little stronger each day. Eventually it'll get easier.