Would I be sedentary or lightly active?

Xkmaf2018X

Hi All

I have my settings to show I am sedentary and I wish to lose 1lb per week which gives me a 1280 calorie goal, however, someone mentioned that the level of activity I do I should select that I am lightly active and I keep reading that if your nearing to your 10K steps on average each day then you should be selecting Lightly Active - Is this true?

I selected sedentary purely because I have an office job, however, each day I do between 9,000 - 11,000 steps per day. Mon, Weds, Thurs and Friday I hit the gym doing either 1x class or 2x classes back to back.

Should I be selecting Lightly Active or does it not matter?

Thanks

andreaen

I would say you are lightly active. Many people actually average 3000 steps per day, and that would be sedetary. You are at least lightly active as you walk more than most people

Xkmaf2018X

Thanks for your response. I will amend my settings then. My steps come from my walk to school/work in the mornings which is around 4k steps, plus walking to and from the gym at lunch, then all the steps I do throughout the day, then any steps I've done in my gym classes.

amgreenwell

Steps in your gym classes don't count b/c those would be "double booked" if you are using calories burned in those classes.
If you have a desk job you should say you are sedentary. I work at a bank 8-5 mon-fri, I run 5k every other day and take two walks during the day (one mile each). I am still listed as sedentary. I use my mapmywalk app to calculate calories burned during walks and runs. I don't count my steps during the day at all.

cwolfman13

10,000 steps per day isn't sedentary...

https://www.10000steps.org.au/articles/counting-steps/

amgreenwell wrote: »

Steps in your gym classes don't count b/c those would be "double booked" if you are using calories burned in those classes.
If you have a desk job you should say you are sedentary. I work at a bank 8-5 mon-fri, I run 5k every other day and take two walks during the day (one mile each). I am still listed as sedentary. I use my mapmywalk app to calculate calories burned during walks and runs. I don't count my steps during the day at all.

This would entirely depend on the method you are using. Someone using the TDEE method would set it to sedentary doing that, regardless of whether or not they had a desk job. You do that with MFP because you're supposed to log it and then eat calories back to account for that activity.

I have a desk job, but my activity level would be set to active because I get 8,000 - 10,000 steps per day and lift 2x per week and ride about 50 miles per week. I prefer TDEE to the MFP NEAT method.

WinoGelato

Do you use an activity tracker like FitBit, tracking your steps and syncing with MFP?

I agree that what you have described is not Sedentary, more like lightly active. You can avoid double counting if you use an activity tracker and MFP adjusts exercise calories accordingly based on the inputs from the device, and having the activity level aligned with your true habits, not arbitrary definitions provided by MFP, then the adjustments will be more representative of your true exercise.

For what it's worth, I have a desk job but I average 12-15K steps/day so I'm set at Active. I use a FitBit, with negative adjustments enabled, so I have to get upwards of 8-10K steps before I see any positive adjustments. When I do exercise, on long walks or doing circuit training, then the adjustment reflects those extra efforts and not the general day to day activity that is part of my NEAT even though my job suggests sedentary.

sgt1372

It is a starting point but you cannot rely on the cal limit that MFP gives you, regardless of what level of activity you choose. It is just a calculated "guess" that may or may not apply to you.

The variablity in your actual activity level and what MFP (or any TDEE calculator) assumes you are doing based on the level you choose is just another potential source of error.

Personally, although I am not sedentary, I chose sedentary for my activity level on MFP (and other calculators) to use as a starting point and adjusted my cals from there based on whether I gained or lost weight after a couple of weeks.

When I exercised (beyond my normal activity level), I ate back all or most of the cals, so that the net cals remained at or below my cal limit.

This is essentially a deconstructed version of the NEAT approach upon which the MFP system is based but it is more accurate because it is based on my actual exercise activity, not an estimate based on whatever formula MFP uses to calculate it.

This approach has worked for me in losing 36# in the 1st 5 months and losing an additional 5# (while mainly attempting to maintain my weight) over the following 18 months.

Started at 196 (with an initial goal of 160). I am now at 155 and consider this my ideal weight. If I continue to lose any more weight, all I have to do is increase my cal intake slightly w/o changing my current exercise activities.

I think this approach far better than just relying on MFP (or any other cal calculator) to tell you what to do.

Xkmaf2018X

Thanks all, I use the Fitbit Charge 2 which counts my steps and I use it to log my workouts when at the gym.

I also have my settings set as Adjustments Enabled.

I'll stick to the Lightly Active setting for now and see how it goes.