Profile settings - Sedentary vs. Lightly Active

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dawn_h_d
dawn_h_d Posts: 184 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am sort of confused on what I should mark for this. I am currently unemployed, but I don't sit down everyday doing nothing. Some days i do more than others. I usually have some sort of "project" going on, and some of it is more active than other days.

I know I should go by my TDEE, I guess, but even that isn't always accurate. I exercise most days, but last week I took Wednesday off because I didn't want to be tired for Mick Foley, and Saturday I skipped working out because I went to a 5 hour outdoor concert I knew I would standing at for a while (only sat for about 20 mins of the 5 hours), and was SORE the next day in my calves and my feet were killing me, so I didn't work out Sunday.

According to the IIFYM calculator, I should be at (with 4 workouts/wk):

Your BMR is:
1992
Calories/Day

Your TDEE is:
2826
Calories/Day

I am truly confused on what my calorie intake should be based on that I don't have a set schedule. I don't want to say I will exercise "these" days no matter what - because I have had some early morning job interviews, appointments, etc.

I have been very true to logging my food and exercise - just not sure how my calories should be (and I know I don't eat the best yet - it's a work in progress)

Replies

  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    There are a few moving parts in this question.

    If you want to go with the IIFYM TDEE, which is a perfectly fine choice, you'd have to input a reduction (e.g. 20%) to determine your daily calories. In this case, you would not input or eat back exercise calories.

    If you go with the MFP approach, also a fine choice, your activity level would probably be sedentary, you would input your weight loss goal (producing a target net calories/day), and then you would log and eat back all your exercise.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Either way pick sedentary and decide if you want to eat exercise back. If you find you're just losing tons of weight too fast you can always up your calories. Being sedentary doesn't mean lays around like a sloth all day, it just means you aren't working a physical job all day. If you feel your projects qualify as exercise then add those calories.
  • janel867
    janel867 Posts: 53
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    Either way pick sedentary and decide if you want to eat exercise back. If you find you're just losing tons of weight too fast you can always up your calories. Being sedentary doesn't mean lays around like a sloth all day, it just means you aren't working a physical job all day. If you feel your projects qualify as exercise then add those calories.

    THIS ^^^^^

    I wear a FitBit and am very active throughout the day but since I have a desk job I keep my settings at sedentary.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    It seems like setting to sedentary and eating back your exercise calories when you earn them would be a good idea at least at the moment.
  • taeliesyn
    taeliesyn Posts: 1,116 Member
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    It seems like setting to sedentary and eating back your exercise calories when you earn them would be a good idea at least at the moment.
    ^^^^
    That's how I started, and even once I set my loss at 0.5lbs per week (Barely enough to register on my cheap @ss scale) I was still losing faster than I wanted. So I then upped my activity level to lightly active and I think that's working for me. I may have upped it one more I can't remember.

    I personally hate all the TDEE talk, because practically no one ever mentions you need to recalc your TDEE every day to be accurate, unless there is almost no change in activity between days.
  • dawn_h_d
    dawn_h_d Posts: 184 Member
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    Thanks for the insights - helps a TON!!

    I just don't know what my activity level is going to be after exercising in the morning - but a lot of what you guys have said has made sense to me.......

    I know this is stupid - but one reason I was concerned is that I have seen threads where people will give other members a hard time for putting "house cleaning" in their exercise log. When I clean house - I sweat. I don't just mop the kitchen floor. I get down on my hands and knees with a bucket of water and a rag and use some good ole elbow grease. As I am cleaning up the nasties that end up on the floor from cooking, etc, I am also cleaning up the sweat drops that drip my face. LOL. I just didn't want someone to get on me for "house cleaning isn't exercise". I know my heart of hearts - that they don't know what I am going through - but I just don't like confrontations anymore.

    So, to make this long post short (LOL), you have convinced me to do what I need to do for me, and to heck with the rest.

    THANK YOU!! :flowerforyou: :smile: :blushing: :love:

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