What do I set my activity level at? Is the mfp calorie goal accurate?

Jlan11
Jlan11 Posts: 61 Member
in Getting Started
I am a stay at home mom and I clean an Airbnb 1-2 days a week. When I am home all day, I can be somewhat sedentary. I am never sitting down for longer than 30-45 minutes, but I don’t feel that I am very active on those days. On the days that I professionally clean, I am significantly active. About two weeks ago I started tracking my calories. MFP set my calories around 1400 to lose 1.5 lbs a week and sedentary. My Apple Watch tracks my steps. In two weeks I have not lost 3 lbs. I played around with the goals and changed the settings to 2lbs a week. If I set my activity level to lightly active then my calorie goal is 1560. If I change my goal to lose 2lbs a week and sedentary then my calorie goal is 1280. It’s a pretty big difference, so now I am confused. What is my activity level? If I’m not losing weight as fast as I would like should I lower my calorie goal?

Replies

  • stephanieadudley
    stephanieadudley Posts: 11 Member
    edited September 2019
    What is your BMR? Where do you have your macros set? How much water are you drinking? How much sleep are you getting?

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,126 Member
    Jlan11 wrote: »
    I am never sitting down for longer than 30-45 minutes, but I don’t feel that I am very active on those days. ?

    That's not sedentary. Sedentary is basically the equivalent of someone who works in a desk job and drives to/from work, getting very low incidental steps (approx 3000 per day) I also doubt that as a SAHM you're sedentary lol.

    Jlan11 wrote: »
    MFP set my calories around 1400 to lose 1.5 lbs a week and sedentary. My Apple Watch tracks my steps. In two weeks I have not lost 3 lbs.

    2 Weeks is not enough time to base any decision on making changes, your weight may fluctuate by as much as a couple of pounds from day-to-day, based on food in your system, bowel movements, hormones, sodium intake, carb intake, etc. None of this affects how much fat you lose, but it can mask results on the scale, to get a good idea if what you're doing is working you need to give it 4-6 weeks. Only then should you start adjusting things.

    Lightly Active accounts for approximately 5-7000 steps per day, so perhaps start with that and a 1-1.5lb rate of loss. Faster isn't necessarily better, sustainability is far more important.

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  • Jlan11
    Jlan11 Posts: 61 Member
    Thank you! What I meant is that I don’t sit down for long before I have to get a kid something or start a load of laundry or clean up a spill. Overall when I am home I am more sedentary than I should be. I also have been known to take mid-day naps when my kids are napping. I still usually get 3000-4000 steps. On my cleaning days I get an average of 12000 steps. Thank you for response! I’m going to do the math and see what calorie goal it gives me!

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