MyFitnessPal activity level?

Jay9201

How do I know which activity level to choose on MyFitnessPal? I am 28 years old, female 5’5 and currently weigh 175lb. Before coronavirus I used to be in the gym lifting weights 4x a week and went down to 162lbs ish but now resorted to home workouts HIIT workouts 30-40 mins 5 days a week. I know for my height and weight my calories should be around 1700-1800 calories.

But if I set my activity level as active on MyFitnessPal it says I should eat 1720 calories , if I put it as lightly active it says I should eat 1200 calories. I have a desk job but I would say I’m fairly active if I’m not in the gym I would go for walks. I’ve tried this by changing the profile setting from KG to lbs and it gives me the same numbers. My goal is to lose 1.5lbs per week.

I did have an injury whereby I fell and hurt both kneecaps and was on crutches for 6 weeks learning to walk again using physio. It was a miracle I didn’t shatter my kneecaps but the kneecap bone had been deeply bruised and muscles around my kneecaps had been torn. So I gained around 15lbs recovering so feeling very disheartened to have to start again.

I can’t survive on 1200 calories, it seems the more I workout the more food I need. Doing HIIT 5 days a week for around 30-45 mins I’m seeing definition around my waist but I need to know my nutritional intake is what it should be I.e not eating more than I should be.

Please can someone advise?

shaf238

The activity setting is for your lifestyle excluding any intentional exercise. When you exercise, you log that on MFP and it adjusts your calorie requirement accordingly. General advice on here is to eat back about half your exercise calories. For example, if MFP sets you to 1200, you burn 600 calories that day, then you'd aim to eat 1500 calories that day.

Hope your knees are better now and you can train the way you were before.

Jay9201

shaf238 wrote: »

The activity setting is for your lifestyle excluding any intentional exercise. When you exercise, you log that on MFP and it adjusts your calorie requirement accordingly. General advice on here is to eat back about half your exercise calories. For example, if MFP sets you to 1200, you burn 600 calories that day, then you'd aim to eat 1500 calories that day.

Hope your knees are better now and you can train the way you were before.

So if MyFitnessPal sets me at 1200 calories and I burn around 600 calories (realistically with HIIT workout 5 days a week I’m burning approx 300 calories a day) then my overall intake should be 1500 calories? Would this be considered a calorie deficit?

My knees are getting there I can’t lean on them yet but physio and exercise to strengthen them.

Lietchi

shaf238 wrote: »

When you exercise, you log that on MFP and it adjusts your calorie requirement accordingly. General advice on here is to eat back about half your exercise calories. For example, if MFP sets you to 1200, you burn 600 calories that day, then you'd aim to eat 1500 calories that day.

This advice is often given on MFP, but rarely followed by the (IMHO essential) second part of the advice: do this for 4 to 6 weeks and then adjust. Eat back more calories if you are losing weight faster than intended, eat back less if you are losing weight slower than intended.
And it doesn't need to be 50%, it can be any percentage you like, as long as you monitor your weightloss and adapt if necessary. I eat back 100% of my exercise calories and I always have, and my weight loss is right where I want it to be (but I don't use MFP burn estimates, I use a tracker).

Jay9201 wrote: »

So if MyFitnessPal sets me at 1200 calories and I burn around 600 calories (realistically with HIIT workout 5 days a week I’m burning approx 300 calories a day) then my overall intake should be 1500 calories? Would this be considered a calorie deficit?

Side note: HIIT is a very popular term, but is it really HIIT you are doing? Doing HIIT 5 days a week is a LOT, the average person wouldn't be able to do that physically, not in the long run anyway. What kind of HIIT do you do?

heybales

Jay9201 wrote: »

So if MyFitnessPal sets me at 1200 calories and I burn around 600 calories (realistically with HIIT workout 5 days a week I’m burning approx 300 calories a day) then my overall intake should be 1500 calories? Would this be considered a calorie deficit?

That 1200 eating goal came from an estimate of your daily burn minus 750 (but it stops at 1200 so I'd be honest that you are Lightly Active outside work and exercise) to create a deficit to lose fat.

But 750 deficit or 1.5 weekly is reasonable for 30-50 lb to lose - still in that range?

The fact that you would then do say 300 extra calories in exercise means you burn 300 more for the day - subtract the same amount and your eating goal will be 300 higher, right?

The math for eating goal never included the exercise.

It would be as if you paid for something in cash, got your change back, handed the clerk some extra cash, and they handed that right back to you also.
You put in more (exercise), they kept the same amount (your deficit), and you got more back (your eating goal).

For your weight and height and that workout and activity level you are likely burning more than you think daily in total.
Sedendary for your average gal your stats would be the 2000 commonly used - so ya, burning more than that since not sedentary. Probably closer to 2400 on avg with exercise.

Even if likely not true HIIT but rather some type of workout that is always done as intervals, it's probably burning a fair amount for 30-40 min of time.

Go_Deskercise

Jay9201

Lietchi wrote: »

shaf238 wrote: »

When you exercise, you log that on MFP and it adjusts your calorie requirement accordingly. General advice on here is to eat back about half your exercise calories. For example, if MFP sets you to 1200, you burn 600 calories that day, then you'd aim to eat 1500 calories that day.

This advice is often given on MFP, but rarely followed by the (IMHO essential) second part of the advice: do this for 4 to 6 weeks and then adjust. Eat back more calories if you are losing weight faster than intended, eat back less if you are losing weight slower than intended.
And it doesn't need to be 50%, it can be any percentage you like, as long as you monitor your weightloss and adapt if necessary. I eat back 100% of my exercise calories and I always have, and my weight loss is right where I want it to be (but I don't use MFP burn estimates, I use a tracker).

Jay9201 wrote: »

So if MyFitnessPal sets me at 1200 calories and I burn around 600 calories (realistically with HIIT workout 5 days a week I’m burning approx 300 calories a day) then my overall intake should be 1500 calories? Would this be considered a calorie deficit?

Side note: HIIT is a very popular term, but is it really HIIT you are doing? Doing HIIT 5 days a week is a LOT, the average person wouldn't be able to do that physically, not in the long run anyway. What kind of HIIT do you do?

Lietchi wrote: »

shaf238 wrote: »

When you exercise, you log that on MFP and it adjusts your calorie requirement accordingly. General advice on here is to eat back about half your exercise calories. For example, if MFP sets you to 1200, you burn 600 calories that day, then you'd aim to eat 1500 calories that day.

This advice is often given on MFP, but rarely followed by the (IMHO essential) second part of the advice: do this for 4 to 6 weeks and then adjust. Eat back more calories if you are losing weight faster than intended, eat back less if you are losing weight slower than intended.
And it doesn't need to be 50%, it can be any percentage you like, as long as you monitor your weightloss and adapt if necessary. I eat back 100% of my exercise calories and I always have, and my weight loss is right where I want it to be (but I don't use MFP burn estimates, I use a tracker).

Jay9201 wrote: »

So if MyFitnessPal sets me at 1200 calories and I burn around 600 calories (realistically with HIIT workout 5 days a week I’m burning approx 300 calories a day) then my overall intake should be 1500 calories? Would this be considered a calorie deficit?

Side note: HIIT is a very popular term, but is it really HIIT you are doing? Doing HIIT 5 days a week is a LOT, the average person wouldn't be able to do that physically, not in the long run anyway. What kind of HIIT do you do?

Hi all, thank you so much for your tips. The HIIT workout I’m doing is the Chloe Ting workouts so far on YouTube it ranges from full body workouts I usually do 2- 3 workouts back to back to make it 30-45 minutes long. So it’s like a fast paced circuit training. A usual workout video would be like 8-10 exercises - 3 sets - 45 Seconds exercise 10 seconds rest. Workout videos can be 20 minutes I try extend this as much as I can. So I try do this 5 days a week to be active as I can but yes it is a lot I am tired a lot maybe I need to scale it back? This is what I can do until gyms open up and I can go back to my weightlifting.

heybales

Or eat more as several have indicated.
You aren't fueling your workouts.
Or rather your workouts are taking off a big chunk of your eaten calories - leaving not enough for your body and it's regular functions and daily activity.
That's the idea of the NET calories MFP reports - how much are you leaving your body for regular daily stuff. Too little isn't good.

Jay9201

heybales wrote: »

Or eat more as several have indicated.
You aren't fueling your workouts.
Or rather your workouts are taking off a big chunk of your eaten calories - leaving not enough for your body and it's regular functions and daily activity.
That's the idea of the NET calories MFP reports - how much are you leaving your body for regular daily stuff. Too little isn't good.

I actually haven’t thought of it that way because I try to eat 3 meals and have a pre workout and post workout. But I never eat back my burnt calories not even half so you’re right I’m not fuelling body for these workouts. Wow, thank you for your tips!