Help resetting my goals :)

WarmDontBurn

Just starting again for the millionth time!

I had my goals set on here to sedentary (MFP gave me 1350) and then if I did exercise would eat back some of my calories. Now that I have started using the treadmill (walking) I try and get on it for 30-50 mins a day so wondering if I should change my setting to lightly active which then gives me 1570 calories. Or just keep it at sedentary and continue to eat all back? I mean it should work out roughly the same for the most part - until I up my exercise.

MichelleMcKeeRN

I think either 1) Put your settings at sedentary and add in your exercise calories or 2) Put your settings at lightly active but don’t add in your exercise calories.

I have my settings at active and don’t add in exercise calories. I prefer this way because I have a more consistent diet throughout the week.

heybales

Walking, or any low burn exercise you do for long period of time (30-50 not that bad really), has an issue with database burn.

The database burn includes your base metabolism.

But MFP already has accounted for that BMR and x 1.25 for sedentary, or 1.4, ect.

So any exercise should exclude whatever MFP already has accounted for in it's math to cause a deficit.
Hence the common recommendation to only eat back 75-50% of suggested calories.

So to the end that your walking may merely be making up for being sedentary day and night and weekends outside of other formal exercise and no family household responsibilities keeping you active - just increase it to lightly-Active.

Sedentary starts ending at about 2 miles a day, around 3-5K steps depending on stride.
You are likely getting that. Maybe your daily life gets that already and walking is truly extra - light-active would likely cover it.

Other exercise though when done, or if the walking is turned into much longer activity - then perhaps switch to eat back mode.

Or just go for TDEE method which MFP can be used for, don't log the workouts (just make wall post about them) - and eat the same daily. MFP's activity levels though are wrong for doing TDEE.

Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts from 1919 study.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing

WarmDontBurn

Thanks I think the hardest part is that they are so similar 1350 without exercise and 1570 with lightly active. My exercise has been giving me about 100-200 calorie burn.

I have my treadmill set to 3.3mph and my app says its a mod pace walking the dog from 2-3 mph.
I know not to trust it too much but I know I am burning more than I would normally.
Couch potato to treadmill daily

Edited to add that I am also maintaining 10,000+ steps a day as well

Redordeadhead

Well 10,000+ steps/day is definitely not sedentary, I'd say it's probably active (but then don't eat back the treadmill calories on top).

heybales

Holy cow you are not lightly-active.

30-50 min on the treadmill isn't causing 10K steps - so you are NOT sedentary outside of that walk.

It's always best to start out with as real of figures as you can - otherwise how do you adjust knowingly when things change?

sijomial

WarmDontBurn wrote: »

Edited to add that I am also maintaining 10,000+ steps a day as well

You are not sedentary!!

Calculators only work if you put in the right information.

WarmDontBurn

heybales wrote: »

Holy cow you are not lightly-active.

30-50 min on the treadmill isn't causing 10K steps - so you are NOT sedentary outside of that walk.

It's always best to start out with as real of figures as you can - otherwise how do you adjust knowingly when things change?

That's why I am here asking
Also when I set it to sedentary I knew it wasn't factoring my activity so would just eat back most of what I burned.

sijomial wrote: »

WarmDontBurn wrote: »

Edited to add that I am also maintaining 10,000+ steps a day as well

You are not sedentary!!

Calculators only work if you put in the right information.

Again that's why I am here -- seeking the right information!

My past week
Monday - 45 mins on the treadmill (2.16 miles)
10,293 steps total for the day

Tuesday - 50 mins on the treadmill (2.50 miles)
13,009 steps total

Wednesday - 30 mins (1.38 miles)
10,979 steps total

Thursday - 31 mins (1.59 miles)
11,514 steps

Friday 30 mins (1.43 miles)
10,592 steps

and today 35 mins (1.51 miles)
11,122 steps so far

Set to lightly active - 1lb a week and it gives me 1570 calories a day.

I started Jan. 1st and as of this morning the scale says I have lost 2.2lbs

I am happy to tweak my goals and that is why I am asking on the best ways to input the data!

AnnPT77

I assume you're female, given the calories. Short term, the advice already given is good. You're at least lightly active, if not active, based purely on steps. Not sure how you're counting: Do your steps counts include the treadmill, or are they separate?

The best way to tweak your goals is to do it based on your own personal experiential data. Unfortunately, you haven't accumulated enough data to do that yet. (Often, the first couple of weeks are not representative. Various things can happen, but a common one is faster scale drop, part of which is water weight shifts. After a week or two, that usually settles down. If you're a premenopausal woman, you really want to follow a routine for one full menstrual cycle, so you can compare bodyweight at the same relative point in at least two different cycles.)

If the first week or two look really different from the next ones, I'd toss those out and go a little longer to accumulate enough useful data. Then you compare your actual average loss rate to your goal, and adjust accordingly, using the assumption that 3500 calories is roughly one pound.

WarmDontBurn

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I assume you're female, given the calories. Short term, the advice already given is good. You're at least lightly active, if not active, based purely on steps. Not sure how you're counting: Do your steps counts include the treadmill, or are they separate?

Female - 43 yrs old

Step count is total for the day - recording exercise on my apple watch and steps using the pedometer++ app tied to my watch.

The best way to tweak your goals is to do it based on your own personal experiential data. Unfortunately, you haven't accumulated enough data to do that yet. (Often, the first couple of weeks are not representative. Various things can happen, but a common one is faster scale drop, part of which is water weight shifts. After a week or two, that usually settles down. If you're a premenopausal woman, you really want to follow a routine for one full menstrual cycle, so you can compare bodyweight at the same relative point in at least two different cycles.)

If the first week or two look really different from the next ones, I'd toss those out and go a little longer to accumulate enough useful data. Then you compare your actual average loss rate to your goal, and adjust accordingly, using the assumption that 3500 calories is roughly one pound.

Thank you! I shall keep on keeping on

WarmDontBurn

Calories count includes everything!
Using apple watch to track exercise, miles and steps.


Week 1

Calories eaten 7 day average- 1308
Total minutes of logged exercise (walk/jogging)-256
Total miles walked ( for full day)-30.6
7 day average of steps taken-10,810

Weight loss-1.6lbs

Week 2

Calories eaten 7 day average - 1401
Total minutes of logged exercise (walk/jogging) - 279
Total miles walked ( for full day) - 32
7 day average of steps taken = 11,317

Weight loss - 1.2lbs

Week 3

Calories eaten 7 day average - 1419
Total minutes of logged exercise (walk/jogging) - 251
Total miles walked ( for full day) -29.8
7 day average of steps taken - 10,453

Weight loss - 1.8lbs

Got my period the last 2 days of week 3 and today is the start of week 4.
Discovered spinach
Upped my protein and fiber.

I think I am losing at an ok pace and things seem to be going in the right direction

callsitlikeiseeit

how many steps do you get in when you DO NOT walk on the treadmill? that would be my question and what I base my activity level on.

WarmDontBurn

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

how many steps do you get in when you DO NOT walk on the treadmill? that would be my question and what I base my activity level on.

The week before I started tracking and working out the average was 5,581 steps.