Calorie Tracker Activity Level Question

jamorr76

So I’m a little lost and while I did some research on ther forum regarding this topic I almost feel more confused as a result!

So I work remote so spend most of my time on calls, meetings etc. so not much activity. I do however usually get in approximately 1-2 miles of dog walking, 3 miles of running each morning and 1.5 hours weight training each day.

I have an Apple Watch so my walks, running are captured and synced back to MFP. I have my weight training routines built in MFP and log each day after my workouts.

So, how do I set me activity level? If I set high and then log all my exercise I feel I’m double dipping.

Thoughts?

goal06082021

jamorr76 wrote: »

-snip-

If I set high and then log all my exercise I feel I’m double dipping.

Thoughts?

That's because you would be double-dipping.

It sounds like your purposeful exercise is a daily, consistent thing - like, you don't have days during the week when you don't walk the dog AND go for a run AND lift weights. In that case, keep it simple - set yourself to Active and don't log your exercise separately. This is what I've been doing, as I also have a 7-day-a-week exercise regimen with a pretty consistent calorie burn day-to-day, and I'm 50 lbs down.

cwolfman13

There are two different methods of calorie counting. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. You will note that there is no mention of exercise in the activity level descriptors with MFP...that is because MFP is a NEAT method calculator where exercise is captured as activity when you log it and get additional calories to consume to account for it, whereas TDEE rolls up all activity, including exercise into your calorie target.

Done correctly and comparing apples to apples rate of loss target, they are basically 6 of 1, half dozen of the other. I started out using MFP as designed as initially it was better for me since my exercise wasn't consistent. As regular exercise became more of just a regular thing, I gravitated to the TDEE method and used a TDEE calculator to customize my targets on MFP. Since MFP is a NEAT method calculator, it uses different multipliers for activity so it's better to use a TDEE calculator and customize on MFP if you're going to go that route, as the multipliers for MFP for "active" will assume a good deal of low level movement rather than actual workouts.

And yes, you would be double dipping if you use the TDEE method and also synch and eat back exercise calories. You have to pick one method or the other.

rosebarnalice

For me, it's easier to set my activity level as low, and add my activity as exercise

sijomial

If your Apple watch actually sent the correct data over to MyFitnessPal it wouldn't really matter what activity setting you picked as the final daily calorie goal would be the same - just the adjustments would be bigger or smaller.
But Apple doesn't send the right data over so suggest you don't sync it.

Leaves you two choices:
If your exercise is regular AND you enjoy eating to a same every day calorie goal then go to a good TDEE calculator which will take both your average daily activity and exercise into account.

If you prefer a calorie goal that varies in line with your exercise then use MyFitnessPal as intended - you set your activity level according to all your waking hours, but excluding purposeful exercise, and then log your exercise on the day.