Activity level?

kw1452

I am having a very hard time eating at my calorie goal. I have myself listed as "lightly active", but I was wondering what is the difference between lightly active and active?

I walk an average of 10,000 steps a day because I walk my dog twice and walk to and from school. My activity (steps) range from 3,000 to 15,000 during the week, and on top of that I'm attempting to decrease my sitting time and increase my general around-the-house activity.

I do not record any of my walking on the fitness pal app. I only record activity if I go out of my way to work out.

Should I be eating at the "active" level, or is the "lightly active" level appropriate for me?

bwogilvie

Activity level is approximate, and is intended to gauge how many calories you expend that you don't log separately. I would suggest keeping it at "lightly active" for now, and comparing your goal with your results. If you've set your goal at 1 lb./week, and you lose that, then stay at lightly active. If you're losing more than you want, change your activity level to "active." If you're losing less, change it to "sedentary."

In other words, I think it's better to focus on the results you get rather than on the labels that MFP uses.

It looks like you've lost 7 lbs. so far. How long did it take, and how does that compare to your MFP settings? That's the gold standard (as long as you're meeting your calorie goal).