Would you consider me active or Sedetary?

steffipaulina
steffipaulina Posts: 161
in Getting Started
Hi! I live in a big-city center and do the majority of my commuting by foot. Now that it's winter I don't do AS much but still about 20- 105 min a day. But sometimes it's just going out for the sheer fact of getting some exercise.

Would you consider this active or sedatary and log in my walking minutes under exercise.

I have been logging my walking everyday but realized it's KIND of my 'lifestyle'. But what if I do more walking than my normal daily walking? should I be logging that as exercise?

Or should I just continue to consider myself Sedetary until the warmer months where I am literally walking everyday for about 1.5 hrs or more?

Replies

  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)

    sounds like you can be on the LIGHTLY ACTIVE on winter and ACTIVE on summer.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
    I just set my activity as sedentary. Then whenever I do exercise, I log it. And then I reward myself for doing it by eating more calories.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    I just set my activity as sedentary. Then whenever I do exercise, I log it. And then I reward myself for doing it by eating more calories.

    the issue with this is that if I set myself on lightly active I get 150 calories a day more then on sedentary. If I log all my activities I'd get an extra 600 calories. If I were to reward myself by eating all those calories back, I wouldn't lose any weight.
  • 10manda86
    10manda86 Posts: 229 Member
    i set myself as sedentary... i log all my activities... i do not eat ALL of my calories back, just want I feel for that day
  • 000Linda000
    000Linda000 Posts: 50 Member
    I put seditary just so it won't overestimate. Cuz that way, I could just add my activity.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Your daily activity goes in your activity level, and you do not log it. Set your activity level to lightly active & don't log your walks.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Your daily activity goes in your activity level, and you do not log it. Set your activity level to lightly active & don't log your walks.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

    QFT....
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Pick one. Try it for a few weeks. Are you losing weight? Then it's fine.
  • CharliLarlie
    CharliLarlie Posts: 10 Member
    Wear a pedometer every day and you will be able to determine if you have a sedentary life or not. When I worked, I thought I had a sedentary lifestyle, because I worked in an office, but after wearing a pedometer, I found that I was walking more than 10,000 steps most days. I walked up and down 15 flights of stairs several times most days; I walked for 30 minutes at lunch (15 minutes to pick it up and 15 minutes back) and some days i just walked an hour; walking back and forth to other offices and meetings. The movement adds up and you can count it as exercise. Just going back and forth to the car or around your office may not add up to much, but walking to and from the bus or subway, can add up over the week. Also, do some calisthenics, such as jumping jacks before you take your shower--I do two minutes. It is vigorous and gets the heart rate up. So, wear the pedometer and see exactly how much exercise you get without actually going to the gym or doing specific exercises.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I just set my activity as sedentary. Then whenever I do exercise, I log it. And then I reward myself for doing it by eating more calories.

    the issue with this is that if I set myself on lightly active I get 150 calories a day more then on sedentary. If I log all my activities I'd get an extra 600 calories. If I were to reward myself by eating all those calories back, I wouldn't lose any weight.

    Then you aren't logging your activities accurately.
  • steffipaulina
    steffipaulina Posts: 161
    I just set my activity as sedentary. Then whenever I do exercise, I log it. And then I reward myself for doing it by eating more calories.

    the issue with this is that if I set myself on lightly active I get 150 calories a day more then on sedentary. If I log all my activities I'd get an extra 600 calories. If I were to reward myself by eating all those calories back, I wouldn't lose any weight.

    Then you aren't logging your activities accurately.

    Also, isn't it counterproductive to be eating back all your exercise calories?
  • steffipaulina
    steffipaulina Posts: 161
    I think for the winter I am going to stick to my Sedetary activity level and bump it up once it gets warmer out. In all truth most days I go for walks or walk places for the sheer fact of getting exercise instead of hopping on the subway.

    I don't keep a mind set of 'eating back exercise calories' or 'rewarding' myself for exercise. So I think this will be fine.

    Thanks for your input folks
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    I keep mine at sedentary and then I log every single activity except for cooking (which is actually in the database!) I even wear a pedometer that gives me average MPH and total minutes I walked, and I log those. For some reason, the idea of earning my extra calories works really well for me and gives me motivation to move more.

    When it stops working, I'll adjust as needed. That's really all you can do is see what works for you and change it up when you need to. There's no single correct way to use this site.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Also, isn't it counterproductive to be eating back all your exercise calories?
    No, it's counterproductive to eat any less than you need to. Your MFP calorie goal has your daily activity & deficit built in. It does not include your exercise. You must eat back at least some of your exercise calories.

    The calorie counts & burns are estimates, so some people eat back half their exercise calories. And some people customize their goal w/ formulas which already include their exercise (for example, TDEE minus 20%).

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • steffipaulina
    steffipaulina Posts: 161
    I keep mine at sedentary and then I log every single activity except for cooking (which is actually in the database!) I even wear a pedometer that gives me average MPH and total minutes I walked, and I log those. For some reason, the idea of earning my extra calories works really well for me and gives me motivation to move more.

    When it stops working, I'll adjust as needed. That's really all you can do is see what works for you and change it up when you need to. There's no single correct way to use this site.

    I'm exactly like you! I enjoy keeping track of how much activity I do because I like to see I'm burning calories all the time. And I feel like if I changed my activity to 'lightly active' I wouldn't be as motivated to do daily calorie burning activities, thus burning less calories. :)
  • GimmieDatSalad
    GimmieDatSalad Posts: 44
    The way MFP works means that you should be eating back your work out calories. Some people do and some don't, but if you do things the way MFP set it up then you should be doing so.

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