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  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    People here seem to have lost grasp of the fact that MFP is NOT a TDEE calculator. It is asking for your lifestyle without including your exercise.

    So, if you are a desk worker, your base calorie burn is more than likely in a sedentary range, unless you get up a lot... and I am not meaning the 5 steps to the printer. Sedentary literally means spending the majority of the time SITTING. You burn less calories sitting than standing, even if you are moving your arms... So if you sit at a computer all day, you are indeed sedentary.

    MFP is designed for you to eat back your exercise. The base calories don't include exercise, which is why you eat them back. So, if you work a desk job where you sit the majority of the time, you set to sedentary, and then if you workout by running or lifting or whatever, you add that to the base calories, and add it to your dietary needs.

    If you want to incorporate things like your regular exercise routine in your initial calorie goal, you need to use a TDEE calculator and manually adjust the MFP number to match.

    Yes, but just to be clear I mean I need lightly active plus exercise calories.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    People here seem to have lost grasp of the fact that MFP is NOT a TDEE calculator. It is asking for your lifestyle without including your exercise.

    So, if you are a desk worker, your base calorie burn is more than likely in a sedentary range, unless you get up a lot... and I am not meaning the 5 steps to the printer. Sedentary literally means spending the majority of the time SITTING. You burn less calories sitting than standing, even if you are moving your arms... So if you sit at a computer all day, you are indeed sedentary.

    MFP is designed for you to eat back your exercise. The base calories don't include exercise, which is why you eat them back. So, if you work a desk job where you sit the majority of the time, you set to sedentary, and then if you workout by running or lifting or whatever, you add that to the base calories, and add it to your dietary needs.

    If you want to incorporate things like your regular exercise routine in your initial calorie goal, you need to use a TDEE calculator and manually adjust the MFP number to match.

    I haven't and I still believe MFP sedentary setting is low for a lot of people. Plus OP just said that he changed it to sedentary and is losing weight when he is trying to maintain, so he may not be sedentary (or there are inaccuracies elsewhere0.

    Agreed...I have mine set at lightly active with a desk job because I don't stop when I get home and that is without exercise...

    With exercise I would have to eat back about 300-500 calories a day if I didn't do TDEE...with the lightly active setting...and I still lose weight...

    I think what people fail to realize is that there are 24hours in a day..and if you have a desk job and sit at the office for 7hours, sleep for 8 hours there is still 9 hours left...1hour for exercise, 8 hours...that is 1/3 of your day that you aren't sedentary...that's a lot of hours and if you are a parent...you can forget the 8 hours of sleep....:sad:
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    that depends on whether or not you are sedentary or not...

    This. Even if you have a desk job, unless you spend the entirety of your day sitting doing absolutely nothing and not moving, chances are you're lightly active. I have an 8-hour per day desk job, but the rest of my day and my weekends I spend tending to a busy toddler, doing chores around the house, on my feet cooking. So before exercise I am already lightly active.

    It also depends on if you're doing the MFP way or the TDEE way. TDEE your exercise is already accounted for so no you wouldn't. MFP way yes you would.

    This is NOT TRUE. I walk to work and walk home again. I run up and down steps at work. I pace when I lecture. On many days my pedometer will put me at 3800 steps until I exercise. I am SEDENTARY.

    4000 steps or so is sedentary on MFP. At that point extra calories start getting added in if you use a pedometer.

    If you go TDEE go for it.

    If you use MFP, it's right around 3800 steps that's the break point for sedentary. In any case, I bought a fitbit zip ($39), set to sedentary, try to hit 10000 steps, and eat my exercise calories. I log extra exercise like mucking out chicken coops, swimming, or bike rides.

    P.S. Oddly enough, grocery shopping puts on a ton of steps. But my husband does that.

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