Help with my "goals"?

Simonnnna

So, the first thing I don't know is what type of "active" I am. I'm still in school and it's summer so I'm not on my feet all day or anything but I do work out everyday, typically for an hour and 15 minutes. The other day I ran/jogged/walked five miles and yesterday I ran/jogged/walked 3.5 miles and did a mile on the elliptical and also I do small exercises throughout the day at home. So, am I sedentary, lightly active, active or very active?

Also, I don't really know what to put for my carbs, fats and protein goals. It was automatically set to 50% carbs, 20% fats and 30% protein but I'm not sure if it would be better to make my goals less carbs and more protein? I'm always a little under my carb and fats goal and over my protein goals. I'm trying to lose 10 pounds so not a lot, I'm already pretty small, just have a little extra I would like to get rid of. I'm 130 pounds, 5'4.

Thanks!

kvansanity

The activity level is what you do even if you're not exercising I'm pretty sure. So for me... on the days I'm working, my body is very active, but then I have off days and I don't move much aside from going to the gym. As a result, I put lightly active for mine since I know on certain days I don't need as many calories.

The activity you're listing is part of your work out routine, and when you log it in MFP it's going to adjust your needed calories and nutrition needs accordingly. I'd put your activity level as lightly active. If you're willing to make an investment, I got a Fitbit to help me track how many calories I needed. My Fitbit keeps track of every calorie I burn, including those when I'm simply at rest. I try to have a 500 calorie deficit everyday based on those numbers.

Don't worry too much about the carb, fat, and protein goals. I'd keep it with what MFP has suggested. You'll learn that it's pretty tricky to fall within these guidelines. They are helpful for letting you see what you consume the most of and where your calories are from, but a calorie is a calorie.

4legsRbetterthan2

So for MFP you put in the activity level you are without exercise you plan to log (so the activity you do day to day: walking to class, or at work, or do you just sit on the couch when not working out). Most people put sedentary of lightly active. Then you go to the exercise tab each day and put in the exercise you did (running, elliptical, other workouts). MFP will add the calories your burned in exercise to your daily goal and you should try to eat them back. One commong problem with MFP users is that MFP tends to wayyyyy over estimate the calories burned for exercises. If you do not have one I would suggest investing in a HRM or some device that will give you a more accurate estimate of your burns.

There is not right or wrong macro target, it is mostly based on fitness goals and personal preferance. Since it sounds like you are pretty active I would encourage you to cut carbs slowly if you want to. Try cutting down 5% for a week, if you feel good then another 5%. There is alot of "carbs are evil" propoganda out there these days but the more active you are the more you need them. As someone who tried to cut them way to low in the past and paid for it I will tell you it is not a fun place to be.

Last tidbit: not sure what rate of loss you put in but with a 10 lb goal you should be shooting for about 0.5 lbs a week. Alot of people try to lose too agressively and burn out.

For new members I usually suggest reading these posts:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

they are informative and might head off questions/mistakes you didn't even know you had yet

~happy logging