Honestly Confused About Activity Level

Artemis726

Hi everyone. I am new to MFP, and am loving it so far. I've had problems gaining and losing the same 5lbs, and have had some serious frustration when I WAS eating 1200 calories and working out while losing nothing (and sometimes gaining). Anyways, MFP has really helped to to understand net calories, and the scale is starting to go in the right direction...slowly.

I am having issues choosing the correct fitness level. I work a flexible full time job from home, and I spend a good deal amount of time in front of the computer. I chose sedentary based on the desk job definition. However, I am also the mom to 4 kids and too many pets. I am constantly up and down, cleaning, cooking, more cleaning, helping with school, climbing stairs, preventing meltdowns, changing diapers, etc. I work out between 30-60 minutes 6x a week.

Should I keep my activity level at sedentary or bump it up to lightly active?

Thanks for any advice!

Natalie0506

I would keep it at sedentary. I too am an at home mom, so I'm constantly cleaning, running after the kids, etc., but that's not a whole lot of activity. Lightly active would be someone who's on their feet all day long like a nurse.

kadye

I had mine at sedentary and ate back exercise calories and wasn't losing at all. I changes it to active and stopped even putting in exercise calories. I just eat at that level every day and have been losing 1-1.5 lbs a week since. I think eating back all those exercise calories, for me, was too much. I was even using a HRM and subtracting what calories I would have burned just sitting around. I am eating around 1450 daily now whether I exercise or not and that is working for me.

Maurey

I am a stay at home mom to 3 little ones. i have my activity level set to lightly active, as i am not sitting all day and am usually chasing kids around, cleaning, doing chores, running up and down stairs, on my feet a lot, etc.

alecta337

In your position I would set my activity level to sedentary and log your activities "cooking" "cleaning" and other stuff can be logged individually.

Other people will say that this is "normal daily activity" and have you not log it.

Choose one way and see how you like it, if you're dying of starvation, start logging your motherly activities as exercise. And if you're not loosing, then stop logging them.

Hope this helps =]

AFitasticYou

Glad you are figuring things out! I have mine set at Sedentary and I'm a SAHM. I just changed it a few days ago though, I was at lightly active. I was just curious what the difference was. I don't have alot of experience yet, but from what I'm understanding eating all your exercise calories is key!

elvb

Mine has been set at sedentary from the beginning (August, 2010). I work a desk job 8-9 hours a day but am running back and forth between my desk and our production area to get things done. I also drive over 1.5 hours round trip for work. When I get home I relax. I have 3 kids ages 6, 9, and 12. Monday thru Thursday the kids eat before I get home from work at 7pm so I rarely have to do anything except feed myself and make sure my little one gets his shower. I work out 3-4 days a week (less lately).

So yea, I am definitely sedentary.

Artemis726

Thanks ladies!!

It's sounding as if I should leave it as sedentary for now. It's still a new process and I'm learning it's ok to eat more. I am definitely loving eating exercise calories back! I can always re-evaluate once I have more time in or stop seeing results.