Am I considered Lightly Active or Active?

Wendylovesluke

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday I wake up early and do an hour workout dvd that has cardio, weight training, pilates, core training and aerobics. Tuesday and Thursday I do Yoga for Beginners (I would do normal or moderate Yoga but this is the only DVD that I've found that really helps with my scoliosis). Sun-Thurs. I walk about 2-2.5 miles each day (I walk moderately fast except the summer months when it's way too hot out). I work about 15-20 hours a week. Most days I do about 20-30 minutes of lifting packages. The rest of the time I am leaning or standing. Once I get home I do a little cleaning, make dinner and usually spend the rest of the time reading a book, watching tv, playing online or talking on the phone with friends and family. Am I considered light active or active according to MFP? I know I workout and do Yoga but I'm not too active at work and I work part-time. Once I get home I'm pretty inactive.

I know once my husband and I get a house (in the next month) we're planning on riding our bikes in the neighborhood about 2-3 times a week (Hopefully I can talk him into doing it more than that). I don't know how long we'll be out there riding and it will probably only be in the warmer months. I'm sure once we start doing that i will be considered active.

deekaydee

MFP is set up for you to enter your activity level EXCLUDING exercise. So, discounting your exercise that you indicated, I would say probably lightly active.

Then, when you actually perform the exercises each day, you log those separately and will earn additional calories.

You have the option to set yourself at a higher activity level, and then not log your exercise....but then that means you have to actually perform the exercise each week. I find it easier to start at my base activity level without exercise and add exercise in as I do it.

HonkyTonks

I would say active, but I wouldn't count the exercise as extra calories burned.

KatieJane83

MFP is set up for you to enter your activity level EXCLUDING exercise. So, discounting your exercise that you indicated, I would say probably lightly active.

Then, when you actually perform the exercises each day, you log those separately and will earn additional calories.

You have the option to set yourself at a higher activity level, and then not log your exercise....but then that means you have to actually perform the exercise each week. I find it easier to start at my base activity level without exercise and add exercise in as I do it.

^^^I agree with this.

Wendylovesluke

MFP is set up for you to enter your activity level EXCLUDING exercise. So, discounting your exercise that you indicated, I would say probably lightly active.

Then, when you actually perform the exercises each day, you log those separately and will earn additional calories.

You have the option to set yourself at a higher activity level, and then not log your exercise....but then that means you have to actually perform the exercise each week. I find it easier to start at my base activity level without exercise and add exercise in as I do it.

I see where you're coming from but I'm wondering if they're asking to determine your BMI. If you have more muscle than fat than you're going to require more calorie consumption than someone who has more fat than muscle (even with the same weight). Or they're just trying to figure how many calories you need based on your job. That's where my confusion lies.

deekaydee

I'm not sure if you mean BMR (how many calories your body burns to sustain bodily functions, excluding any activity....I.e., In a coma) or BMI (bodymass indicator). Neither of those numbers takes body composition (fat vs muscle) into consideration.

I think you are over thinking it. Any BMR calculator is an estimate at best and may or may not be exactly indicative of what your true BMR is.

The point of the activity setting on MFP is to estimate how many calories you spend in a normal day (again, excluding exercise). They'll take that activity level and use it to figure a multiplier for your BMR. (for example, I think sedentary uses a multiplier of 1.2, because even if you sit around most of the day, it's expected you'll expend about 20% more calories than coma-level.) that is how your maintenance (excluding exercise) is figured, and then a deficit is figured from that depending on your weight loss goal.