Advice on calorie intake and sedentary vs. lightly active.

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  • Betty_Canada
    Betty_Canada Posts: 85 Member
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    I've always assumed if you didn't workout consistently everyday you were not lightly active, don't ask me where I got these assumptions from... haha. I also read somewhere to always 'set it one below where you think it should be' and that is why I always used sedentary. Honestly, when I first started I assumed anyone as fat as me couldn't be active in the least! I see now that perhaps I should think of myself as lightly active. I just have to remember if upping my calories a little doesn't help or makes things worse, I can always take a step back. Thank you for your input.

    That's okay, I've always made the same assumption. I think it has to do with the diet and fitness industry telling us for decades that nothing counts unless it involves handing them money for a gym membership. We're just brainwashed is all. *grin*

    I second HelloItsDan's great road map thread. He explains it in a way that makes sense. I'm eating somewhere between 1450-1600 calories a day with a target of 1500 because I can't function on 1400 or less. I never really knew why until I saw that my Katch McArdle BMR is only around 1250 calories, so at 1375 (which another site suggested), I was literally on the edge of starving once I factored in my activity.. Unless you are about three foot nothing, you can't survive on 1,000 calories a day long term unless your diet is nothing but protein and fat. And the lack of any variety will drive you mad long before you make any progress.

    Mostly my calorie add back ins are fruit, nuts (almonds and cashews and sunflower seeds, mostly), cheese, pickles, garlic sausage, and smoothies made with pure whey protein, fruit and yogurt. Your mileage may vary.

    Riley'sOwner: Thanks for clarifying on the lightly active issue. Like you, I have a bum knee, and some days on the weekend, it decides we're not walking, or it's too cold to walk (I live in an area where -40C highs in the winter are not unheard of), so my exercise level does fluctuate somewhat. But it's good to know I'm on the right track with tracking it manually. I generally only worry about eating it back if it's enough that eating normally would put me under 1300 - usually if it's 1/3 or more of my calorie intake in exercise, I'll eat half of it back. I went through this kind of stupid thing for a few weeks where I was packing and moving 40-50 pound boxes for delivery at work and then I was eating most of it back because my net calories would have ended up being <500 a day for weeks on end if I hadn't. :)

    =Betty=

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