Activity Level Question

hunderwoman
hunderwoman Posts: 101 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just have a quick question about where to set my activity level. I have always had it set at sedentary, as I have a desk job where I thought I got very little exercise. However, over the past week or so, I started using a pedometer that measure the distance I travel daily, and on days where I have 0 intentional exercise, I average between 2 and 5 miles walked. My calories with MFP are set at 1390 but I am starting to wonder if that is just too few.

So my question… does walking between 2-5 miles throughout the course of my day constitute lightly active even though there is no exercise included, or should I keep my level at sedentary?

Thanks so much in advance for your advice.

Replies

  • hunderwoman
    hunderwoman Posts: 101 Member
    Anyone??? Please and Thank you!
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    By looking at my fitbit figures, I get over the sedentary category at 5000 steps. Does that help.
  • AckieJ
    AckieJ Posts: 199 Member
    Bumping. I'm curious too!
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    If you are losing weight with what you are currently eating, I would not change it. However, if you stop losing I would consider it. Besides, its not like going from sedentary to lightly active is going to be a massive amount of calories different.
  • Fvaisey
    Fvaisey Posts: 5,506 Member
    I see you've lost 33 pounds! Congrats! Can't tell how long that's taken, which makes me wonder how fast you are losing the weight. I think that would be the best indicator for you. If it's coming off slowly then I don't believe you would want to raise your calorie intake.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
    2-5 miles is lightly active not sedentary so you should be eating a little more. I list myself as sedentary and have a HRM watch and low days with just work, driving and home in evening is 1-2 miles anything more than this counts as exercise and I eat more.
  • laurynwithawhy
    laurynwithawhy Posts: 385 Member
    It depends on your height and weight, but yes your calories may be too low. You are probably in the lightly active category, so you can try resetting your MFP info to reflect that. Also, you can check out this thread for more info on BMR, TDEE, and calorie deficit. It's super helpful!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    I would say lightly active on days you get over 3 miles.. though it shouldn't change your calorie goal by too much... If you have been losing regurarly I wouldn't worry about it though.. however if you haven't adjusted since you've lost the weight maybe it is time to re-evaluate?
  • wigglypeaches
    wigglypeaches Posts: 146 Member
    I have a desk job, but I keep my settings at lightly active to include all of the little things I do during the day; a few miles of walking, cooking and taking the stairs, for example. I just don't include any of that as exercise, and I try to make sure I'm moving at least a few times a day even outside of my dedicated workouts.

    [Edit]: I should mention that I'm eating 1800-1900 calories, and I'm happy with the progress. I should also mention that I'm not trying to lost more than 10-15 lbs. 1300-1400 hundred seems WAY too low to me, but take that with a grain of salt.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    To the OP...if you're happy with the progress, I wouldn't change a thing. If you feel the need, you can always manually bump your calories up. I had to do that because I was burning more than sedentary and feeling hunger pangs..I upped my calories by a mere 40 and it made all the difference for me.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    This dilemma messed with me so much I eventually got a BodyMedia to calculate my real-life steps, activity level, and calorie burn. According to BodyMedia readouts, I hardly ever reach "moderate" activity level just puttering around in the office, even though I rack up the steps going all over the place. However, if I go out and walk up and down the halls around the building (which I do several times a day) that gets me into the "moderate" range. So yes, my guess is your activity level would qualify as "light" instead of "sedentary".

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