How do you determine activity level?

LorinaLynn

With only 50-some pounds to lose, two pounds a week is really pushing it. Two pounds a week is more for those who have 75+ pounds to lose. You might be able to get away with a pound and a half a week for a little while.

Generally speaking, if you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal (1000 calorie deficit). If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal (750 calorie deficit). If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal (500 calories). If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal (500-250). If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal (250).

Mokey41

I'd set your MFP budget to lightly active because even though you're on your feet all day just walking around in your job won't be burning a huge amount of calories regardless of what FitBit says. You need to have your heart rate significantly elevated for 20 minutes or more to get into big calorie burns. Since you don't do intentional exercise I wouldn't eat anything beyond the budget that MFP gives you. From looking at your diary you overshoot your budget significantly every day so try to stick to it and not over eat.

If you see that you're losing huge amounts of weight quickly you can always adjust upwards later.

honeylissabee

I'd set your MFP budget to lightly active because even though you're on your feet all day just walking around in your job won't be burning a huge amount of calories regardless of what FitBit says. You need to have your heart rate significantly elevated for 20 minutes or more to get into big calorie burns. Since you don't do intentional exercise I wouldn't eat anything beyond the budget that MFP gives you. From looking at your diary you overshoot your budget significantly every day so try to stick to it and not over eat.

If you see that you're losing huge amounts of weight quickly you can always adjust upwards later.

I'm actually tracking what I eat normally. This is my first week on MFP. I just want to see where I'm starting. Usually, I jump right into a diet, but this time, I really want to track my current intake for at least a week to get a good starting point.

Does it make a difference that I'm on my feet MOVING all day? I don't just stand still. Whenever I have to stand, I'm always moving my feet- I can't stand still.

I just find it so weird that I am earning so many exercise calories when I set my activity level to lightly active when I'm not working out regularly. However, when I set it to very active, I am pretty much right on target with my calorie burn from Fitbit matching MFP.

This is so confusing!

es2189

I'd set your MFP budget to lightly active because even though you're on your feet all day just walking around in your job won't be burning a huge amount of calories regardless of what FitBit says. You need to have your heart rate significantly elevated for 20 minutes or more to get into big calorie burns. Since you don't do intentional exercise I wouldn't eat anything beyond the budget that MFP gives you. From looking at your diary you overshoot your budget significantly every day so try to stick to it and not over eat.

If you see that you're losing huge amounts of weight quickly you can always adjust upwards later.

I'm actually tracking what I eat normally. This is my first week on MFP. I just want to see where I'm starting. Usually, I jump right into a diet, but this time, I really want to track my current intake for at least a week to get a good starting point.

Does it make a difference that I'm on my feet MOVING all day? I don't just stand still. Whenever I have to stand, I'm always moving my feet- I can't stand still.

I just find it so weird that I am earning so many exercise calories when I set my activity level to lightly active when I'm not working out regularly. However, when I set it to very active, I am pretty much right on target with my calorie burn from Fitbit matching MFP.

This is so confusing!

It sounds like you pretty much understand what's going on, so no need to listen to people who are confused themselves. Yes, it obviously matters that you move all day. You have a fitbit for a reason: to see how many calories you are actually burning. It doesn't matter what MFP says; those are just estimates. Figure out which activity level corresponds to the average number of calories that you burn per day. It seems to me like it's probably the highest level of activity, given that I burn about 2200 a day and I'm at the second highest. Again, that will just be an estimate, but you can use it to pre-track and then on days when you end up burning a lot more, you can have an extra tablespoon of peanut butter or a half an avocado in the evening.

honeylissabee

I think I may set my device to allow for negative calorie adjustments. I am pretty lazy on the weekends. I went on a 2 mile round-trip walk to get my nails done today, and I STILL had a lower calorie burn than I do on my work days, so unless I really try, I have a hard time being as active on the weekends as I am during the work week. Then, I don't have to worry about over-eating if I'm inactive because my target will adjust- and it will also motivate me to stay more active on the weekends.

kabertrand63

I think I may set my device to allow for negative calorie adjustments. I am pretty lazy on the weekends. I went on a 2 mile round-trip walk to get my nails done today, and I STILL had a lower calorie burn than I do on my work days, so unless I really try, I have a hard time being as active on the weekends as I am during the work week. Then, I don't have to worry about over-eating if I'm inactive because my target will adjust- and it will also motivate me to stay more active on the weekends.

Sounds like you just should use MFP numbers and forget about TDEE. I mean, it's totally find to use TDEE-20% even on days you don't exercise.