Help with activity level, and how many calories I need

jubeesh

Hi everyone! I am struggling with trying to figure out how many calories I need since I started my new job. When I was sedentary it seemed so much easier to go by what MFP said. For the record, I HAVE read In Place of a Road Map and multiple forum posts but I am so bad with math and numbers I just get confused. I also don't know what to use as my activity level so if anyone can help me out I would appreciate it. I am a kennel technician at an animal shelter and I work between 5-10 hours a day, 5 days a week. I am on my feet almost the entire day, sometimes walking around the building, sometimes just standing (cleaning, dishes, feeding, etc)

Also, I am so confused with the BMR/TDEE numbers, and using them to figure out how much I should be eating. I don't know how to figure out my TDEE without knowing my activity level, but according to mfp my BMR is 1993.

I appreciate any suggestions anyone is able to offer me. Thanks!

RobynMWilson

Congrats on the new job! I would change your activity level on MFP to "moderately active" and still log your workouts as usual. Because you're adjusting your activity level, don't log your work as a workout.

Ie: I'm a school bus driver, which really falls under "lightly active" b/c it takes some cal burn to drive a 15 ton vehicle, plus sweeping, fixing seatbelts, all the walking we do through the bus yard, fueling etc. Then I'm always straightening up the house, changing trash and taking it out, playing w the cats, etc. But I'm also sedentary when I'm working at home so I did my activity level for "lightly active", don't log my cleaning or sweeping the bus as workouts and ONLY log my actual workouts.