Silly question about Daily Activity-Don't Judge :(

mommy_hood

So before starting my lifestyle I was completely sedentary, I have a bad hip and I babied it.

Since starting my new lifestyle ( hate calling it a diet because that is not what I want ) I have been making an effort to work out at least 3 times a week and just pushing through the hip pain ( Hoping that losing weight will cause it to hurt less due to less weight on it)

Now my question is when or should I change my daily activity from sendentary?

My original theory was to keep my daily level sedentary so it would give me the lowest possible TDEE and BMR so that I can use those numbers to set my calorie goal not going over my TDEE and not going under my BMR. Is that a good idea or best way to do it or should I change my Activity level?

With this theory would I need to eat my exercise calories or no?

xsmilexforxmex

if you're getting less than an hour those 3 days I'd keep it at sedentery but I would eat back enough excercise calories to get over net BMR but not all of them.

swimdaily

My Doctor reminded me we need to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound. Pedometer is a easy way for me to track steps through out day. I agree diet is such a negative word. Wishing you much sucess!

cmeiron

Congratulations on adding some exercise to your routine! That's a really great step, and hopefully it will help lessen your hip pain

You're not doing yourself any favours by starting with the lowest possible intake...what happens when you plateau, or lose a significant amount of weight? Will you drop your intake even further to an unhealthy level? Will you be able to sustain eating very low calories forever? Then don't start now.

I highly doubt that you're actually totally sedentary. Do you cook meals? Do dishes? Clean house? Go to work? Those all count.

I suggest adjusting your settings one up from sedentary (is it "lightly active"? - can't remember)...and take a look at that intake: is it at least as high as your actual BMR? Then give that a try for a while. If it's not at least as high as your BMR, then bump up the activity level one more notch.

Remember that your BMR is based on your age, weight and height more than anything else - it is NOT related to your activity level (it's what your body burns just existing, not moving even a little bit). You can calculate your BMR here: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ - note that you need to enter your current weight in both the "Current Weight" and "Goal Weight" boxes to get an accurate idea of your current BMR. This calculator will also estimate your TDEE for you. As long as you're eating between your BMR and TDEE you should drop weight.

And yes, do also log your exercise, and aim to hit your NET intake goal every day (i.e. eat at least some of your exercise calories back).

Gradual loss, and moderate rather than extreme deficits, will be better for you in the long run - you'll preserve your metabolism, retain lean body mass, and learn sustainable eating habits

mommy_hood

Cmeinrun- I actually did use the BMR site you linked to decide on my current calorie goal of 1600. I am a stay at home mom and do chores,clean, cook and what not but I don't really consider that a lot of activity due to no one home often to actually dirty up the house. lol...
The website you stated gave me this for my BMR-

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Harris-Benedict Formula-
There are a few different methods to calculating your basal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1819 calories.

Katch-McArdle Forumla-
The numbers above are fairly accurate, however they don't take into account your lean body mass. A more accurate formula that does take your lean body mass into account is the Katch-McArdle formula. Since many of us have scales that will tell us our current body fat, this formula may yield more accurate results. Based on the information you provided, body fat percentage of 54.4%, you have a lean body mass of 106 lbs., and your BMR is 1411 calories

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I actually want to lose 100 to 120 pounds so I did not start myself as low calorie as MFP recommended which was 1200 so my ultimate plan was try and stay above 1400 with my 1600 goal . Now for currant TDEE is stated:

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Activity Level - Daily Calories

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) -2183
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) -2501
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) -2819
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) -3138
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) -3456

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I have been going by the Katch-McArdle Forumla

With the my real goal weight (120 pounds) plugged in it says my TDEE is

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Activity Level - Daily Calories

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) -1598
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) -1832
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) -2065
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) -2298
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) - 2531

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now with my real goal it gives me a warning -

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Your goal calorie level is below your current BMR. Consider revising your goal weight to an intermediate weight. That way you are never eating below your BMR. When you reach that intermediate goal weight, readjust your calories and head for your ultimate goal.

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I think because it is using the Harris Benedict Formula . So when I put in my intermediate goal of 165 pounds it gives me the following TDEE-


Activity Level -Daily Calories

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) -1834
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) -2101
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) -2368
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) -2636
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) -2903

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So my goal was to get down to 165 reasses my numbers and go from there hopefully by then my exercise intake and daily activity will be higher allowing for more calories
I want to work up to being moderately active so I guess my theory was the more I lose weight and up my exercise the more calories I will intake to help me keep losing.... like the whole eat more to lose more??? Did I figure this right ?

If not what calorie intake would be good for me?? I am all ears because I am still all new to this !!! These are all my numbers if you need anything else please let me know and I will provide them !

HSingMomto7Kids

Some believe I should not have mine at sedentary but even though some days are more busy with the kids I still have it set there as it is where I am more comfortable with. Where are you comfortable with it at??

whitecapwendy

just make sure you are netting above 1200 calories

cmeiron

Ok, so your estimated BMR of 1600 seems reasonable since it's the average of the two scores.

You'll want to use the TDEE calculations for your current weight, not your goal weight. Your goal weight doesn't reflect the caloric need your body has RIGHT NOW, which is why the system was giving you a warning message. Every 10 lbs you lose you can recalculate these figures again and readjust accordingly.

Here's what I suggest (I'm not an expert, but this is what seems to have worked for many, many people here, including me. I believe it's a sane, healthy and sustainable approach that won't leave you feeling starving or deprived. You DON'T have to eat like a bird to lose weight

Since you're not sedentary, and you are working out a few times a week, I would say you could safely call yourself Lightly Active, which would make your TDEE an estimated 2501.

Since you want to lose about 100 lbs, you could create a larger deficit than someone who has, say, only 15 lbs to lose, so let's try a goal of TDEE -25% (this is really as high as you want to go. I'd personally do -20% but you can consider this as an example). With -25%, that would be 2501 - 625 = 1875 calories per day. It's a good number: slightly above your BMR and below your TDEE. Now, this number INCLUDES your exercise, so you won't need to log your exercise calories. You would eat this amount every day. As you get closer to your goal weight, you'll want to recalculate your numbers, and probably reduce that deficit to something closer to 20, then 15, then 10%. For example, right now I'm eating at a 10% deficit, and taking in about 2100 calories per day.

Now, you'll want to give this number a good try...like for 4 weeks. Weigh and measure your food carefully, log everything, and track your weight. At the end of the 4 weeks you will have a sense of whether it's a good fit for you - remember these are all estimates (I've done estimates for myself and found that I was losing faster than I wanted - in other words, that my TDEE was higher than I thought - so I increased the amount I was eating). If you find you're losing too quickly, add a couple hundred calories. If the scale's not budging or only going down .5lb/week, then reduce by a hundred or so and then try that on for a while. In addition to your normal exercise, do what you can to increase your other non-exercise activities - just move more!

You can set your intake goals manually to hit your desired intake goal by clicking on "Goals" under the "My Home" tab. If you'd like to think a bit about how you might want to adjust your protein, carb and fat intakes, you might want to look at this thread, which has some good information: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets. But really, if all this is new to you, you might just want to first focus on figuring out the caloric intake.

Anyways, I hope this helps!

mommy_hood

So taking all advice into consideration- I do not feel that I am quite lightly active I don't exercise more days than I do and I just do not feel comfortable calling myself lightly active until exercise become a natural daily activity.I also get a ton of motivation in tracking my exercise and seeing the amount of calories burned.With that said I think I will increase my calorie intake to 1700-1750 and eat that on non exercise days and then eat back some calories on exercise days. I believe that will put me at a 20 % deficit . I will also reasses after a month or so and make adjustments as needed and lower my deficit if needed. Thank so much for the advice everyone. I love hearing from people with firsthand experience!!!

kimad

I have nothing to add re TDEE and BMR, I just found something that works for me...

but I want to wish you luck with the hip pain.. before I lost weight I had such lower back pain it could be debilitating.. as I lost the weight I had some reoccurences, but honestly I can't remember the last time I had back pain

So I hope as you lose the weight you have the same success!

dsjohndrow

If your walks are intentional (not part of your daily life) then leave it at sedentary and log them. If you get 10,000 steps a day from work and walking to and from places, then up the setting.

Sjenny5891

So before starting my lifestyle I was completely sedentary, I have a bad hip and I babied it.

Since starting my new lifestyle ( hate calling it a diet because that is not what I want ) I have been making an effort to work out at least 3 times a week and just pushing through the hip pain ( Hoping that losing weight will cause it to hurt less due to less weight on it)

Now my question is when or should I change my daily activity from sendentary?

My original theory was to keep my daily level sedentary so it would give me the lowest possible TDEE and BMR so that I can use those numbers to set my calorie goal not going over my TDEE and not going under my BMR. Is that a good idea or best way to do it or should I change my Activity level?

With this theory would I need to eat my exercise calories or no?

I started out with Sedentary too. I ate back all my exercise calories because MFP already figures a loss into your goal.
Since you only work out a couple of days a week. I would leave it where it is and eat back the calories.

OneDimSim

I have mine set to "Sedentary" b/c i have a desk job.

I then log all of my exercise (which in turn adds exercise calories) which is 5 days a week, an hour each time. My calories are added back in (i don't eat these but i do understand by MFP dogma, i am supposed to!)

I I was to set my settings to "Moderately Active" - do i then still log my exercise? I don't think i would.....

OneDimSim

OP - seriously not a silly question! I was always sort of wondering about this too...

If i was a lumberjack with no added exercise this is a more clear cut example than an office dweller who moves intensely 5 hours a week!