Activity level - confused.

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mollyfassbender
mollyfassbender Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

I am so confused, so I'm trying to calculate the amount of calories I have to eat, and I know my BMR, but I can't figure out my activity level.
I'm gonna go to college in January, so now I don't work or study, just like a housewife, helping around the house.
But anyway, every day I work out and burn around 500-700 cals.
What activity level am I? Light active? Moderate or Highly?

Thank you!

Replies

  • katamus
    katamus Posts: 2,363 Member
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    Do you log you exercise? If you log all of your exercise every day, then set yourself to sedentary and eat back your exercise calories.

    If you want to set yourself for active or something, it'll factor in that you're working out. So you don't need to log your exercise and therefore not eat back exercise calories.

    If you're manually setting up your goals, it doesn't matter anyway. It won't ask you what your activity level is at that point.
  • mollyfassbender
    mollyfassbender Posts: 9
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    I'm doing it with this formula:

    How many calories should i eat a day? This is the equation that i use to determine my calorie intake:

    For WOMEN: 655 + (4.35 x Weight in pounds)+(4.7 x Height in inches) - (4.7x Age)= BMR The amount of calories your body burns just from being alive

    FOR MEN: 66+(6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - ( 6.8 age in years)= BMR. that amount of calories you burn just from being alive.

    Step 2: Take that number and multiply by your activity level:
    1.2 Sedentary (little to no exercise)
    1.375 Lightly Active (1-3 days a week)
    1.55 Moderately Active (3-5 days a week)
    1.7 Very Active (6-7 days a week)

    Step 3:
    LOSE weight: Subtract 500
    MAINTAIN weight: keep the number the same
    GAIN weight: Add 500

    The final number is the amount of calories you should eat a day
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
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    That formula gives me the exact same results as the Harris-Benedict formula. See Fat2Fitradio.com to double check your math for yourself. MFP uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equations, and for me that comes out slightly lower than Harris-Benedict (1970 vs 2094 for a 6'2", 214 lb, 36 yr old male). Do understand that any and all equations are just estimates for BMR.

    As Katamus said, first decide if you want to log all your exercise or if you want a base amount of exercise rolled into your activity level. If you want to log your exercise, either because your exercise amount will vary everyday or just because you want to, set your activity level at either sedentary or lightly active. Based on your limited information given, I would recommend sedentary for now. Once you start school, assuming you'll be walking around the campus a good bit, then it might be time to switch to lightly active.
  • mollyfassbender
    mollyfassbender Posts: 9
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    So if I log in my exercise, then I can eat burned calories, right? I just need exact number, so I don't starve myself. Because my daily net is around 1000 every day and I wonder if it's too low.
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
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    I'm doing it with this formula:

    How many calories should i eat a day? This is the equation that i use to determine my calorie intake:

    For WOMEN: 655 + (4.35 x Weight in pounds)+(4.7 x Height in inches) - (4.7x Age)= BMR The amount of calories your body burns just from being alive

    FOR MEN: 66+(6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - ( 6.8 age in years)= BMR. that amount of calories you burn just from being alive.

    Step 2: Take that number and multiply by your activity level:
    1.2 Sedentary (little to no exercise)
    1.375 Lightly Active (1-3 days a week)
    1.55 Moderately Active (3-5 days a week)
    1.7 Very Active (6-7 days a week)

    Step 3:
    LOSE weight: Subtract 500
    MAINTAIN weight: keep the number the same
    GAIN weight: Add 500

    The final number is the amount of calories you should eat a day

    That formula has me at a total intake of only 860 calories per day to lose 1lb a week, that can't be right??
  • Ruthe8
    Ruthe8 Posts: 423 Member
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    That formula has me at a total intake of only 860 calories per day to lose 1lb a week, that can't be right??
    No, I really doubt it. Post your numbers and we can check your math.
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
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    That formula has me at a total intake of only 860 calories per day to lose 1lb a week, that can't be right??
    No, I really doubt it. Post your numbers and we can check your math.

    According to MFP my BMR is 1134, muliply that by 1.2 (sedentary) gives 1360, minus 500 = 860.

    My height is 5'4", I weigh 110lbs and I am 44 years old.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    That formula has me at a total intake of only 860 calories per day to lose 1lb a week, that can't be right??
    No, I really doubt it. Post your numbers and we can check your math.

    According to MFP my BMR is 1134, muliply that by 1.2 (sedentary) gives 1360, minus 500 = 860.

    My height is 5'4", I weigh 110lbs and I am 44 years old.

    That formula gives your BMR as 1227.5.

    655 + 4.35*110 + 4.7*64 - 4.7*44 = 1227.5
    1.2 * 1227.5 = 1473
    1473-500 = 973

    However, you are 5'4 and 110 lbs - you shouldn't be at a 500 calorie deficit anyways. MFP would cap you at 1200 calories I think because that is too big of a deficit. To be at that much of a deficit at your size, it needs to be from exercise so you are actually eating more than 1200 calories intake.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    Do you log you exercise? If you log all of your exercise every day, then set yourself to sedentary and eat back your exercise calories.

    If you want to set yourself for active or something, it'll factor in that you're working out. So you don't need to log your exercise and therefore not eat back exercise calories.

    If you're manually setting up your goals, it doesn't matter anyway. It won't ask you what your activity level is at that point.

    To the OP, THIS ^^^^^

    If you set your activity to sedentary and just log exercise, you don't go over your deficit on accident if you don't exercise every day.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    That formula has me at a total intake of only 860 calories per day to lose 1lb a week, that can't be right??
    No, I really doubt it. Post your numbers and we can check your math.

    According to MFP my BMR is 1134, muliply that by 1.2 (sedentary) gives 1360, minus 500 = 860.

    My height is 5'4", I weigh 110lbs and I am 44 years old.

    based on your height and weight a loss of 1 lb/week is much too aggressive considering you are already on the lower end of healthy weight. I would suggest a maximum goal of 0.5lbs/week and to eat back the cals burned from exercise.

    OP: if you choose sedentary then eat back the cals burned from exercise, otherwise choose the next level up for activity level to ensure you are netting at least 1200 cals.
  • carolg225
    carolg225 Posts: 29
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    Thanks for the info...I understand this much better than before. I did the calculations and I am right where i'm suppose to be!!!!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    Options
    I'm doing it with this formula:

    How many calories should i eat a day? This is the equation that i use to determine my calorie intake:

    For WOMEN: 655 + (4.35 x Weight in pounds)+(4.7 x Height in inches) - (4.7x Age)= BMR The amount of calories your body burns just from being alive

    FOR MEN: 66+(6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - ( 6.8 age in years)= BMR. that amount of calories you burn just from being alive.

    Step 2: Take that number and multiply by your activity level:
    1.2 Sedentary (little to no exercise)
    1.375 Lightly Active (1-3 days a week)
    1.55 Moderately Active (3-5 days a week)
    1.7 Very Active (6-7 days a week)

    Step 3:
    LOSE weight: Subtract 500
    MAINTAIN weight: keep the number the same
    GAIN weight: Add 500

    The final number is the amount of calories you should eat a day

    since you have less than 10lbs to lose your goal should be a deficit of 250/day, not 500, this way you get more cals, or take the number from step 2 and eat 80-90% of those cals to lose weight.
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
    Options
    That formula has me at a total intake of only 860 calories per day to lose 1lb a week, that can't be right??
    No, I really doubt it. Post your numbers and we can check your math.

    According to MFP my BMR is 1134, muliply that by 1.2 (sedentary) gives 1360, minus 500 = 860.

    My height is 5'4", I weigh 110lbs and I am 44 years old.

    That formula gives your BMR as 1227.5.

    655 + 4.35*110 + 4.7*64 - 4.7*44 = 1227.5
    1.2 * 1227.5 = 1473
    1473-500 = 973

    However, you are 5'4 and 110 lbs - you shouldn't be at a 500 calorie deficit anyways. MFP would cap you at 1200 calories I think because that is too big of a deficit. To be at that much of a deficit at your size, it needs to be from exercise so you are actually eating more than 1200 calories intake.

    MFP always keeps me at 1200 or 1400 when I go to maintenance but I want to lose another 3lb before maintaining again.
    I don't eat back my exercise calories on a regular basis but if I do then I'll only eat 2/3's.

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