What is "lightly active"?

candicecountscalories
candicecountscalories Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
I work in retail and usually break a sweat while I'm working. Does this count? I only work 3-4 days a week. Thanks :)

Replies

  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    I manage a bar and rarely break a sweat but spend most of my shift walking around, lifting and moving things. I work 4 nights a week (40 hours) and have been wearing a BodyMedia Fit which measures activity and calories burned. On days I work, I am "very active" and on days I don't work I am "lightly active." If I average it out, I am somewhere more than moderately active. It would probably be similar for you. I take between 10,000 and 14,000 steps per shift (if you have access to a cheap pedometer you could check).
  • dan323
    dan323 Posts: 271 Member
    Any Activity that's not very heavy.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    MFP's definitions are:

    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)

    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)

    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)

    So I'd say you were lightly active when working, and if you find you're not losing at the rate you have in your goals, think about adjusting. It also depends whether you keep up similar levels of non-exercise activity on your days off. I walk 5 miles without thinking about it on work days, but if I don't deliberately walk or run at weekend I barely top 1.5 miles!

    Edit: Bear in mind that unlike some other methods of calorie calculation, MFP does not take your exercise into account in the activity level, and you should record "formal" exercise separately.
  • docpagala7
    docpagala7 Posts: 3
    From what I gather, any activity that elevates your heart rate in a sustained manner for 20 minutes or more is an aerobic activity. This kind of sustained activity is best for burning calories. Example: Sustained medium paced walking or bicycling.
  • JoRumbles
    JoRumbles Posts: 262 Member
    I set mine's at lightly active. I am on maternity leave at the moment, looking after my baby and 3yo. I do spend some of the day sitting on the sofa but I also run around cleaning up, going to the park etc.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    MFP's definitions are:

    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)

    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)

    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)

    So I'd say you were lightly active when working, and if you find you're not losing at the rate you have in your goals, think about adjusting. It also depends whether you keep up similar levels of non-exercise activity on your days off. I walk 5 miles without thinking about it on work days, but if I don't deliberately walk or run at weekend I barely top 1.5 miles!

    Edit: Bear in mind that unlike some other methods of calorie calculation, MFP does not take your exercise into account in the activity level, and you should record "formal" exercise separately.

    I'm a teacher, and lightly active, plus exercise calories, lost me twice as much as mfp predicted. I even lose weight on mfp's highly active maintenance plus exercise. My fit bit gets closer, but I still lose weight on its maintenance calories. So I'd say, experiment.

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