please help me determine my 'activity level'

the_new_and_improved
the_new_and_improved Posts: 20
in Health and Weight Loss
hello. I currently am doing approx. 10 mins cardio (jogging/running) 4 days a week and weight lifting for 0.5-1 hours 4 days a week.
other than that I have a desk job with little to no exercise.
my goal is to gain muscle and lose fat (therefore maintaining weight). I would greatly appreciate your perspective on what activity level this would put me at, so I can get some idea of where my true TDEE is set.

Replies

  • the_new_and_improved
    the_new_and_improved Posts: 20
    bump
  • johned63
    johned63 Posts: 306 Member
    There are some TDEE calculators where you put in your total activities for the day so you can get a more accurate estimate. Based on what you posted I would put you no higher than lightly active.

    Here is one calculator where you put in the number of minutes on an average day for several activities to get your TDEE. http://doyoueven.com/tdee/
  • the_new_and_improved
    the_new_and_improved Posts: 20
    There are some TDEE calculators where you put in your total activities for the day so you can get a more accurate estimate. Based on what you posted I would put you no higher than lightly active.

    Here is one calculator where you put in the number of minutes on an average day for several activities to get your TDEE. http://doyoueven.com/tdee/

    thankyou so much john! I greatly appreciate your help. :)
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    If you are going to put lightly active, then you should not track your exercise on MFP (or at least not eat the calories it gives you).

    If you put sedentary, then track your exercise.

    If you put lightly active AND eat your exercise calories, you're double-dipping and may completely eliminate your deficit -- so choose one or the other.
  • nicleed
    nicleed Posts: 247 Member
    If you are going to put lightly active, then you should not track your exercise on MFP (or at least not eat the calories it gives you).

    If you put sedentary, then track your exercise.

    If you put lightly active AND eat your exercise calories, you're double-dipping and may completely eliminate your deficit -- so choose one or the other.

    You are going to get differing opinions on this - so here's mine. I work at home as a writer. So spend a lot of time on my *kitten*. But I also do chores, shopping, walk kids to school etc. I have mine set to lightly active and eat back most exercise cals (from heart rate monitor). Even if you have a desk job, you are likely walking to and from public transport (or car park), doing groceries, walking around the office etc. I would only put sedentary if you were truly couch-bound due to injury or similar.

    And you won't gain muscle on too much of a deficit.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If you are going to put lightly active, then you should not track your exercise on MFP (or at least not eat the calories it gives you).

    If you put sedentary, then track your exercise.

    If you put lightly active AND eat your exercise calories, you're double-dipping and may completely eliminate your deficit -- so choose one or the other.
    Depends almost entirely on which method was used for determining your TDEE. If you use the one provided on this site (the NEAT method), you'd still eat back your calories, because the deficit is built into the TDEE. Other methods - there are several listed at Scooby's Workshop, for instance - don't include a deficit and therefore don't expect you to eat back your exercise calories.

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