Choosing activity level - SAHM

I am a SAHM to four kids. I picked activity as light. But I have a treadmill and go for walks every night, so I get more calories for the exercise. Right now, knowing I will be able to eat more if I exercise is my motivation to exercise.

Get a Fitbit. It will tell you how active you really are.

You need to log your exercise and eat those calories back. That makes 1200 net turn into 1500 or 1700 or more that you are eating. Walking a toddler around - or carrying one - is exercise. If you can afford it, try a fitbit. It automatically adds those calories in. Exercise calories make all the difference in the world.

It IS a long time. The weight may come off quickly, but to keep it off, you have to stay low for a long time.

I stay home with my kids and have my activity set to "lightly active." If you're chasing after a kid, changing diapers, making food, cleaning up, etc. then you are not sedentary. Being a SAHM, while it does give you a chance to sit down, is not the same as sitting at a desk job for 9 hours a day. I've managed to lose 23 lbs on this setting.

http://theskinnyequation.blogspot.com/p/weight-loss-calculators.html

Find your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). that is the amount of calories you expend in an average day. take the tdee (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculated and depending on your weight loss goal, shoot for 80-90% of that number. Remember to keep it above your BMR. My BMR is 1574, TDEE is 2165, 80% of TDEE is 1732. I set my calories for 1600 but do eat back most to all exercise. I've only been doing it around a week and am losing weight. I've seen the same general feedback on here (losing weight) by following that method. I would suggest sedentary level and you should see higher than 1200 (I think at least).

I'm a SAHM as well. I, also, have a fitbit and have am pretty sedentary according to it on lazy days.

What I've discovered:
1- I apparently burn more calories then fitbit and mfp think. (averaging 2lbs per week loss with only 1lb per week setting)
2- Shopping trips (even short ones to grab one or two items) will bump me up to lightly active.
3- Taking a walk can bump me up to at least lightly active (depends on length).
4- Deep Cleans (moving furniture, steam cleaning carpet, ect) bumps me to lightly active. Regular cleaning (picking up toys, dishes, ect) isn't enough to take me out of sedentary.
5- Exercise won't move me to lightly active unless I do at least an hour (ya...not gonna happen )

So I have mine set at lightly active and just take penalties on my lazy days (fitbit deducts calories).

As for calories consumed vs loss, here are my recent 90 day reports. Oh and keep in mind, I'm only 5'4.5". So it's not like I'm really tall or anything.

First graph is Total Calories consumed:



Even scarier is my Net Calories graph: (total - exercise)


And my weight loss (I weigh at random times):

Hi, I'm a sahm for a 3 year old and a 5 month old. I have my profile set to sedentary but then i log the minutes/hours spent cleaning or any walking i do etc as this all adds extra calories to your day so i suppose it's similar to setting your profile to litghtly activr and not putting activities like cleaning in. Ive lost 11lbs in 4 weeks this way. Hope this helps and congratulations on your new arrival!