Setting my activity level...

mschurr2014
mschurr2014 Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
Hey everyone, I'm pretty new at this but I'm really trying my best to do this diet right. Right now I have my activity level set to sedentary because I basically sit around all day (waiting for the semester to start) other than working out for about an hour to an hour and a half daily. Would it help to set my activity level higher (I do 30-60 minutes of cardio and the 30 day shred every night) even though I don't do much for the rest of the day?

Right now my calorie goal is set to 1200 and I do my best to eat back most of the exercise calories (healthy food- salmon, Greek yogurt, bananas, or whole wheat toast w natural PB) after my workout. It's really hard for me to get to the goal because I don't have much of an appetite but I don't want to end up in starvation mode (MFP always warns me).

Thank you for any help! And good luck to everyone on your weight loss journeys :)

Replies

  • Rollersaurus1
    Rollersaurus1 Posts: 6 Member
    Are you logging your exercise? That's very important to do every day.
    Once you log your food, MFP will give you "extra calories from exercise". You can eat up to that amount as well and still lose the weight, ie, if you run and log that you burned say 500 calories then you should aim to eat the 1200 that MFP allows as a base plus up to 500 calories more (1700 in total in that case).
    If you are sedentary for most of the day besides exercise then leave it at sedentary, activity level is for non logged activity, not the exercixe you are logging.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Nope. Stay at sedentary, log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories. If you aren't losing after a few weeks, only eat back half your exercise calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • shanDrum
    shanDrum Posts: 10 Member
    Yes, you need to set your activity level higher to account for the time you are working out. You will have a calorie deficit to account for and myfitnesspal does the calculations for you when you enter your workouts. Your goal should be to stay at 1200 cal a day. So for example. if you are working out and burn 600. That would mean that you are only taking in 600 cal a day, because you burned the other half with activity. So you should try to strive for 1800 a day. You don't want to hit starvation mode and go into a plateau. I know it may be hard to eat those cal. I, myself, have a hard time staying in range and consuming enough to eat. But, I do strive for the right number- sometimes, I hit it, sometimes I don't. Good luck on your journey.:smile:
  • mschurr2014
    mschurr2014 Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you everyone, the whole calorie deficit is a little confusing but it seems much clearer now. Usually I eat back most of my calories, although sometimes I'm still missing 200 (so equivalent to 1,000 cal for that day)

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