Sedentary vs. Lightly Active?

whatascene
whatascene Posts: 119 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've reached a halt in my weight loss and from exploring the boards I found there could be a lot of reasons, one being that sometimes MFP doesn't really calculate what people who exercise to help lose the weight should be eating, and that sometimes eating more will help you lose weight (I'm 5'6'', weigh 148lbs, and get 1310 a day) I've had my MFP set to sedentary since I started to get less calories (I don't really know how much this would change if I moved it to lightly active). What do you guys suggest, should I move this setting?

On a good week I run 30-35 min 5x a week (usually an 11-12 minute mile pace), on a bad week I do this 3x a week.
I also walk on avg 3-5 miles per week.
On avg I belly dance 2 hours a week, this does not include my gigs or performances.

My job is primarily sitting though.

Replies

  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    That doesn't sound sedentary to me....

    I have mine set to sedentary because I literally do not move from in front of my computer these days unless it's to use the facilities or open the back door to let the dogs out. Not as a job - this is my day as a whole. At most, I'll get dragged out to go pick up something from a store, but it's drive there and drive back. Even *that* little bit has me wondering if mine should really be set at sedentary vs. lightly active. When I get back into school, I'll set mine to lightly active for sure because I'll be walking from class to class, and if I was working still, it would be set one level higher than that for all the lifting my job entailed. Your activity level looks waaaaaay higher than sedentary. Setting it to lightly active (at least) would give you more calories to eat.
  • SharonNehring
    SharonNehring Posts: 535 Member
    If you leave it at sedentary, you need to make sure you are logging all of your activities and eating back at least half of the calories burnt.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    MFP activity = your daily every day activity without workouts. You're supposed to add your workouts separately.

    If you'd rather not bother, use the TDEE method (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) with a 20% deficit.
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
    Interesting. I have mine set to sedentary because I have a desk job, but log 50 miles a week running and 2 miles a day dog walking.
  • Shyde1010
    Shyde1010 Posts: 3 Member
    same here i have a desk job but do try to workout on my cross trainer or walking/slow jogging 3 times a week but still have mine set at sedentary should i have it at light active??
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    MFP explains the activity levels badly. Few people are really sedentary as it is defined, regardless of their job. I have a desk job, but my FitBit (and subsequent analysis of my calories in and losses) convinced me that I'm normally more like lightly active to moderately active, just based on walking around (stuff I don't log--if you are down as sedentary and don't correct in any other way, it really is better to log pretty much all activity, IMO, but even better to use the correct activity level). I do live in a city, so might walk more than average in some ways, but I don't have kids I'm chasing after and probably do less housework than many, etc. You really don't need that much activity to be at least lightly active. I recommend that everyone really look at what they do and strongly consider choosing at least lightly active if they aren't using a FitBit or some other device that corrects for actual activity. And if you are, you should not dismiss the additional calories as not real, but eat them back.

    That's just activity level. I also (of course, it's what the MFP method intends) log and eat back at least some of my exercise calories. How much depends on how hungry I am, how many I get, how trustworthy I think the calorie count is, etc. You again can just let something like a FitBit do it for you or use a method like TDEE where it doesn't matter on a daily basis, but there you certainly wouldn't be sedentary since your exercise would be included in the activity level.
  • Diddy0621
    Diddy0621 Posts: 4 Member
    Wow, I logged on to ask this same question! Any help would be great! IIFYM tells me to eat way more than MFP.... Before I found this out, I was eating far less calories than I should have been and was feeling tired, hungry, and constipated (I know TMI). However since I began eating more calories after my workout, I feel a lot better and the scale is finally moving downward. Yay!!! The big problem is do I go with IIFYM or MFP and simply eat at least half of the calories I burn. I usually try to burn between 500-700 cals and I work out about 5x a week. What are others doing???
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Wow, I logged on to ask this same question! Any help would be great! IIFYM tells me to eat way more than MFP.... Before I found this out, I was eating far less calories than I should have been and was feeling tired, hungry, and constipated (I know TMI). However since I began eating more calories after my workout, I feel a lot better and the scale is finally moving downward. Yay!!! The big problem is do I go with IIFYM or MFP and simply eat at least half of the calories I burn. I usually try to burn between 500-700 cals and I work out about 5x a week. What are others doing???

    Sounds like six of one a half dozen of the other. What do you prefer? The TDEE method is usually better suited to those who would just like to eat a fixed target every single day without worrying about exercise calories or not.

    I use the MFP method and watch an overall weekly deficit , and actually tend to eat more on non-exercise, slackerish days. It's just a preference. The only requirement to weight loss is a caloric deficit, however you get there
  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    So because I am actually sedentary (really, even my fitbit it gives me -at most- 100 extra calories to eat back on top of MFP's sedentary number) doing the TDEE - 20% method goes under 1200. I like MFPs numbers more! :-P

    Fitbit's dashboard gives me under 1000 a day, which is even worse. I really don't want to have to drop my weight loss to half a pound a week, so I just stick to the 1200 a day (but I don't sweat going a couple hundred over that when it happens). For now. If I do start moving more (school/work) then I'll change it.

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