screen shot if yesterdays "calorie burn"
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Can someone clarify the different activity levels for me?
I started here just over two months ago - I work from home at a computer-related job, so I was *definitely* the poster child for sedentary,
and have MFP set accordingly. My only current form of exercise is walking, and I track that with a Fitbit Zip, which is enabled to record negative adjustments. I'm currently walking in the 12 to 15K range of steps per day, having worked my way up.
What will happen if I up my activity level on MFP to lightly active or higher? Or should I just leave well enough alone? I don't eat back all of my earned calories (maybe between 25 and 30% because I'm post menopausal and have hypo-thyroid, plus leaving wiggle room for inaccuracies in food logging or Fitbit calculations), my macros are set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and so far, so good. I want everything to be as accurate as possible, so should I change it? Leave it? And what exactly changes at a higher activity level?
I don't think this is all meant to be so confusing, but lordie it is! 0 -
I currently work from home remotely and most of my exercise is walking. I have my activity level set to sedentary and let Fitbit=>MFP adjust my calories based on activity. I have had work bomb days where I barely move away from my computer and it's good to see the consequences in the form of a smaller calorie allowance.0
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snickerscharlie wrote: »Can someone clarify the different activity levels for me?
The activity levels just help MFP give you the right number of calories to start the day with. If you need (or want) to plan all your food for the day first thing in the morning, then setting your activity level accurately is important.
So, some people set their activity level to reflect their normal level of activity, including exercise. So, a person with a desk job but who exercises every day might set it to the same level as someone who rarely exercises, but has a job that involves a moderate amount of standing and walking. In this case, the goal is to find a setting such that for most days they end the day with a minimal "Fitbit calorie adjustment" - either positive or negative, but as close to zero as possible.
Other people (me included) set their activity level to what would correspond to their job or their natural activity level. So, someone with a desk job (or someone like me - I'm retired and my natural inclination is to be inactive) would set their activity level to Sedentary even if they normally get an average of 17K steps (my current average) because they exercise daily. In this case, someone like that ends up with a large positive Fitbit calorie adjustment by the end of the day. This approach works well for me. I'm more motivated by seeing the extra calories I'm awarded by being active than I am by starting the day with more calories. If I started the day with more calories, but didn't get into a positive calorie adjustment until evening, I'd get discouraged and probably move less.0 -
Thank you Nancy! That explained it well.
I will leave my setting at sedentary, because I don't want to be automatically allotted more calories at the beginning of each day by setting a higher activity level on MFP. I want to earn them directly through walking. I enjoy seeing the impact my activity has on the # of 'bonus' calories I'm allocated through Fitbit. 0 -
I'd suggest too that if you are willing to trust the initial calorie eating goal without knowing how it came about - then accept the correction that MFP makes using the Fitbit stats, and trust still eating your calorie goal.
That adjustment can be useful encouragement. I think that's why folks like seeing the steps too, or Active Minutes.0 -
I am retired and inactive except for walking 15k steps a day. I have my activity level set for sedentary. Prior to getting this my second fit it I was using Map my fitness app to log my walking outside and on the treadmill. Now I let fitbit do the lot. I try not to eat back calories but occasionally go over my daily allowance when I am hungry. Maybe I should up to lightly active which just means that at the end of the day I would have a deficit of maybe 400 to 500 calories instead of 700 to 900 calories. Makes no difference if you are not eating back the deficit. Probably in the mind but not the body.0
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christinev297 wrote: »I think i was naive in thinking that my fitbit would simply work out my steps, and then mfp would give me my calorie burn.
No, you weren't naive. Don't over-think it.
I do exactly what you thought you'd be able to do. I let my Fitbit detect my steps (and my heart rate now, since I got the HR), compute a calorie burn from that (and, of course the other settings such as age, height & weight) and let MFP tell me how many calories I can eat. I eat those calories and I'm losing at the expected rate.
Unless you are unusual (like the person who posted recently whose job involves dancing in a heavy "character" costume), you should relax, trust your Fitbit, and give it a little time to see if it works for you.
Tune out the people who say that Fitbits don't work (they do for many, don't for a few), that walking isn't exercise (they're wrong - I burned almost 700 calories today on a 4 mile walk), or that you need to do complex calculations to get your exact calorie burn (only if you're an athlete working towards a specific goal, I'd think).
The only reason to worry about getting the right activity level is so that you have a better prediction early in the day as to how many calories you'll be able to eat.
This. I had to make a minor adjustment to my MFP goal - my FitBit was overestimating by 100ish calories. Otherwise, just let the FitBit feed adjustments into MFP when you sync it over the course of the day.0 -
focused4health wrote: »I am retired and inactive except for walking 15k steps a day. I have my activity level set for sedentary. Prior to getting this my second fit it I was using Map my fitness app to log my walking outside and on the treadmill. Now I let fitbit do the lot. I try not to eat back calories but occasionally go over my daily allowance when I am hungry. Maybe I should up to lightly active which just means that at the end of the day I would have a deficit of maybe 400 to 500 calories instead of 700 to 900 calories. Makes no difference if you are not eating back the deficit. Probably in the mind but not the body.
You really should eat back your exercise calories. Losing weight tends to induce the body to become more efficient at using the calories you eat. Exercise can help counteract that but only to a point. If you have too big a calorie deficit you're not going to lose fat faster, you're going to lose muscle. The recommendation is 1/2 pound per week for every 25 pounds you have to lose and 1 pound a week is a 500 calorie daily deficit. Your calorie allotment from MFP already has the deficit you asked for built into it, so when you don't eat back your exercise calories, you're creating an even bigger deficit. Perhaps too big. I have MFP set for a 250 daily calorie deficit, but I know that I can safely lose up to 1.5 pounds per week, so if I have more than 500 calories left at the end of the day, I have a bedtime snack.0 -
Hi,
i have found that the fitbit app is the best for 'keeping everything in order'.
i log my food with My Fitness Pal and when exercising i use endomondo sports tracking app with a heart rate monitor, basically because that app has the best set up for indoor excercising (treadmill, bike etc) but also has a good variety of outdoor activities listed (snowboarding, skiing etc).
i sync My Fitness Pal and endomondo with Fitbit rather than with eachother, i really do find that the tracking and desktop graphics of Fitbit are hard to beat.
i have attached my screen shot off my phone from today.
linking everything to fitbit really does make the whole keeping track and cal in vs out clearly visible.
hope this info is useful.
Craic
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