Lightly active or active?

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cocobot2013
cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hello! I was just wondering what everyone's input would be for this, I'm set at lightly active, I'm 5 ft 9 inches and around 120-125 pounds, (yes I know it's right at underweight,please no negative comments) but I was wondering if I should set it to active? I don't use a fitbit or anything or ever add in my exercise calories since I'm not sure what it would be exactly. I work 7-8 hours 5 days a week standing on my feet and walking around, also run on the treadmill for 40 minutes twice a week with a ten minute ab video, then on my two days off I do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training two of those days.
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Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Active AND eat back exercise calories.
  • vanbrita
    vanbrita Posts: 14 Member
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    Good post. Francl27 ... should we not eat back the exercise calories? I've always wondered that. It may explain why it has taken me so long to lose weight. I have lost 24 lbs in two years, while others on here seem to drop the pounds very quickly.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    Eat back true exercise calories for sure: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Faithful_Chosen/view/why-you-should-eat-to-your-mfp-goal-including-true-exercise-calories-763982

    Your work most likely makes you 'active'. Log all purposeful exercise calories separate and eat them back. Fully if HRM measured, otherwise, 50 to 75 percent, depending.
  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    But I'm never sure on how many calories I've actually burned to log in? And I don't want to guess and overestimate! The treadmill usually is 260 but that's the only number I know of.. but should I switch it to active now instead and work with those calories? And just see how that goes without adding in exercise calories of any sort yet?
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Switch to active, regardless. Exercise has nothing to do with that :smile:

    For your exercise, find the MFP activity in the database, fill in the time you spent doing it, and start by eating back 50%. Then weigh yourself after a week, two weeks, and three weeks. Check if how much you have lost is the same as the goal you have set in MFP. If it's more, eat back 10% more of your exercise calories and reevaluate after two weeks. If it's less, eat back 10% less and reevaluate after two weeks. Once your weight loss is consistently the same as the goal you have set to lose, you know you are eating back the right amount of exercise calories :smile:
  • Josh_lol
    Josh_lol Posts: 317 Member
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    cocobot2013 wrote: »
    But I'm never sure on how many calories I've actually burned to log in? And I don't want to guess and overestimate! The treadmill usually is 260 but that's the only number I know of.. but should I switch it to active now instead and work with those calories? And just see how that goes without adding in exercise calories of any sort yet?
    There's quite a few exercises on this site that are listed under cardio. The calories always seem to be a little high though so just eat back like 50-75% of your exercise calories.
    As for your activity level, I'd say walking around for 8 hours a day and always being on your feet would put you as active. Lightly active is more for jobs that involve standing still and not moving around much but you're still on your feet.

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    cocobot2013 wrote: »
    But I'm never sure on how many calories I've actually burned to log in? And I don't want to guess and overestimate! The treadmill usually is 260 but that's the only number I know of.. but should I switch it to active now instead and work with those calories? And just see how that goes without adding in exercise calories of any sort yet?

    Activity setting is for your lifestyle and job, so ignore exercise and chose the correct activity setting you think best reflects your life.

    Very few people are truly sure of the calories they burn in exercise and it's simply not important for the vast majority of people to be accurate. Reasonable and consistent is all you need.
    If you are running at a steady speed then the estimate should be perfectly usable.

    Ask yourself why you think it's worse to overestimate than underestimate when your aim is to maintain your weight. One thing is certain about your exercise calorie burn - it's not zero!!

    In the end it comes down to picking a calorie goal and style of logging and then seeing what happens over a period of weeks.

  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    I'm a cake decorator so I'm standing in place decorating but I'm also going back and forth grabbing orders and supplies, filling up the cake case etc, does that still make it active? I'm just worried of overestimating and gaining. :( Thank you all so much for the replies! Also, do you guys worry if you go over any of your daily limits like sodium etc? (Not excessively but just over) or do you focus more on calorie?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    cocobot2013 wrote: »
    I'm a cake decorator so I'm standing in place decorating but I'm also going back and forth grabbing orders and supplies, filling up the cake case etc, does that still make it active? I'm just worried of overestimating and gaining. :( Thank you all so much for the replies! Also, do you guys worry if you go over any of your daily limits like sodium etc? (Not excessively but just over) or do you focus more on calorie?

    be conservative with your burns...but really, if you're underweight it would be beneficial to put on some weight.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    cocobot2013 wrote: »
    I'm a cake decorator so I'm standing in place decorating but I'm also going back and forth grabbing orders and supplies, filling up the cake case etc, does that still make it active? I'm just worried of overestimating and gaining. :( Thank you all so much for the replies! Also, do you guys worry if you go over any of your daily limits like sodium etc? (Not excessively but just over) or do you focus more on calorie?

    Go with 'active' and the method of sorting out your exercise calories like I wrote above. Even if you are actually lightly active (which I don't think), you will still be in a deficit on 'active', just not as big. The scale will tell you. Stop worrying about gaining weight. You won't. If you actually log everything and don't go over too much, it's virtually impossible to eat enough to gain.

    And I don't give a damn about the 'bad' micros out there, honestly. Sugar, sodium, etc. I track fiber, that's it. I try to mind my macros as well. Unless you have an illness, your micros are not going to affect you much--and especially not fat loss.
  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    I usually bank calories throughout the week as well to have some treats and a nice dinner out, I still log everything that day even though it's over my daily, I'm still at my weekly goal, but I don't like trying to eat lower throughout the week to make sure I have enough for this day, which is a big reason why I was wondering if I should set it to active, so I could have some more to eat during the week and be happy as well as go out on the weekend and maintain? I've maintained doing this so far with lightly active within that weekly goal, but active gives me about 2,000 more calories to work with and I'm nervous that extra 2,000 will make me gain! (Even though I know it desnt equal a pound, but an extra 2000 a week is like 2 pound gain every month??)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    cocobot2013 wrote: »
    I usually bank calories throughout the week as well to have some treats and a nice dinner out, I still log everything that day even though it's over my daily, I'm still at my weekly goal, but I don't like trying to eat lower throughout the week to make sure I have enough for this day, which is a big reason why I was wondering if I should set it to active, so I could have some more to eat during the week and be happy as well as go out on the weekend and maintain? I've maintained doing this so far with lightly active within that weekly goal, but active gives me about 2,000 more calories to work with and I'm nervous that extra 2,000 will make me gain! (Even though I know it desnt equal a pound, but an extra 2000 a week is like 2 pound gain every month??)

    if you've been maintaining and if that's your goal and you have your own data points to work with, I see little point in using one of these calculators...real world results and data trump population estimates that these calculators use. these calculators are just meant as reasonably good starting points for those who don't know...if you have your own data to work with, these calculators are pretty much useless.
  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    So since I've been maintaining with how ive been doing it then I'll probably gain with adding the extra 2,000 a week?
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    cocobot2013 wrote: »
    So since I've been maintaining with how ive been doing it then I'll probably gain with adding the extra 2,000 a week?

    You didn't mention you were maintaining before X'D

    Look, you can't cheat your body. If you maintain on this, upping your calorie intake is going to take you over. It does make me wonder how accurate your food logging is, though, because it seems to me you are 'eating away' the difference between 'lightly active' and 'active'...
  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    Yes I want to maintain! But I weigh all my food with a food scale, measuring cup and tablespoons. :( I definitely dont think though I'm miscalculating that much of a difference..
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    Could you open your diary? That way we can give better advice. And hun? 'Maintenance' is not a number, it is a range. Especially while sorting things out, you may gain a bit. It'll come off again. At your weight (and zero judgement here!) you can stand to gain a bit for a while.
  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    How do I do that? And I try to tell myself that but when I go up even like 2 pounds I get kinda upset because I've been at this weight for a while now, seeing a higher number makes me sad lol.
  • cocobot2013
    cocobot2013 Posts: 46 Member
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    I think I opened it now!
  • ChiliPepperLifter
    ChiliPepperLifter Posts: 279 Member
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    You are well into the underweight category, and are still under eating by about 600 calories a day. Sorry, but these are some red flags, and I don't think anyone should support your current intake. Increase your calories by 100 each week, and keep an eye on the scale. Reverse diet your way PAST maintenance and put a few pounds back on. Your health depends on it. You could be wasting away your organs or other essential tissues while still undereating.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    Thank you for opening your diary :smile:

    First things first: you are eating at a pretty large deficit. There is no way in hell you are currently maintaining.

    Looking at your diary and reading your posts, I think it's safe to say you are struggling with body image issues/an eating disorder. Doesn't have to be a bad one, but the way you are fixated on the scale (which is probably the least reliable tool for the measurement of fat) indicates to me that you have a problem that will come back and bite you in the *kitten* if you don't get on that. You are skinny. In fact, you are underweight.

    Your weight, combined with your eating pattern will eventually lead to health issues (if you are not experiencing them already). It's time to start eating and hopefully talk to someone. Up your activity level, enter your exercise calories, and eat to goal. Your body needs it, sweetheart :heart:

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