Sedentary vs. Lightly Active with Fitbit logs

moonduck
moonduck Posts: 53 Member
in Getting Started
Hi All!

I was hoping someone could help me with this question - I have been struggling with what to set MFP goals at. I walk 10,000 steps (8km) minimum per day - always between 8km to 12km. I don't do any other exercise though.

MFP does sync with my FB and does count the steps/calories. I try not to eat back more than 50% of those it logs.

So my question is...would I be better listed as sedentary or as lightly active?

Thanks in advance!!

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    If your Fitbit is synced with your MFP account and you have enabled negative adjustments, you don't have to worry about what to choose, as MFP will adjust your calorie goal to reflect your actual activity level for the day.

    Example: I choose "Sedentary" and MFP gives me a calorie goal of 1,470. When I move enough to take me out of the sedentary category, I start to gain more calories. If I don't move enough to move into "lightly active," I don't get more calories added.

    The only choice is if you want to get your calories "up front" or not. If you choose "lightly active," you may have more calories at the beginning of the day, but if you don't move enough to justify that activity level, you will get calories subtracted (as long as you enable negative adjustments). If you regularly find yourself staying at "sedentary," it might be better just to start the day there and have fewer calories removed.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Doesn't matter if you have negative adjustments enabled it becomes your activity level

    I'm at sedentary ...days like today when I've been under the weather I've just about got to sedentary with around 4000 steps (lost 8 calories) ...generally I get to around 8-10k in steps and earn back around 300-400 calories

    But I eat them back ...every last one
  • moonduck
    moonduck Posts: 53 Member
    Thanks so much for your reply, Jane! So do you recommend enabling negative adjustments? Honestly, I have never been able to understand exactly what that "means", so I've never done it. :)
  • moonduck
    moonduck Posts: 53 Member
    Thanks Rabbit - so I understand, you recommend being sedentary level then? :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    moonduck wrote: »
    Thanks so much for your reply, Jane! So do you recommend enabling negative adjustments? Honestly, I have never been able to understand exactly what that "means", so I've never done it. :)

    Yes, I recommend negative adjustment because if you have a day where you don't move much, it will keep you at the right calorie goal by removing calories from your daily goal.
  • CountessKitteh
    CountessKitteh Posts: 1,505 Member
    moonduck wrote: »
    Thanks Rabbit - so I understand, you recommend being sedentary level then? :)

    I'm set at sedentary and let my Fitbit give me more calories when I actually get my butt up and moving. I hate how low my goal is at the start of the day (1200 to lose less than a pound because I'm short/close to goal) so I'm really motivated to get up and earn myself a cookie. :lol:

    I average 10k+ so I could easily be set to lightly active, but I found it easier to set myself at a low baseline and earn more than deal with a changing baseline if I had a less busy day.
  • moonduck
    moonduck Posts: 53 Member
    edited November 2015
    Thank you all for your responses! I apologize but I'm so simplistic at this that I'm not quite grasping the best way of ensuring I am setting things up properly.

    Would you all recommend for me, based on these facts:

    1. I walk approximately 8km per day, every day - no days where I don't do this. These aren't always done briskly though - often just gained throughout the day, but always gained daily.
    2. I don't do any other exercise.
    3. I sync my fitbit constantly throughout the day

    Three questions for you:

    1. Should I be set as sedentary or lightly active?
    2. Should I use the negative calorie enabled setting?
    3. Should I eat or not eat the calories "given" to me from my daily steps or ONLY eat the calories from the daily allowed quota from MFP?

    Thanks SOOOO much and for putting up with my repetitive questions. :)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    If you have negative adjustments it doesn't matter what you tell MFP. Personally I use sedentary and no negative adjustments.

    Try it and eat the calories indicated for at least 3 weeks then review.

    The whole point of the Fitbit adjustment is to correct any illusions about activity levels.
  • moonduck
    moonduck Posts: 53 Member
    edited November 2015
    Thanks so much all - your advice is much appreciated :smiley:
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    yarwell wrote: »
    If you have negative adjustments it doesn't matter what you tell MFP. Personally I use sedentary and no negative adjustments.

    Try it and eat the calories indicated for at least 3 weeks then review.

    The whole point of the Fitbit adjustment is to correct any illusions about activity levels.

    And what a job it does! I thought I was sedentary til I got one.... not so much ha ha!
  • Paleodiet4beginnersdotcom
    Paleodiet4beginnersdotcom Posts: 31 Member
    Hi everyone.

    I have to say, I am a bit disappointed with the Fitbit.

    It tracks arm movements as steps?

    Anyone else have this same problem?

    Alfie
  • rbakedq
    rbakedq Posts: 142 Member
    I have a Fitbit One that I Clip to the top of the front pocket of whatever pants I am wearing, and find it tracks my steps accurately, with little or no non-step movement counted as steps.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    paleodiet4beginners wrote: »
    I have to say, I am a bit disappointed with the Fitbit.

    It tracks arm movements as steps?

    Anyone else have this same problem?

    is this a wrist mounted version ? Mine is a Fitbit one that is in a pocket or clipped to a belt.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    paleodiet4beginners wrote: »
    Hi everyone.

    I have to say, I am a bit disappointed with the Fitbit.

    It tracks arm movements as steps?

    Anyone else have this same problem?

    Alfie

    Yes. You can cut that down by marking it as being on your dominant hand if it's on your non-dominant. And there will also be times when it doesn't pick up steps well (pushing a grocery cart).
  • moonduck
    moonduck Posts: 53 Member
    Hey all,

    I've been doing the recommended setting we talked about "lightly active" and "enabling negative calories". What I found today though in the morning is that it showed 1,750 for goal - 0 for food but then -173 for exercise for a total of 1577. So it took away calories in the morning as I hadn't started walking yet?

    And then now - i'm at almost 10,000 steps so far and it's counting that as less than 100 calories where it would normally be a fair amount more.

    Any ideas on why this is now happening?

    Thank you!
  • lilsara411
    lilsara411 Posts: 12 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    paleodiet4beginners wrote: »
    Hi everyone.

    I have to say, I am a bit disappointed with the Fitbit.

    It tracks arm movements as steps?

    Anyone else have this same problem?

    Alfie

    Yes. You can cut that down by marking it as being on your dominant hand if it's on your non-dominant. And there will also be times when it doesn't pick up steps well (pushing a grocery cart).

    So if it's switched to dominant it may not pick up steps you're actually taking? Sorry I'm a little confused. I'm having the same problem with it picking up steps when laying down but I don't want it to not pick up actual steps I'm doing. I want all the credit I can get.
  • Paleodiet4beginnersdotcom
    Paleodiet4beginnersdotcom Posts: 31 Member
    Hey everyone

    Some great ideas here. Thanks for that. Really appreciate all of you.

    I have the wrist mounted version so I am going to switch the dominant hand.

    Will keep posted

    Alfie
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    moonduck wrote: »
    Hey all,

    I've been doing the recommended setting we talked about "lightly active" and "enabling negative calories". What I found today though in the morning is that it showed 1,750 for goal - 0 for food but then -173 for exercise for a total of 1577. So it took away calories in the morning as I hadn't started walking yet?

    And then now - i'm at almost 10,000 steps so far and it's counting that as less than 100 calories where it would normally be a fair amount more.

    Yes, the morning's lack of activity was effectively projected forward so it took off some calories as you had used less than MFP expected up to that point.

    If you're getting a 100 calorie adjustment later in the day and that is less than before this may be because you set yourself to lightly active when before was sedentary ? so your expected MFP burn is higher and the excess of the actual over that is smaller.

    Wind it back in fitbit.com to see your previous actuals, or click on the i on the exercise diary here to see the explanation of the adjustment -
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