Am I still sedenary?

Trish1c
Trish1c Posts: 550 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I have managed to go to the gym at least 3x every week & do cardio for 30 minutes. I know compared to many of you that is not a lot.

But I'm on a 1200 calorie diet because I picked sedentary when I set up my profile. I sit for work.

I'm starving all the time but if I eat my fill, I consume 1300 - 1500 calories. The system said 1700 is my maintenance.

Replies

  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    If you're following the MFP standard method - where you eat back your exercise Calories, then I'd say yes. If you're following a TDEE method, where exercise Calories are accounted for in your daily total, then probably lightly active.
  • Lizarking
    Lizarking Posts: 507 Member
    Maybe consider foods with more satiety. MFP suggestions for protein amounts are appealingly low.
  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 550 Member
    I try eating the fruits & veggies. I had a smoothy with almond butter & a banana; I ate a plum, I had some nuts. I didn't have meat protein until dinner.

    Today I'm trying to eat small because we're going out to eat & I know the portion will be large & I will be guessing about the size. So I want room for error. I've already drank a gallon of water.

    Although I'm still trying to lose would it be the worst thing if I adjusted my calories to 1300 so I could stop "failing" every day?

    I don't mind when I fail if I know I was bad (usually because I had alcohol, which I can't make calorie room for or I'll get drunk & sick from not eating; I'd rather go over) but when I am trying to be good, eating very little & I still miss by 100-200 calories I get discouraged.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Yes you can increase it to 1300 :) How much have you been losing every week?
  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 550 Member
    In 6 weeks I lost 6 pounds but it wasn't really steady at 1 pound per week.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are losing and hungry I'd at least start there.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited August 2016
    Did you understand the point put in the first response?

    I follow the MFP eat back exercise calories method but despite cycling 600+ miles a month and also strength training my activity setting would still be sedentary.....
    I sit for work.
    Sedentary = seated
  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 550 Member
    edited August 2016
    sijomial wrote: »
    Did you understand the point put in the first response?

    I follow the MFP eat back exercise calories method but despite cycling 600+ miles a month and also strength training my activity setting would still be sedentary.....
    I sit for work.
    Sedentary = seated

    I get that because I sit for work I'm sedentary. My college room sits for work but competes in iron man competitions & when she runs marathons she starts with the elite group. I would hardly call her sedentary which is why I'm seeking clarification on how the term is used on MFP.

    Your explanation helped more than the 1st post.

    I just want to stop being hungry & don't know how to achieve that. So I wondered on a GIGO theory if I did something wrong when I set my MFP up.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,488 Member
    Your basic activity level on MFP is sedentary. You then log your exercise on MFP and eat back 50-75% of those calories. This is a NEAT method of calorie calculation.
    If you are using this method, eat back your exercise to fuel your body.

    If you chose to use an off site TDEE calculator your exercise is included.

    Cheers, h.
  • cimarrona27
    cimarrona27 Posts: 97 Member
    Consider adjusting your macros. More fat and protein, less sugar works for me. Not hungry, fairly active and at 1200ish cal/day. Fruit, while nutritious, is a killer for me.

    However, diet is a very individualized beast. You have to do what works for you. Maybe shoot for 1400? You are still at a deficit, just not a large one.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Trish1c wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Did you understand the point put in the first response?

    I follow the MFP eat back exercise calories method but despite cycling 600+ miles a month and also strength training my activity setting would still be sedentary.....
    I sit for work.
    Sedentary = seated

    I get that because I sit for work I'm sedentary. My college room sits for work but competes in iron man competitions & when she runs marathons she starts with the elite group. I would hardly call her sedentary which is why I'm seeking clarification on how the term is used on MFP.

    Your explanation helped more than the 1st post.

    I just want to stop being hungry & don't know how to achieve that. So I wondered on a GIGO theory if I did something wrong when I set my MFP up.

    MFP removes exercise from the activity setting completely - that's the crucial difference.
    That's why you log your exercise after you have done it and get extra calories.

    So it wouldn't matter how much extra exercise you do, your activity setting remains set by your job/lifestyle.

    Most calculators work by including an average daily amount of exercise (TDEE method) so you eat to the same calorie goal daily.
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