Activity Level and Logging Exercise

2

Replies

  • eeeekie
    eeeekie Posts: 1,011 Member
    I love you.

    Seriously, you're amazing. You always say things with such eloquence and poise and they are ALWAYS educated and fact based.

    People really should just mind their own business and be happy that anyone is moving even if they themselves wouldn't consider it exercise.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I love you.

    Seriously, you're amazing. You always say things with such eloquence and poise and they are ALWAYS educated and fact based.

    People really should just mind their own business and be happy that anyone is moving even if they themselves wouldn't consider it exercise.

    :blushing: You're so sweet. Thank you.
  • eeeekie
    eeeekie Posts: 1,011 Member
    I love *sarcasm* how this post gets little to no traffic but when someone is condemning and being cruel those posts get tons of traffic.
  • aj_rock
    aj_rock Posts: 390 Member
    I have to say, it would be much easier for someone to know at a glance whether to log something or not if we had a better idea of how many calories/hour are being burned at that activity level.

    For instance, if you set your status to active, you could theoretically add a low-intensity exercise that technically should LOWER your entire days calorie output!

    Makes me wish that MFP could track time spent on things as a 24-hour clock. Some MFP-like websites do this and it is a good system.
  • jamaicaqueen24
    jamaicaqueen24 Posts: 23 Member
    bump
  • FryingPanda
    FryingPanda Posts: 99 Member
    I've asked the question back when I started about activity level way back when I started and I suppose I have one question for clarification. Is activity level related to the amount you exercise? I was originally told to determine my activity level completely excluding how much I exercise, which I found strange as exercise should lead to general increase in your metabolic rate (if I remember my biology correctly), especially if it is something you do all the time. For example I run 4 times a week for a total of 18 miles, and two martial arts probably for a total of 6000 additional calories, saying I have a light activity level because my job results in me begin a desk jockey 60% of my work day seems.... odd.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I have to say, it would be much easier for someone to know at a glance whether to log something or not if we had a better idea of how many calories/hour are being burned at that activity level.

    For instance, if you set your status to active, you could theoretically add a low-intensity exercise that technically should LOWER your entire days calorie output!

    Makes me wish that MFP could track time spent on things as a 24-hour clock. Some MFP-like websites do this and it is a good system.

    You can determine an estimate of calories burned per hour by going to Home, Goals tab. At the top right, there is a section that says "Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity". Take that number, divide by 24, and you have calories burned per hour. Divide again by 60, and you get calories burned per minute. :wink:
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I've asked the question back when I started about activity level way back when I started and I suppose I have one question for clarification. Is activity level related to the amount you exercise? I was originally told to determine my activity level completely excluding how much I exercise, which I found strange as exercise should lead to general increase in your metabolic rate (if I remember my biology correctly), especially if it is something you do all the time. For example I run 4 times a week for a total of 18 miles, and two martial arts probably for a total of 6000 additional calories, saying I have a light activity level because my job results in me begin a desk jockey 60% of my work day seems.... odd.

    This won't be a problem for many people, but for some it can be. In general, someone who does light to moderate exercise shouldn't consider exercise at all when determining activity level because they'll have "average" muscle mass. However, someone who does moderate to frequent exercise, and especially a lot of weights and/or HIIT, will often have a higher LBM% than average. So, yes, higher muscle mass means more calories burned even when at rest. In this case, it may be appropriate to bump activity level up one to account for the higher LBM% and more cals burned all day - and then of course still log exercise separately. But, this is kind of a trial and error situation, where you need to try one cal level for a month or two and see how it does, then tweak if necessary. There aren't really any RMR calculators that account for differences in LBM% or body type - it's one of their basic flaws, but again, it's not a huge deal for most people.

    Alternatively, you can use something like a BodyBugg or Bodymedia Fit that can estimate your calories burned in 24 hours. Or, you can just get RMR tested - many gyms can do it (whether you're a member or not.) That's kind of a "moment in time" picture, but it will still give you a starting point.
  • heyjude1358
    heyjude1358 Posts: 45
    THIS!!
    Finally, I’ll point out that for a lot of people who have had very little activity for a long time, the motivation to take just a 10 minute walk can be pretty hard to come by. So if they can log that 10 minutes and someone tells them “Good job!”, that can be a pretty good sense of accomplishment and make it happen again tomorrow, and maybe the next day is even longer. So maybe their activities aren’t as intense as yours…yet. But they’re working on it, so don’t belittle their efforts.
    and THIS!!
    Don't belittle the baby steps. Baby steps become bigger steps. And faster steps. I didn't start out crawling under barbed wire and leaping fire for fun.
  • bassettpig
    bassettpig Posts: 79 Member
    I'm glad to see this post. Recently saw someone w/a desk job who had chosen a "Sedentary" activity level be told they should choose "Active" instead b/c they exercise 3-4 times a week "and someone who exercises 3-4 times a week is active!"

    I agree, the choice we make there needs to reflect our baseline level of activity--what we do every day, no matter what. THEN the exercise is added on. I would love to think, as an avid runner and biker, that I am "Active", but unfortunately my job as a medical transcriptionist requires that I sit on my butt 40 hours a week--thus "Sedentary" and I log my runs and bike rides.

    Thanks and I hope this thread stays visible!
  • Lauriek70
    Lauriek70 Posts: 2,087 Member
    Good job as always. Thanks for clearing up the activity levels!
  • FryingPanda
    FryingPanda Posts: 99 Member
    This won't be a problem for many people, but for some it can be. In general, someone who does light to moderate exercise shouldn't consider exercise at all when determining activity level because they'll have "average" muscle mass. However, someone who does moderate to frequent exercise, and especially a lot of weights and/or HIIT, will often have a higher LBM% than average. So, yes, higher muscle mass means more calories burned even when at rest. In this case, it may be appropriate to bump activity level up one to account for the higher LBM% and more cals burned all day - and then of course still log exercise separately. But, this is kind of a trial and error situation, where you need to try one cal level for a month or two and see how it does, then tweak if necessary. There aren't really any RMR calculators that account for differences in LBM% or body type - it's one of their basic flaws, but again, it's not a huge deal for most people.

    Alternatively, you can use something like a BodyBugg or Bodymedia Fit that can estimate your calories burned in 24 hours. Or, you can just get RMR tested - many gyms can do it (whether you're a member or not.) That's kind of a "moment in time" picture, but it will still give you a starting point.

    Thanks for the information. As with most things in life there is no simple answer. :laugh: Ah well, trial and error it is!
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    This won't be a problem for many people, but for some it can be. In general, someone who does light to moderate exercise shouldn't consider exercise at all when determining activity level because they'll have "average" muscle mass. However, someone who does moderate to frequent exercise, and especially a lot of weights and/or HIIT, will often have a higher LBM% than average. So, yes, higher muscle mass means more calories burned even when at rest. In this case, it may be appropriate to bump activity level up one to account for the higher LBM% and more cals burned all day - and then of course still log exercise separately. But, this is kind of a trial and error situation, where you need to try one cal level for a month or two and see how it does, then tweak if necessary. There aren't really any RMR calculators that account for differences in LBM% or body type - it's one of their basic flaws, but again, it's not a huge deal for most people.

    Alternatively, you can use something like a BodyBugg or Bodymedia Fit that can estimate your calories burned in 24 hours. Or, you can just get RMR tested - many gyms can do it (whether you're a member or not.) That's kind of a "moment in time" picture, but it will still give you a starting point.

    Thanks for the information. As with most things in life there is no simple answer. :laugh: Ah well, trial and error it is!

    Haha, yeah, unfortunately once you get a point of very good fitness, the details become a lot more important and the inherent (small) inaccuracies in intake/expenditure estimation have more of an impact. But it's usually not too hard to overcome, if you watch things like BF% and see what the trends are. Good luck with it! :laugh:
  • k2quiere
    k2quiere Posts: 4,151 Member
    Thanks so much for clearing some things up that were going through my head. I actually, just today, changed my activity level from lightly active to sedentary because I am a teacher on summer break. I'm no longer on my feet all day, and I didn't think I needed as many calories as mfp was giving me; in fact, I almost never met them hunger-wise. If, when school starts, I see that mew job has me on my feet a lot, which I doubt, then I will change it again.

    This post was great!

    edited: I'm on summer break, although my mind may already be thinking about next spring break...lol
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Thanks so much for clearing some things up that were going through my head. I actually, just today, changed my activity level from lightly active to sedentary because I am a teacher on summer break. I'm no longer on my feet all day, and I didn't think I needed as many calories as mfp was giving me; in fact, I almost never met them hunger-wise. If, when school starts, I see that mew job has me on my feet a lot, which I doubt, then I will change it again.

    This post was great!

    edited: I'm on summer break, although my mind may already be thinking about next spring break...lol

    Thanks, glad it helped! :flowerforyou:
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
  • candiigraham
    candiigraham Posts: 53 Member
    Bump to read later
  • kathywoo10
    kathywoo10 Posts: 139 Member
    bump! good post!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    bump
  • Tobi1013
    Tobi1013 Posts: 732 Member
    Bumping this so that I have it to refer to later. Great information!
  • beaner1st
    beaner1st Posts: 229 Member
    Very helpful thanks. bump
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    bump
  • rafor
    rafor Posts: 78 Member
    bump
  • Lauriek70
    Lauriek70 Posts: 2,087 Member
    bump
  • Yori1
    Yori1 Posts: 142
    bump
  • Tobi1013
    Tobi1013 Posts: 732 Member
    bump
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    bump
  • _Corinne_
    _Corinne_ Posts: 188 Member
    bump
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    Now I'm wondering if I should switch from "sedentary" to "lightly active" and just stop logging my cleaning and stuff. Interesting! Thanks for this information.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
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