Sedentary/Lightly Active. PLEASE HELP! :)

SomeVegansAreChubby
SomeVegansAreChubby Posts: 39 Member
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
I know this topic has been posted on before...but I looked through the previous forum posts and I was still unable to decide on which I am.

I am currently a student, where I sit down from about 7 to 10:30 am, sometimes during class we stand and do lab work. I work just over thirty hours a week at a job that is 50% percent sitting and 50% percent walking and wrestling dogs at a boarding facility. I work out five times a week for a half an hour (Cardio and strength training) and I log those. When I am not doing those I am usually watching movies and relaxing at home.

I dont know what to put my settings at. :( I would really appreciate someone's input.

Replies

  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
    That sounds lightly active to me (due to the dog wrestling and lab work) and is not terribly different than my schedule. I'm a college biology professor and when school is in session I have my setting on lightly active because my classrooms are very active (about 18 hrs a week on my feet) but I'm on my butt at the computer much of the rest of my work time. I'm off contract for the summer and am on my butt more when I'm working on class preps and book projects, so I've downgraded to sedentary. Hope this helps.
  • rowbseat13
    rowbseat13 Posts: 147 Member
    I'm having a hard time with that, too. I'm a teacher, but due to our lovely education situation in Alabama, I don't have a full-time teaching position. I teach an after school program from 3-5:30 every school day which means I am on my feet pretty much the entire time, walking around the classroom. My other job is in an office from 9-2:30, and some days I don't sit down at all and some days I sit down 90% of the time... It's really hard to say based on what my task for the day is. Plus, school isn't in session right now, so I haven't been teaching -- the job where I'm on my feet the whole time. When I'm at home in the evenings, I'm on my feet a lot cleaning up or cooking or doing dishes. It's a toss-up, but I put lightly active since I feel that's the best representation of my days overall.
  • firedrgn2000
    firedrgn2000 Posts: 31
    I am a full-time student, have 2 young kids, work out 3-6 times a week, and I had my activity level as lightly active for the first 2 months. I was getting no where. I dropped my activity level to sedentary and the pounds are now coming off.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    I think that is lightly active - sedentary is people like me who get up in the morning and do this:

    Walk from apartment to car
    Walk from car into office
    Walk from office to car
    Walk from car to lunch restuarant
    Walk from lunch to car
    Walk from car to office
    walk from walk from car to apartment
    Sit on my *kitten* at the computer and mess around on the internet.

    See? anything over that is "lightly" active, otherwise what would us sedentary people use? Its not like there's a super sedentary option. I would think since you spend half of a work day's worth of hours on your feet that is at LEAST "light" activity.

    *edit* PS your workout is not supposed to be factored into your activity level.
  • carolinedb
    carolinedb Posts: 236 Member
    I teach swim lessons and also do admin work for the swim program. My days are also about 50/50. I said lightly active for my calories.
  • KidP
    KidP Posts: 247 Member
    From what you've described, I would agree with "lightly active". Depending on how hard those dogs wrestle, it might even be higher!

    I'm a substitute teacher. When school's in, i set myself as "lightly active" because i'm on my feet much of the school day walking around the room, on outside duty, etc. Now that summer's here...i'm sedentary. Sitting at home reading, etc (when i'm not biking or working out, that is).
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    i would set it as lightly active. However, let me point out that I had mine set to sedentary at first, then a couple weeks later changed it to lightyly active, and there was no change in the amount of calories i was to consume.
  • emmalene1984
    emmalene1984 Posts: 137 Member
    i agree, sounds like lightly active at least to me. sedentrary is litterally sitting on your bum all day, like me, then any activity you do, you log as exercise. i also noticed that my sedentary and lightly active calorie goals were exactly the same by the MFP automatic settings. however, i use my own goals that i know have worked for me in the past.

    Good luck :-)
  • meganmuck15
    meganmuck15 Posts: 1
    Changing the activity level won't change the number of calories you are recommended. It will make the program assume that you burn more or less calories in a day. So when you complete your log, it might predict you losing weight faster or slower than is correct.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    Changing the activity level won't change the number of calories you are recommended. It will make the program assume that you burn more or less calories in a day. So when you complete your log, it might predict you losing weight faster or slower than is correct.

    It does change the calorie goal, by around 200 for me - not sure how much for others.
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