Help with activity level

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Dotyfahed
Dotyfahed Posts: 33 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I started MFP recently because I knew I wasn't eating enough on WW and although they gave me a great foundation, I needed more. I work out 7 days a week(3 days of all cardio & 4 days of cardio & weight training). I am averaging about 12k-15k a day in steps. I have myself at "active" for my activity level because I do have a desk job and sit a lot throughout the day. I just workout an hour in the morning at the gym and I walk on all of my breaks. Is active the right level for me? I've only been on MFP a week & I lost almost a pound but was on WW for about 16 months but only lost 9 pounds during the last 6 months(total 70). Thanks! I just want to be eating the right amount of calories so I can get back to losing. I am about 20 pounds from my goal.

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    In MFP, your activity level is your daily activity *not counting intentional exercise*. If you're working a desk job, "sedentary" or "lightly active" would be a better choice. You would then log your exercise and eat back those calories. Some people worry about over-estimating the calories burnt through exercise, so they begin with eating back a portion and then adjust according to their results.
  • Dotyfahed
    Dotyfahed Posts: 33 Member
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    I read in several posts that the activity level was based on the amount of steps you walk every day(intentional or not). Less than 5000 is considered Sedentary. 5000-10000 is considered lightly active. Over 10k is active and anything over 23k is highly active. It's all very confusing. You can't get "calories earned" for strength training. Only cardio. Thanks for your help.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Dotyfahed wrote: »
    I read in several posts that the activity level was based on the amount of steps you walk every day(intentional or not). Less than 5000 is considered Sedentary. 5000-10000 is considered lightly active. Over 10k is active and anything over 23k is highly active. It's all very confusing. You can't get "calories earned" for strength training. Only cardio. Thanks for your help.

    If your daily life has you walking more, then you can set your activity level based on that. From your initial post, I wasn't sure if you were counting your cardio when setting your activity level or not, which is why I pointed out how MFP is designed. I wouldn't log strength training either.
  • Dotyfahed
    Dotyfahed Posts: 33 Member
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    I don't log any exercise in my tracker. I just assumed that "active" would cover all of my daily & extra intentional exercising. I'm gonna stick with active I think for a couple of weeks and then readjust if needed. Thanks for all of your help.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Dotyfahed wrote: »
    You can't get "calories earned" for strength training. Only cardio. Thanks for your help.

    Yes you can. Under cardio - search strength training and log the time spent. If you're trying to use the tracking only section labeled "strength training" it doesn't give calories because that area is for tracking progress only. They should make it clearer, but you definitely CAN log strength training and get calories (just might not be very accurate).


    Sounds like you have a plan that is working for you though to use "Active" and then adjust from there in a few weeks if needed. That's the great thing about weight loss and even MFP - there's no one right way for everyone and it can be used however works best for you.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Dotyfahed wrote: »
    I don't log any exercise in my tracker. I just assumed that "active" would cover all of my daily & extra intentional exercising. I'm gonna stick with active I think for a couple of weeks and then readjust if needed. Thanks for all of your help.

    You would do better to set your calorie goal from a TDEE calculator if you don't intend using this tool as it's designed.

    But in the end whatever goal your set you will need to be somewhat consistent and be prepared to adjust your goal based on weight lost over an extended period of time.

    You can manually set your goal rather than fiddle around with activity setting.
  • Dotyfahed
    Dotyfahed Posts: 33 Member
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    I feel like there are several ways to use MFP. I am doing it to the best of my ability right now. I was on WW for 16 months and I've lost 70 pounds so far. I was just trying to get opinions to help me make the right decision for me & my goals.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Dotyfahed wrote: »
    I don't log any exercise in my tracker. I just assumed that "active" would cover all of my daily & extra intentional exercising. I'm gonna stick with active I think for a couple of weeks and then readjust if needed. Thanks for all of your help.

    If you're consistent in your activity, this is the way to go IMO. MFP's designed methodology is great for people who are just getting into exercise and/or can't exercise or are very inconsistent, etc...and it can teach people the value of moving more so that you can actually eat...but if you're consistent in your activity then I'd just set it to include everything.

    It's confusing on MFP because it's not the way the tool is designed to be used which is why there is no mention of exercise in the activity descriptors...but a lot of people use it this way too.
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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    I honestly split the difference between sedentary and lightly active. You can fiddle with the numbers.

    If you have it set to lose 1 pound a week and continue to do so you know you are on the right track. If you lose a lot more, add in some more calories. The opposite of you don't.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Dotyfahed wrote: »
    I read in several posts that the activity level was based on the amount of steps you walk every day(intentional or not). Less than 5000 is considered Sedentary. 5000-10000 is considered lightly active. Over 10k is active and anything over 23k is highly active. It's all very confusing. You can't get "calories earned" for strength training. Only cardio. Thanks for your help.

    I agree that it's confusing. There are different sets of guidelines to help people choose their activity level, and they don't always line up. For example I love riding bikes, which don't use steps. Also, you exercise every day of the week, but the way MFP is designed you're sedentary, because you have a desk job. It makes sense once you figure everything out, but it can be a bit of a learning curve until then, and sometimes it just kind of flies in the face of common sense.

    It sounds like you have an activity tracker. That's good news! What it means is you can ignore activity level. That's a concept from the dark ages when people relied on remembering everything they did. Instead, you have a device that keeps tabs for you, and they're all a little dumb sometimes but they're honest and consistent. It can sync with MFP and adjust your calories up or down based on what you actually do every day, instead of what answer you gave when you filled out your profile.
  • raquele3394
    raquele3394 Posts: 180 Member
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    I was in WW since 2013, lost zipo weight!!!

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