Confused. Standing at a desk all day...

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ammre513
ammre513 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I work at a desk job but I stand behind my desk all day. I never sit. Occasionally I will have to walk and get something. I have my activity level set at lightly active right now. Should I actually have it set as sedetary since my heart rate is never being raised?

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  • chantel14
    chantel14 Posts: 128
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    No, because you burn twice as many calories standing than you do sitting all day... So I would say lightly active sounds right.
  • Brittney24
    Brittney24 Posts: 105
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    I stand all day at work and walk around, I'm listed as sedentary since I'm not really doing much and then I track about 20-30 minutes each day as walking at a very slow pace.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Sedentary is sitting down all day long. Since you're standing all day - I think lightly active is perfect. :)
  • pbeans
    pbeans Posts: 42
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    I stand at a counter most of the time but I selected sedentary because I don't feel like I'm doing a lot.
  • carbonboy
    carbonboy Posts: 729
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    Unless you're a construction worker, I think it's best to put "sedentary" and then add in your specific workouts. It will give you a more conservative baseline. It's always best to underestimate your burn and overestimate your consumption.
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
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    I think you're fine where it is. If you were /really/ curious, you could wear your heart rate monitor for one day; to gauge. In the end, it won't matter much what you have it set as anyway. =]
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
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    Here's another vote for lightly active, since you have to use way more muscles to maintain a standing position than you do for a sitting position. Standing is actually a very effective fat burner if it's combined with one or two short, brisk walks during the day.
  • TTHdred
    TTHdred Posts: 380 Member
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    I think you should keep it at lightly active.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/291071-activity-level-and-logging-exercise
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
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    sedentary is correct. The difference between standing and sitting is not enough to make a difference and the last thing you want to do is over eat.

    You can do it!
  • ammre513
    ammre513 Posts: 8
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    Thanks for all the responses everyone! I am going to change the setting to sedentary. Standing may be better for my muscles but I realize now I am not moving enough to be considered active. I got a hrm monitor and have been putting in less calories than it said I burned because I felt like it was so high and I got so use to underestimating everything on the site before I got the hrm. So to fix this I guess I will change it to sedentary and put in the right amount of calories it says I burned.
  • ammre513
    ammre513 Posts: 8
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    I think I will also wear my hrm all day tomorrow to see what it says.

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