What should I put my activity level as?

MeganReid1991
MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
in Getting Started
I’m a stay at home mom with a 2 year old. I also watch two 3 years olds a few days a week!
I walk a lot and do a lot of cleaning and cooking but I still don’t know what my activity level should be?
I’m thinking lightly active?

Replies

  • gia_incognito
    gia_incognito Posts: 103 Member
    Lightly to moderately. Although if you want your calorie goal to be lower choose lightly.
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
    .
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    MeganReid1991 wrote: »
    .

    Still not decided which activity level to use OP?
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Anything from 5000 steps in the day is generally thought to be lightly active. Its highly likely that is what you are. If in doubt, keep your mobile in your pocket to track your average days steps and that will give you an idea.
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
    Still using lightly active but just curious what other people have there’s at and how they figured it out!
    I’m pretty sure I walk at least 5000 steps a day I’ll carry my phone all day and see!
  • marieamethyst
    marieamethyst Posts: 869 Member
    I'm also a SAHM and keep mine set at Sedentary since I'm lucky to average 1500-1600 calories/day unless I actually workout. I agree with the Fitbit/activity tracker suggestion!
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    I have an office job so my activity levels vary depending on how many meetings I have and how far away they are from my desk.

    The easiest way I've found for my situation is to set my activity level at sedentary and let the activity tracker in my smart watch determine how many extra calories I burned on that particular day and adjust my eating accordingly.

    The side benefit of doing this is that if I see that I've been particularly inactive one day I'm motivated to perhaps walk to the train station 2 or 3 stops away from my office on the way home to get some extra wiggle room in my target so I can have a little bit of something sweet after dinner =)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    Don't stress too much about it, just pick one that seems logical. It's only a starting point.

    MFP gives you a calorie goal, you do your best to track intake and exercise, and stick to that for 4-6 weeks. At that point, you should be past the somewhat roller-coaster-y weight effects from the first couple of weeks of eating changes, and you presumably will've been through a whole menstrual cycle (and its water weight fluctuations), so you can calculate your average weight loss per week fairly accurately. Based on that, you should plan to adjust your calorie goal (if necessary) to keep your loss rate at a sensible, sustainable level.

    Most people find that MFP's estimates of their calorie needs are pretty close, but some find them a bit far off. Either way, that initial time period gives you the data you need to see if you should adjust. Like I said, the initial settings are just a starting point.

    I hope that makes sense!
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Don't stress too much about it, just pick one that seems logical. It's only a starting point.

    MFP gives you a calorie goal, you do your best to track intake and exercise, and stick to that for 4-6 weeks. At that point, you should be past the somewhat roller-coaster-y weight effects from the first couple of weeks of eating changes, and you presumably will've been through a whole menstrual cycle (and its water weight fluctuations), so you can calculate your average weight loss per week fairly accurately. Based on that, you should plan to adjust your calorie goal (if necessary) to keep your loss rate at a sensible, sustainable level.

    Most people find that MFP's estimates of their calorie needs are pretty close, but some find them a bit far off. Either way, that initial time period gives you the data you need to see if you should adjust. Like I said, the initial settings are just a starting point.

    I hope that makes sense!


    So I love this answer I’ve been doing this sense June. My weight loss has slowed lately and that’s why I’m questioning it again, I’ve been so hungry lately though and eating more calories then normal.

  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
    One of the differences with the choice of activity level is how many daily calories it will give you. the more active the more daily calories. I would say lightly active and if you are logging and weighing your foods and not losing weight then you are probably burning evenly the calories you are eating.

    If you are not losing weight and are honest and consistent with logging then adjust calories in or calories out and you should see a change.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    MeganReid1991 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Don't stress too much about it, just pick one that seems logical. It's only a starting point.

    MFP gives you a calorie goal, you do your best to track intake and exercise, and stick to that for 4-6 weeks. At that point, you should be past the somewhat roller-coaster-y weight effects from the first couple of weeks of eating changes, and you presumably will've been through a whole menstrual cycle (and its water weight fluctuations), so you can calculate your average weight loss per week fairly accurately. Based on that, you should plan to adjust your calorie goal (if necessary) to keep your loss rate at a sensible, sustainable level.

    Most people find that MFP's estimates of their calorie needs are pretty close, but some find them a bit far off. Either way, that initial time period gives you the data you need to see if you should adjust. Like I said, the initial settings are just a starting point.

    I hope that makes sense!


    So I love this answer I’ve been doing this sense June. My weight loss has slowed lately and that’s why I’m questioning it again, I’ve been so hungry lately though and eating more calories then normal.

    Have you adjusted your calorie goal at all along the way? As you get closer to goal, you should want to lose slower (less health risk); and, if you stay at the same calorie level, you'll slow down for sure (lighter body needs fewer calories). Frankly, if I were you, I'd worry less about fine-tuning activity level, and consider just tweaking the calorie goal directly, since you have plenty of experiential data. The "500 calorie daily deficit = 1 pound weekly weight loss" rule of thumb is close enough for estimating/tweaking purposes.

    Of course, you can change your activity level up or down to indirectly change the calorie goal, too . . . it's not like you're obligated to tell MFP the truth. ;) I set my activity level on "active" even though I'm actually barely above sedentary, because that's the setting that gave me a calorie goal closest to the amount that my actual weight loss experience told me I needed.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited October 2018
    MeganReid1991 wrote: »
    Still using lightly active but just curious what other people have there’s at and how they figured it out!
    I’m pretty sure I walk at least 5000 steps a day I’ll carry my phone all day and see!

    At the end of the day you will know yourself by how your weight is doing - i.e if you are aiming to lose and you are losing the amount per week roughly that you were expecting to lose then you know how your burn is.

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