How to select "Activity Level" while setting up myfitnesspal Profile?

fathy_shehatto
fathy_shehatto Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
This is my first Discussion here, and I am really not sure if this is the proper place, although I am using this website for 2 years now! I have one question. If I am working as a teacher in the morning and a freelance translator in the afternoon and I practice Joggling for 60 minutes 5 days a week. Which Activity Level I should select while I am setting up myFitnesspal profile? "Highly Active" as I am practicing Joggling or "Slightly Active" as I spend a good part of the day on my feet (as teacher and Freelancer)? In the past, I selected "Highly Active", as result my Target Calorie was 2100 and really I didn't lose any weight. Today, I realized that my mistake was about the ACTIVITY LEVEL I selected before. Now, It is edited to "Slightly Active" instead of "Highly Active" and my target Calorie changed from 2100 to 1550 excluding the Burned calories from exercise!. Do you think I am right now. And I should compensate the Burned Calories during exercise? Thank you

Replies

  • Unknown
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  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    If you maintained eating 2100 calories total (not NET) then

    1850 = approx 0.5 lb per week loss
    1600 = approx 1 lb per week loss

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,900 Member
    1550 is going to be hard to stick with (you're male?)

    I chose Sedentary at first because I'm retired and have a small place, so not too much daily activity. Exercise is separate on this site, BTW. When you exercise, it gets entered into the Exercise tab and the site gives you a few more calories to help fuel your extra activity.

    I just tried one and when I was losing too fast and feeling fatigued and lethargic, I bumped it up to the next level. I'm still retired and I use the "Lightly Active" setting and it works perfectly, adding 200-400 on exercise days.

    Just pick one and keep good records. It's an experiment we all have to run.

    Here, read this: https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/410332-how-does-myfitnesspal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
    I would suggest setting it to slightly active and eat back about half of your activity calories. After 4-6 weeks, look at your average weight loss. If it is too fast, eat back more of your exercise calories. If, after another few weeks, your rate is too fast, bump up to the next activity level but go back to eating about half of your exercise calories and readjust those in a few weeks if there is still an issue. Also remember to update your goals in MFP around every 5-10 pounds lost so that it will update your calorie requirements.

    Also, how much do you weigh and what's your goal weight? If the amount you have to lose is not a lot, your rate of loss shouldn't be too high. Usually it's suggested to not lose more than 1% of body weight and as you get closer to goal, it's recommended to drop closer to 1/2% of body weight.

    At 2100 calories you said you really didn't lose any weight. Your deficit may have been small enough that you were set up to lose a quarter to half a pound per week. While it's still a respectable rate of loss, it ends up being relatively unnoticeable day to day but ends up being 1-2 pounds a month. At that rate of loss though you have less room for error in regards to logging inaccuracies.
  • eminater
    eminater Posts: 2,477 Member
    I chose sedentary and then logged exercise. Leave it that way for a few weeks and then you will have a better feel for the cals and how it is working for you and your goals. If you feel it's not accurate you can adjust it. If you are feeling as though it's not enough cals - you could try slightly active.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    For you, I would suggest “lightly active” and eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories. It’s set up here to eat back all of them, some choose to start with half and see how you do over time.
    That said, I eat back all of the exercise calories I get from my Fitbit/MyFitnessPal and lose just fine.
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