Dear MFP, Could you BE more vague?

spaingirl2011
spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone,

I'm having a hard time deciding if I'm sedentary or lightly active. I'm a grad student who spends a great deal of time sitting. Yet, I exercise intensely for about 45 minutes, 5-6 times a week and burn between 300-500 calories an exercise session. Should I move my settings to "lightly active" or "sedentary"?

Thanks so much!

Replies

  • fitby2012
    fitby2012 Posts: 167 Member
    My lifestyle is similar to yours. I based my choice on my lifestyle without exercise, and used sedentary.

    HTH
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    I'm an academic - so also spend a lot of time sitting at computer.

    I have my lifestyle set to sedentary, and then log my exercise calories using the exercise feature.

    Hope that helps.
  • Strive2BLean
    Strive2BLean Posts: 300 Member
    I would say with regular workouts that you are active.
  • lijparsons
    lijparsons Posts: 258
    Use sedentary and log all your exercise. The settings are based on what you generally do all day. For example, I have a desk job, so I set sedentary, and log my workouts. If I was a store clerk or something, I might change it to lightly active...but I would still log my workouts because they are over and above the norm.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    if you choose sedentary, you will log your exercise and it is recommended that you eat those calories back.
    if you choose lightly active, you will not log your exercise (unless it is out of the ordinary) as that would be 'double dipping'. :)

    it is your choice.
  • Stuartm1
    Stuartm1 Posts: 101 Member
    if you are sat in an office all day Sedentary because if you put lighly active they will up your calorie intake and the excercise you are doing will be wasted. Don't forget to take off the BMR calories as well AVERAGE 1.5 TO 2 per minute excercised. ie 100 calories in 10 minutes take off 15 or 20 to given nett 85 /80
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    This is a weird one. Technically I should be sedentary, but like you I exercise regularly. Even "very active" gave me too few calories. I eventually entered my daily calorie goal manually. So my 2 cents are, start with something like lightly active, and don't be afraid to bump it up if you need to.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    either call yourself active and don't bother logging/eating for exercise because it will be built in, or call yourself lightly active and log and eat back all your exercise calories because your goal calories won't include them yet. The second one is the way MFP was intended to be used, but they come out the same as long as you eat them like you're supposed to.
  • CatMauro
    CatMauro Posts: 225 Member
    My lifestyle is similar to yours. I based my choice on my lifestyle without exercise, and used sedentary.

    HTH

    Ditto, then just input your exercise goals to reflect the workout you do.
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. :-)
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    You're sedentary... pretty sure the description says to choose what you do on a daily basis and gives examples.
    I sit at a computer most of the day but go to the gym 7x week .... I use sedentary and track my exercise.

    If you don't want to track your exercise, choose active and ignore it :)
  • starting0vern09
    starting0vern09 Posts: 79 Member
    i set mine to light. i workin in manufacturing as an inspector and although i sit thruquite a bit of the day i do toss materials around and make large arm movements constantly. so therefore i have the same question. was i correct??
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    Additional exercise does not make you "lightly active" - only activities you do in the course of your job - e.g a waitress, or someone working in a warehouse lifting stuff all day will use this classification.

    If your activity is in the form of exercise for specific periods - in a gym - or going for a walk, run you use sedentary...
  • Dinob661
    Dinob661 Posts: 251 Member
    This is how you make your choice.

    Purely based on your lifestyle, you already said your a student (me too) so we spend most of our time sitting and not really expending energy (as students tend to do...especially in a boring class :P)

    You'd pick sedentary. BUT You have to log your exercises daily using MFP's exercise logger. :)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks everyone! I'll go ahead and change it to sedentary. I guess just because I now consider exercise part of MY lifestyle, it doesn't mean the MFP's calculator agrees. ;-) Thanks for your input!
  • rsf218
    rsf218 Posts: 4
    I would go sedentary... they are referring to your day without your exercise, because you will add that in as you do it and it will adjust your calories. If you are truly looking to stay on the safe side of guaranteed weight loss, overestimate the calories you are taking in slightly and underestimate the calories that you are expending, then you can feel safe that you are at least hitting your marks.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    This is a weird one. Technically I should be sedentary, but like you I exercise regularly. Even "very active" gave me too few calories. I eventually entered my daily calorie goal manually. So my 2 cents are, start with something like lightly active, and don't be afraid to bump it up if you need to.

    I'm with Taso on this one. I am a teacher so chose lightly active, but I lose WAY too fast like that. In fact, now that I'm maintaining, very active is too little for me (about 1950) so I manually set at 2450 and just stay below that.

    I believe mfp is wonderful, but the figures don't work for everyone. Try something, but be ready and willing to change it.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    I'm also in the same situation but I used lightly active instead of sedentary because I always make sure to move more when not exercising and also I already gained many muscles in my body and I find the MFP standard for sedentary people too low for me at all because I need more calories for my muscles. But still I keep on losing weight even if I'm already on the weight maintenence stage.
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