What activity level am I.

ABatesMD
ABatesMD Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Trying to set my activity level in goals. Am I very active or just active. It says carpenter as very active and well I do everything home improvement working about 8 hours a day average walking about 4 miles a day climbing ladders and stairs. I'm also a single father taking care of a kid and maintaining a 2 acre property plus house. I only workout minimally. 30 minutes a week cardio. I run a mile in 8 minutes plus mountain bike. I do about an hour of strength training a week. Should I be in the active calorie bracket or very active calorie bracket?

Replies

  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    I would start at very active, and see how you go for a few weeks. If after 6-8 weeks your weight hasn't moved, but you are doing everything right (weighing and tracking every single thing you eat) then consider reducing to active and see if that works better for you.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited February 2020
    Start with Very Active - after a period of several weeks you will start to find out if the calorie goal is appropriate. Think of it as a reasonable start point from which you can adjust if required.

    Remember that this part is absolutely nothing to do with your activity setting " I only workout minimally. 30 minutes a week cardio. I run a mile in 8 minutes plus mountain bike. I do about an hour of strength training a week."

    This site works out your calorie goal for a day with no purposeful exercise - you estimate your exercise burns after the event by logging your exercise and then get credited with more calories to keep your chosen deficit constant.
  • ABatesMD
    ABatesMD Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks for the feed back and sound like I'm doing the right thing. I've started with the very active calorie goal and I have lost 10lbs in a few weeks. I do not entire my exercises in the app because it increases the amount I can eat in a day. I just use very active and stick with base daily caloric intake. I slowly start reducing calories from there. I've had issues in the past if I drop to many calories I won't lose weight or body fat but I was trying to break 14% body fat then. I ate 1700 calories a day for 90 days of nothing but meat and fresh vegetables. It was a big plateau. I'm no where near that now and have a long way to go.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,254 Member
    And you SHOULD eat your exercise cals back as bigger deficit does not always imply a better result.

    For example, for someone who is active and wants to prioritize muscle retention, the largest attainable deficit is probably the wrong goal.
  • sdavis484
    sdavis484 Posts: 160 Member
    I found this article enlightening. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-trackers-can-sabotage-weight-loss_b_9642104
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited February 2020
    ABatesMD wrote: »
    Thanks for the feed back and sound like I'm doing the right thing. I've started with the very active calorie goal and I have lost 10lbs in a few weeks. I do not entire my exercises in the app because it increases the amount I can eat in a day. I just use very active and stick with base daily caloric intake. I slowly start reducing calories from there. I've had issues in the past if I drop to many calories I won't lose weight or body fat but I was trying to break 14% body fat then. I ate 1700 calories a day for 90 days of nothing but meat and fresh vegetables. It was a big plateau. I'm no where near that now and have a long way to go.

    Bolded is ultimately unsustainable - how will you maintain at goal weight if you don't take your exercise into account? This site is trying to teach a life lesson (the more you do the more you eat).

    If you wish to have a same every day calorie goal then use a TDEE calculator and not the number MyFitnessPal gives you. TDEE calcs take your average projected exercise into account when giving you a daily goal.

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