sedentary or lightly active?

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sandy2006
sandy2006 Posts: 483 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How did you choose which one? I find the description of "lightly active" to be a bit confusing, I am a stay at home mom and I am up and about a lot of the day but I do sit for several hours out of the day as well. I am a bit confused on which to pick.

Replies

  • IMYarnCraz33
    IMYarnCraz33 Posts: 1,016 Member
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    bump---good question would like to know how other people chose.

    Edit:
    When I first started MFP I was definitely sedentary.
    That being said I still sit quite often as a WAHM, but..
    I am much more active now then I was b4 MFP.
    So after my first month or so on MFP I switched to lightly active.
    I'm hoping to change that when I start running again.
  • Syntria
    Syntria Posts: 46 Member
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    Sedentary is 8-10 hours of sitting for the day at a desk (or playing video games). I'd say if your up 1/3rd of your day moving around, that your probably lightly active.
  • lijparsons
    lijparsons Posts: 258
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    You could either pick sedentary and log ALL your exercise, including housework etc, or pick lightly active and only log "extra" exercise, like actual workouts ie. walks, runs, gym, DVDs etc.
  • LindsayT2012
    LindsayT2012 Posts: 60 Member
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    I did not know either so I just picked sedetary
  • SanFranRunner
    SanFranRunner Posts: 33
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    I have wondered the same thing, actually. Given your description, I would venture to guess that you're "lightly active" rather than "sedentary." I imagine chasing after kiddos all day (and standing up to cook, etc.) are analogous to the nursing/salesman activities listed in the description of "lightly active." I think "sedentary" refers to working at a desk job all day.

    On the flip side, if you're at all unsure, it can't hurt to err on the side of underestimating your calorie expenditure in order to expedite weight loss :)
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    im a SAHM too and i choose sedentary. i do light housework every day, but i dont consider it lightly active.
    i just make sure to log any walking i do as exercise, like to take/pick up my daughter to/from school and when i walk to get my produce box.
  • SandyCurrier
    SandyCurrier Posts: 50
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    How did you choose which one? I find the description of "lightly active" to be a bit confusing, I am a stay at home mom and I am up and about a lot of the day but I do sit for several hours out of the day as well. I am a bit confused on which to pick.

    I just changed mine to "lightly active" from sedentary. Since that has changed in my life.
    If you are up and about, doing for your children, and chores, I think you should be out of the sedentary level too. Sedentary, means little to no activity, I was , but not any more!! Good Luck to you Dear!
  • cassblue21
    cassblue21 Posts: 207
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    I chose slightly active. I am also a stay at home mom and feel like I am up and about alot of the day, but also sitting several hours. Like now I am relaxing while the kids nap! :) I chose it because I feel like I am pretty active with the kids most of the time. Happy fitness travels!
  • raisingbabyk
    raisingbabyk Posts: 442 Member
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    How did you choose which one? I find the description of "lightly active" to be a bit confusing, I am a stay at home mom and I am up and about a lot of the day but I do sit for several hours out of the day as well. I am a bit confused on which to pick.

    I'm the same way. I chose sedentary and just log anything that I think would be more activity (i usually just log a walk I do every day). But on days you feel you do more (like big cleaning etc) you could add it in as exersize and get those extra calories. Or set it as lightly active and just don't log as much.
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,005 Member
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    I have an office job, so I chose "sedentary", but I log all my exercise. It sure isn't an exact science, but I expect that I err on the side of caution about how many 'calories' I am burning due to exercise.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I'm a work at home non-mom, and chose lightly active. I might be home, but I'm not sitting on the couch eating bon bons all day like Peg Bundy. I'm more active than I was when I had a desk job in an office. Not quite as active as I was as a vet tech, though.
  • Tree72
    Tree72 Posts: 942 Member
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    In your situation I would definitely choose lightly active. Mine's set at sedentary because I'm stuck behind a desk for 8 or more hours each day.

    I got a Bodybugg just a couple of weeks ago and was surprised that my biggest burn day so far was on a day that I didn't do any deliberate exercise. I was getting ready for a party at my house and did lots of cleaning (up and down the stairs a lot, sweeping, mopping, etc.) and food preparation. That day I burned 2800 calories! On a day when I go to work and get in an hour at the gym my burn (TDEE) is more like 2300 for the entire day. It was quite an eye-opener. So definitely don't discount all that walking around, cleaning, and moving that you are doing.
  • smae1980
    smae1980 Posts: 794 Member
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    I choose lightly active in the summer when I am working in a restaurant and I'm on my feet for several hours a day, but I switch it to sedentary in the fall and winter when I am going to school and I spend much of my day sitting and studying. I think if you spend several hours a day on your feet, lightly active is a fine choice.
  • JJeMitchell
    JJeMitchell Posts: 160 Member
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    Lightly active for sure! I'm also a SAHM (with only 1 kid) and I am up and about all day! I can't turn my back on my son at all!

    Between dishes, laundry, diaper changes, cleaning, playing toys, errands, etc. I would definitely say it's at the level of someone "on their feet" all day!
  • ummlovelovesyou
    ummlovelovesyou Posts: 1,024 Member
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    I'm a teacher's aide in a kindergarten class. I'm up and down a lot, and go up and down stairs about 10-15 times a work day. I would think that my job is lightly active.

    Sedentary is for people who work in an office or are sitting for most of the day.
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
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    I have mine set at lightly active. I'm a SAHM of 4 kids and I'm on my feet a lot. Sure, I sit down a few minutes here and there, but I'm moving about most of the day. It allows me to eat more. I like that!

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