What should my lifestyle multiplier be?

aquarianpixi
aquarianpixi Posts: 131 Member
edited October 6 in Health and Weight Loss
I don't know what to set my lifestyle multiplier to. I want to say sedentary, but I don't want to go too low because 1) I don't want to be too restrictive right away because I know I will give up and 2) if my lifestyle burns more cals than I think it would and not lose weight because I wasn't eating enough.

I guess you need to know my lifestyle to help me with this, huh? lol.

When I am at home I am a true couch potato, not really by choice because I live with my dad and he gets lonely while I am at work all day and he stays home alone. So when I am home I chill with him.

At work I am constantly on my feet for 5-12 hours. I walk back and forth across the building or just my section at all times. I am literally not allowed to stand still the entire time I am there other than lunch break and a 15 min break. (My bosses aren't mean. lol. I work at a plasma center and I need to keep constant watch over my donors.) I lift and carry boxes up to 20lbs at least 4 times during my shift.

Would a job like this make me have lightly active? active? sedentary?

Replies

  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
    5-12 hours on your feet? Moving constantly? Sounds pretty active to me.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    Play around with it! Start of as active, and see how you go for a week or two. If you don't feel hungry and don't lose at all, you can drop it down to lightly active. If you start on lightly active you might find that you're just too hungry... The other option is to start off on sedentary and log your 5-7 hours of walking. That will probably give you way more calories than you need though...

    It is a bit of a game!
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    If I were you, which I'm not ;-), I might consider setting it to 'lightly active' and also setting to 'maintenance' and doing a trial run of a week or two. If you stick to your 'lightly active', 'maintenance' calorie goal and your weight remains the same, you could infer that yes 'lightly active' is a good setting for you. If you LOSE weight on that setting, you could infer that perhaps 'active' would be more appropriate as it would appear you are burning more calories than the 'lightly active' setting allows for. If you GAIN weight on that setting, you might benefit from bumping it down to 'sedentary'. Or if you don't want to waste time experimenting with maintenance just pick the setting that sounds most accurate to you and choose your weightloss goal and go for it. Monitor your progress over several weeks and adjust as needed. :-) Although honestly if you are on your feet and moving for 5-12 hours and lifting boxes and whatnot at your job most days, I feel fairly confident that 'sedentary' would definitely be too low for you. Other than that, I don't know where the lines are drawn which is why I'd suggest a trial run. :-) OR if you want to get serious and accurate in a hurry and have some cash to spare, you could consider purchasing a device such as the BodyBugg or BodyMediaFit (like the devices they wear on the Biggest Loser), which monitor your calorie burn throughout the entire day. But they are a bit of an investment and you are required to wear them all day except for very brief periods of time.
  • vwbug86
    vwbug86 Posts: 283 Member
    I know what the people who work at plasma centers do. So I would put yourself as at least lightly active. See how you feel after a week and then adjust from there.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Sounds pretty damn active to me.
    But, if you aren't sure, why not start out at lightly active and see how you go in a few weeks?
    I initially set my activity level as sedentary, but was losing weight faster than I expected so I changed my activity level up to lightly active, my weight loss from 1/2 pound to 1 pound per week and this was about right for me.
  • gmrgirl
    gmrgirl Posts: 50 Member
    here are a few of the benchmarks for you:

    1.200 = sedentary (little or no exercise)
    1.375 = lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week, approx. 590 Cal/day)
    1.550 = moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week, approx. 870 Cal/day)
    1.725 = very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week, approx. 1150 Cal/day)
    1.900 = extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job, approx. 1580 Cal/day)

    NOTE: A 150-pound (68 kg) person walking at 4 miles per hour uses about 300 Cal per hour (5 kcal/min). The activity factor lightly active corresponds to walking 2 hours per day, moderately active corresponds to walking 3 hours per day, very active corresponds to walking 4 hours per day, and extra active corresponds to walking 5 hours per day (20 miles). Sedentary would include those sitting at a desk all day with no other activity or those confined to a wheelchair or mobility scooters who are not able to exercise.

    If you weight more than 150 pounds, and you walk 4 miles an hour, the burn is higher and you should assume you burn more. If you weigh more than 150 pounds but you walk slower than 4 miles an hour, the estimates may be right on for you. (so 5+ hours of walking would actually be "extra active" assuming you do it every day). Based on these numbers, at the very least I would say you were moderately active.

    those are the numbers and benchmarks I use with my clients when figuring out their nutrition numbers
  • aquarianpixi
    aquarianpixi Posts: 131 Member
    I put myself as lightly active for now. Thanks for all the advice! :)
  • Yori1
    Yori1 Posts: 142
    Bump
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