Advice on activity level setting

Cristofori44
Cristofori44 Posts: 201
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So I have a desk job, and drive to work, and have been entering my cardio exercises manually. Current weight is 208 pounds at 5'8. Trying to get down to 180ish.

Should I set my activity level to sedentary or lightly active? Unless I am working out, I tend not to do a ton of walking during the day and the "lightly active" setting says it is for people who spend most of the day on their feet, e.g. nurses.

I have seen another poster saying sedentary is what you should set it at if you just sat around watching TV all day.

It's been on sedentary for about 3 weeks and so far have lost about 6 pounds with my goal being to lose 1.5 pounds per week. I figured setting at 1.5 pounds was a safe bet because "sedentary" is just minus 200 calories per day compared to lightly active--about a half-pound difference per week compared to "lightly active."

Also, I like entering the exercise manually because it really gives you a good calorie picture for the day.

Also, I am eating back exercise calories to be on the safe side from preventing a metabolic slowdown.

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I found that although I work a desk job (usually) sedentary didn't seem right for me so I changed to lightly active and lost weight at the rate I expected.
    It isn't an exact science - trial and error is the best way to see what seems right for you. In this case, I'd suggest change it to lightly active and see how your weight loss progresses over the next month or so.
  • SlidingDown
    SlidingDown Posts: 64 Member
    I have a desk job and drive to work, so I rated mine as sedentary, because I didn't want to assume exercise that I might not do.

    I then log my actual exercise, so I can see what I've done. It gives me more of a sense of achievement then. Also I do eat back the calories if I feel hungry, or most of them.
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    It sounds to me like you're doing the right thing. I have mine set on sedentary, because even though I'm grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and doing laundry, it doesn't seem as strenuous as nursing. If I'm on my feet a lot on a particular day, I might add in half an hour of "Walking slowly, 2 miles per hour." And I've added in "Gardening" "Cooking" and "Playing a musical instrument" a few times, too. It keeps it interesting. And I usually eat only a portion of my exercise calories.

    All this keeps me loosing about a pound a week - if I'm consistently good. :blushing:
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