Is it better to underestimate your activity level?

I have my activity level set at Sedentary although I think I am more towards the light activity or possibly moderate.  I like thinking / fooling myself that I am not burning as much as I am just exsisting.  I am afraid if I up my activity level, I will up my calories because I can.  Does anyone else out there do this and should I up my activity level.  I do have a desk job and sit most of the day, five days a week. But I also do spinning 5 days a week, weight training 3 days a week and more cardio and yoga when I can fit it in (single mom with two tweens...not enough hours in the day to do everything I want!!).  Just wanted to get some opinions on where others set their activity levels and burn meters.

Thanks!

I think the easiest thing to do is to pick the appropriate activity level but then not log the extra exercise.  For example, you're at least lightly active.  So, you could set yourself as "lightly active" but not bother to log your regular exercise anymore.  It would give you a more accurate picture of how many calories you burn every day because fit bodies burn more calories at rest than unfit bodies.  It'll still be a bit of an underestimate because, with that much exercise, you're getting very close to "moderately active", if not actually there.

i have a desk job, but workout 5 days a week (3 day of high intensity cardio). I set myself at sedentary and add my exercise at the gym.  If it says I burn 500 p/h, I go by 45 min instead (bc those things are never accurate).
I would much rather underestimate and be surprised by my progress, then overestimate and be dissappointed.

One thing I have to make clear is I never have extreme cal deficits. I'm usually burning around 500 (sometimes 0 at most 700) so if I'm off by 200 or so, it wont effect me negitivly (malnurishment and whatnot).

I just count my cals for the day and eat healthy and workout.  I have lost weight and I feel good.

Probably ok to underestimate some, but from what you described (spinning 5 days per week, weights 3 x week, carting around 2 tweens, etc.), you are probably way, way underestimating your calorie burn.  So if you are aiming for a 500 calorie per day deficit compared to your sedentary burn estimate, your actual deficit is probably well in excess of 1000 calories per day. Set yourself to at least a moderate activity level if you don't want to log all your daily activities.  It still may be an underestimate, but not by as much.

Here's my example.  I have a desk job and don't move around much at work.  I do do some housework, but not what I would consider "heavy housework" and I sit around a lot at home if I am not exercising.  I do, however, exercise pretty hard 6 to 7 days a week, including 3 days of lifting.  CC estimates I burn 2250 cal/day when set to sedentary, 2500 cals per day, 2900 cals/per day when set to moderate, and 3200 cals/day when set to very active.  Now based on the written descriptions of each activity level, I would guess I fall between ligh and moderate since I am not very active except for the exercise.  However, based on my actual calorie intake which has averaged 2750 per day since March 4 (when I started logging here) and my  weight loss in that time (11 pounds), it is clear that my actual calorie burn is closer to 3500 per day.  If I used the sedentary burn estimate, I would have a daily deficit of much more than 1000 calories per day

Thanks for the input.  I didn't even consider that my deficit would be that off by not setting the right level.  I am losing about 1.5 to 2 lbs (if I keep the healthy eating on track) but I do platue every now and then.  Maybe that would take care of that.  It's just scary to think that I might see the difference and think "I've got the calories available....maybe I should have that cookie"  

UGH!!  Weight loss....

I dont know, I recently found out how many calories I actually burn a day and based off what the sites guidelines said for activity level I thought I qualified for a level that I actually did not.  I burn about 2200-2500 a day, and according to the site, for my weight at a light activity level, it recommened something like 1900 or something like that.  So in my case my activity was higher then I thought, but it just goes to show that these are guidelines and as humans we make errors, especially when it comes to guessing and assuming... 

If your trying to lose weight go ahead and aim low, if your trying to gain aim high.