Question about activity level

When using the planners and guides, I'm still undecided about what my activity level is.  My hobbies involve very little activity, I'm an avid gamer, which requires clicking and button pushing.  At work I sit at a desk and use a computer for 90% of my job.

 

However, I do 45-60 minutes of cardio a day at the gym, light weights, and I walk at a brisk pace to the gym and work each day.  Between the gym and work, I spend about 2 hours walking.  I would say I'm moderate on the scale, but isn't that offset by how inactive I am the rest of the time, putting me back to light activity?

Advice welcome!  :P

~Frok

It's the other way around actually... the activity offsets the inactivity.    If you're getting 1 hour of reasonably vigorous activity and 2 hours of light activity a day then the average is 'moderate'.  Your sedentary burn will be higher than someone who genuinely does nothing all day

That's a really good question though isn't it?  I've wondered about this - how much activity offsets the inactivity - just from the perspective of how to classify yourself for the various meters on this site - it can be a little frustrating.  GI-Jane is right on the physics and biology of course - but only looking at the meters - and how to classify yourself - it can be a little shady... 

Hehe, thanks for the replies.  Its not a huge deal, mostly I just wanted to know because I was using the "how long till I hit my goal weight" calculator thingy!  For my meters I decided to just set my activity level to the lowest one and just log my activities, though I just started doing that the last couple days.  

I find the activity meter hard to figure out too. In my case, I'm a teacher so on my feet 5-6 hours a day at least standing and walking around the classroom. I have mine set on light activity and then log my daily long walks (1 hour) and runs separately. 

Now I'm wondering if I should set my activity meter higher. Right now it says I burn 1910 cals a day so I eat an average of 1400 (zig-zag). Thoughts?

I wondered the same thing! I happened across a 'question' to Mary, the nutritionist on here. She said:

"Do not bother to enter your calories from physical activity because they were already figured into your burn rate when you listed your activity level as "Light", "Moderate", etc. Those activity levels account for your usual energy expenditure in work, household chores, exercise, and play - as long as your day is typical. Now, if, on a particular day, you perform some activity that is over-and-above your typical level, then do add it to your activity log. For example, moving heavy boxes for several hours should be added."

It all makes sense to me know. I was adding my spinning classes on top of my moderate burn meter figure. Whoops.

Oh, that's really helpful! Thank you!

I have myself at light activity right now so hopefully that's okay -- I zig-zag calories so do have my highest days on the days I run. 

frokusblakah

 

Depends on your current status, age, height and all the other details needed to properly assess your situation.

For me I do a lot of standing at my work and computer work of course sitting.

So for me and my weight program 90 minutes a week is all I seem to need.  When I walk I do the 100 steps a minute formula and try to do 30 minutes, I do inversion therapy for about 10 minutes a day and some mlight jogging.

With only natural foods, a well balanced diet, no pills or kits...I feel I have finally found the right weight loss program for me after years of failures.

Good luck

I wasn't sure of my activity level either.  I sit at a desk all day, but I run 60 minutes 5 days a week and do 20-25 minutes of stretching and about 15 minutes of calisthenic-type exercises every day.  My "off days" with running I walk a lot and try to do 30 min on a bike.. but the rest of the day I do lots of butt-sitting.   What I was advised to do was this; I set my meter at "sedentary" and for 2 days when I did NOT excercise I logged everything else in; up and down stairs, standing for cooking, for shopping, emptying the dishwasher.  It was tedious, but it paid off.  It turns out I burned the amount of calories I need daily somewhere between "light" and "moderate" activity WITHOUT my running included.  So now I set my burn meter to "light" and add the time and speed of my run and exercises.  Since the activity level includes everything we do daily, I feel this is the best way for me to do it.  Done this way I canLOOK at the number of calories I burn when I work out (and this number changes if I run 50 minutes or 65 minutes).  It works for me.