Define sedentary vs. lightly vs. moderately vs. very active

karlseidel

I generally walk 30 minutes/run a percentage, and do strength training on same day and alternate days each week...maybe 5-6x each week. Which category do I fall into? I'm 5'7 around 180 lbs. Thanks!

Karen_Cronometer

Hi there!

The activity levels are defined as the following:

Sedentary (adds calories equal to your BMR x 0.2)
Little or no exercise. You will burn some additional calories over and above BMR even for light activity such as watching TV, working at a desk, etc. Use this setting if you are synced to a device that tracks workouts only (not tracking general activity).

Lightly Active (adds calories equal to your BMR x 0.375)
Basic daily living (sitting, eating, walking around the office or house). Light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week

Moderately Active (adds calories equal to your BMR x 0.5)
Moving frequently through the day (construction work, stocking shelves, cleaning, etc.) and/or moderate exercise 3-5 days/week

Very Active (adds calories equal to your BMR x 0.9)
Intense activity through the day such as manual agricultural work or competitive athletic training.

You can also set your own fixed daily value for calories burned due to general exercise using the Custom setting.

Sounds like you fall around moderately or lightly active, depending on the intensity of your exercise routines It might take a bit of trial and error, but try one of these settings and see if that is working for you!

Nemo

I'm probably splitting hairs here, but I've been fiddling around with the activity level settings to accurately capture calories burned. I log in miles measured by a pedometer and biking using a heart rate monitor that measures calories. Added to the the calorie allowance based on a sedentary activity level, my weight goes up if I stay within my calorie allowance. The last time I measured was for a two-week time frame. Using a custom number of activity calories that is lower than sedentary seems to be more accurate.

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Nemo,

That is a great approach to assess your calories burned! We are all different in the number of calories we burn. While the activity level settings give us some preset estimates, tracking your weight loss/gain over time is going to give you the best idea of how many calories you need.