TDEE and other - not sure about activity level

Weight loss
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Hi Guys!

I’ve just started with Huel for weight loss and health improvement. Many of you recommend TDEE for calculating kcal intake needed for the weight loss. I have problem with choosing the activity level… So I have office work (sedentary), I don’t work out. But I’m doing ca. 10000 steps a day do I’m not sure if option sedentary is ok - I guess it’s to be used by people who do like 2-3K steps a day as well…

So what do you advise? Should I use light excercise instead? Or what do you think?

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Humans have evolved over a vast number of years to do one thing incredibly efficiently - Walk.

If you’re hoping to lose weight then I’d go for sedentary to bring that TDEE down.

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I second what @GTIPuG said.

The sedetary option probably resemble your activity level the most. The TDEE calculators are an estimate anyway. You can always adjust your intake up or down along the way if the calorie calculation turned out to be too high or too low.

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It’s a balance really. You should be picking the option that represents most of your day. To give an example:

  • 24 hours in a day.
  • 8 hours asleep.
  • 10,000 steps = 5 miles = approx. 1.5 hours spent walking at a moderate pace.

If the remaining 14.5 hours are spent sat at a desk or sat in front of the TV then sedentary is the right option as it represents the majority of your time.

It would be different if your daily routine was something that kept you active (nurse, delivery cyclist, etc.) or if you were doing regular exercise at a decent intensity which mitigates the long periods of inactivity to some degree and increases your average activity level. But if your only activity is walking 10,000 steps a day then sedentary is the most accurate description.

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