BMI calculator? - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

Infidel · 06-28-2004, 08:22 AM

Hey all,
I am using this BMI calculator thingy to get an idea on how many calories I should eat per day. But I am not sure how to define my activity level, and none of the sites dealing with the BMI indicate what exactly the different activity levels correspond to. I do 35 minutes of the exercise bike 7 times a week and 20-30 minutes of weight lifting 3-4 times a week. I also go for 1-2 20 minutes walks per day. Can anyone give me an idea how this would correspond to the BMI's acitivty scale?

Thanks for any replies.

modert · 06-28-2004, 10:51 AM

getting lots of duplicate posts lately... see below!

modert · 06-28-2004, 11:04 AM

I assume you mean that you are using a BMR calculator (Basal Metaboic Rate). The activity portion of these calculators can be confusing. Here are my recommendations:

I recommend NOT using the category classfied as "Very Light." The ativities included in this category are reading, sitting, driving, and actually are included in the base BMR rate. You will find that if you add 900 minutes if sitting (for example a desk job) it will indicate that you need as many as 1000 additional calories - absolutely ludicrous! Just skip this one altogether.

Light Activities include housework, natural pace walking, casual bicycle riding, etc.
Moderate Activities include brisk walking, speed bicycle riding, ice or roller skating, golfing, light weight training, low impact aerobics, etc.
Heavy activity includes swimming, running, basketball, tennis, skiing, high impact aerobics, etc.
Very heavy activity includes mountain climbing, rowing, boxing, vigerous weight training, etc...

If you do a google search on "BMR calculator" some of the results will include the activity ranges and others won't. Explore several of the results and you will find one that does.