How to choose your activity level
Exercise is only one variable that contributes to your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). You also need to consider your job and everyday lifestyle. This is known as your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) and has a much larger influence on TDEE than exercise.
There are a few levels of activity to choose from and here is how to select yours.
Sedentary activity level should be selected if your job is sat at a desk etc and you perform little to no exercise at all. Examples of sedentary jobs; office, receptionists, drivers, etc.
Lightly active should be selected if you have a sedentary job but train 2-3 times per week or have a slightly more active job but dont train, more active jobs would include standing up jobs like sales rep, hairdresser, security guard or restaurant servers.
Moderate Activity Level should be selected if you have a moderate lifestyle which can include having a standing up job and exercising 3-4 times a week or having a sedentary job but exercising 4-5 times a week. If you have a stand up job but do little to no exercise, medium activity should still be selected. Standing up jobs include; sales assistant, security guards, restaurants clerks, etc.
Very active activity Level option should be selected if your job is physically demanding and you exercise 3-5+ times per week.. . Some examples of this are carpenters, tradies, paramedics and anything that requires you to be on your feet or moving the majority of the time.
Extra active should be selected if you have a very active job like above and train 6-7 days per week or are an athlete at the height of their training.
Note: The calorie calculator provides an estimation of your calorie requirements. It is best to use the recommended calories as your starting point. Trial these calories for 1-2 weeks then make adjustments as needed to suit your individual requirements.