BMR vs TDEE - What's the Difference?

BMR and TDEE are related, but they are not the same. BMR estimates calories burned at rest. TDEE estimates total calories burned in a full day, including movement and exercise.

What BMR means

BMR is the energy your body needs for basic survival functions at complete rest. It includes breathing, blood circulation, brain activity, and organ function.

BMR is useful because it creates the foundation for calorie estimates, but it is not usually the number you should eat every day.

What TDEE means

TDEE adds activity to BMR. It includes walking, work, training, digestion, and normal daily movement.

For weight management, TDEE is the more useful number because it estimates your maintenance calories. Eating below TDEE tends to cause weight loss; eating above TDEE tends to cause weight gain.

Which number should you use?

Use BMR to understand your baseline metabolism. Use TDEE to set calorie targets for fat loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.

If your activity changes, your TDEE changes. A desk job week and a highly active vacation week may have very different calorie needs.

Step-by-step summary

1. Calculate BMR from age, gender, height, and weight.
2. Choose your activity level.
3. Multiply BMR by the activity factor to estimate TDEE.
4. Use TDEE as maintenance calories.
5. Adjust calories based on your goal and progress.

Frequently asked questions