Should You Eat Your BMR or TDEE?
Understanding which calorie number actually matters for daily planning.
Last updated: January 2026
One of the most common calorie questions is whether you should base your eating on BMR or TDEE. While both numbers come from the same calculation process, they serve very different purposes.
What eating at BMR really means
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is an estimate of how many calories your body burns if you were resting all day with no movement beyond basic life functions. It assumes no walking, no exercise, and minimal digestion demands.
Because real life always includes movement, eating only your BMR is usually too aggressive. Many people who try this experience:
- Low energy and poor workout performance
- Increased hunger and food obsession
- Higher risk of muscle loss over time
Why TDEE is the practical calorie target
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) includes your BMR plus all daily activity, digestion, and exercise. That makes it a far better reference point for real-world eating.
When people talk about “maintenance calories,” they are almost always referring to TDEE. Eating around this level tends to keep body weight relatively stable over time.
How most people use TDEE in practice
Instead of choosing between BMR and TDEE, most people use them this way:
- Maintenance: Eat close to TDEE to keep weight steady.
- Weight loss: Eat about 15–25% below TDEE for a controlled deficit.
- Muscle gain: Eat slightly above TDEE with progressive training.
BMR remains important behind the scenes, but TDEE is the number that guides daily decisions.
BMR is a building block inside the formula. TDEE is the practical calorie target. For most goals, plan your intake around TDEE, not BMR.