BMR and TDEE - can anyone answer a query about calorie counting and exercise?

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

So I know what BMR and TDEE are, but to work them out your have to input your general activity level which gives you your calorie needs. Is that a baseline calorie intake and then if you do something that burns say 50cals then you can eat 50 more calls that day and either lose of maintain (depending on your goal), or has that exercise already been accounted for when you put in your general activity level?

I don't know the answer to this - I would assume the exercise has already been accounted for. But I very much recommend a Fitbit or similar, to take away the guesswork! On any given day, I know how many calories I've burned - and that can vary by up to 500. I also track my consumed calories on it (I log the entire's day worth of food in the morning and adjust as necessary) and it helps me work out when I can allow myself treats and still have enough of a deficit to steadily lose weight. It's made such a difference for me!

BMR is basically what you'd burn if you were in a coma so any exercise on top of that will burn more calories. So if your BMR was 1200 but you burned 500 calories exercising you could, in theory, eat 1700 calories and you'd maintain your weight. You'd need to eat fewer than 1700 to lose. In pasta rice though it's never a good idea to eat back exercise calories as they are so difficult to calculate accurately.

TDEE includes both your BMR and the level of activity you have stated you do. So it already includes your calories from activity. Again, it's only a rough guide.

In practice not pasta rice - Freudian slip

@PowerslidePanda thanks for the recommendation!

@OneForTheRoadThen that makes total sense - thank you so much!!