explain BMR like I'm five years old

grdaze

My BMR (calculated from scooby site) is 1635 and my TDEE is 2533.

So that means I should eat at least 1600 cal a day to lose 1 lb a week, right?
and eat back my exercise calories?


I've been eating about 1400 a day and have lost 23 lbs but have hit a standstill lately. I'm not hungry, but from what I've been reading (read all the newbie links, thanks), I'm eating too little.

WBB55

BMR is an estimate of the amount of calories your body would use if you were in a coma, just laying in bed, breathing
TDEE is an estimate of the amount of calories you actually use in one day

Eating on average somewhere between those two numbers should result in weight loss. For someone with 2533 TDEE, then eating 2033 per day should result in 1#/week weightloss.

If you're sure you're logging all your food accurately, you should probably eat at least your BMR, so you don't cause your body any disfunction or metabolic problems.

Edit to add: my method above would have you NOT eat back your exercise calories, since they're already included in your TDEE.