Calories Burned

jonboy51
jonboy51 Posts: 7 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
According to my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) found on this site, I burn about 1,570 calories each day just "existing". So if I just stayed in bed all day and didn't move, my body would consume that many calories through breathing, heart activity, etc. OK, I get that. So if I have a relatively sedentary job (mostly at a desk with quite a few ups and downs and running arounds...) I'm thinking I probably burn another 1,000 calories a day by NOT staying in bed motionless. Is that reasonable? I'm trying to figure out sort of a "base" of calories burned on an average day without specific "exercise" involved. Anyone got any ideas on this subject??? Thanks! :wink:

Replies

  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    When I first signed up for MFP it asked me a lot of questions, including type of job and how much weight I want to lose per week, and gave me a target number of calories to aim for. Have you done that? I'm not sure why you'd need to figure it out yourself...
  • lukasmac
    lukasmac Posts: 216 Member
    i believe this site already calibrates that for you.

    Go to:

    My Home (tab)

    then click: Goals link under the tabs... look at 'Calories burned from normal daily activity'

    When you set your goals it will tell you what you burn 'just existing' and then it will ask you what your normal activity for a day is...

    Thus, the number given should be a great measure to go by.
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    ...sorry, maybe I misunderstood your question.

    The only way I can think of would be to wear a HRM all day.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    Do a google search for "maintenance calories". You'll get various calculators that will come up with different numbers, but basically, what you wrote in your initial post is correct.

    Your BMR is resting calories burned, just to run your organs, and no activity included. Add your activity in, based on how active you are, and you get your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Here at MFP, they deduct 500 from TDEE if you say you want to lose 1 pd a week, and 1000 if you say you want to lose 2 pds a week. That is your goal calories.
  • jonboy51
    jonboy51 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks, that sounds good. I'll try the Google search and see what I can find. The TDEE you refer to is exactly what I wanted to find. My MFP calorie goal per day is around 1200 and I wanted to make sure that wasn't too low. Just wanted to make sure I understand where the numbers are coming from and that they make sense. Thanks for your help!
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