Confused :(

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but maybe this will help?
Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate, is the number of calories your body will burn a day even if you just sit on your butt the whole day. So if you eat your daily BMR calories, you will maintain your weight. Additionally, your body will burn a couple hundred calories from digestion.
I have been using MFP for a couple of weeks, and I try not to eat my exercise calories back, although sometimes it happens (i think my diary is open to the public, you can take a look at it if you want) if I end up going out to eat or eat with friends or whatever. I've been steadily losing weight, so I'm not sure if eating back the calories is the best thing or not. Something's working for me but I don't know what.
I actually had my BMR calculated at my gym, and it's about 100 calories higher than what MFP suggests for me. I tend to believe my trainer who tested me over a computer program, so I go off that. With that, my BMR is 1957, and I burn an additional 400 calories a day from digestion. I try to eat that amount of calories a day, although like I said above, sometimes I do.
This is just my opinion, and I'm no expert but basically what I'm trying to say is that if you eat your suggested BMR calories, and exercise on top of that, you will lose weight.

I have been doing this for 2months without MFP I only eat the 1200 recommended but eveything from my milk bread egg whites even ice cream is low calorie. The process is simple the more calories you burn the mor weight you loose. You have to make healthy choices. And if you feel hungry eat. But make sure your hungry. I use the apple test if Im hungry enough to eat the apple then it's true hunger not just bordum or a habit

Ok so I'm 5'10 and I weigh 203 lbs and my BMR is calculated as 1,750. My recommended calorie intake a day is 1200, and my calories burned is between 500 and 1000 a day. I eat at least 1200 calories a day, or more depending on the amount I have exercised that day. I never eat back all of my calories burned from exercise because I just find it too hard to eat that much. I guess I'm just confused about what the BMR is and how that figures into my calorie consumption each day and how much I should be eating. I thought I knew what I was doing but now i'm not so sure. My food diary is public so please take a look.

Thanks

P.S
5/24 was not my best day

If you eat your "BMR" you should maintain. I am assuming when you say BMR, you mean the number MFP gave you as your daily calories needed. BMR is really the calories you need to be completely sedentary (lying in bed all day), but MFP adds a multiplier to this number based on the work you do to give you the number of calories you burn each day prior to exercise.

So, if MFP says your "BMR" is 1,750 and tells you to eat 1200, you have a 550 calorie deficit every day. When you work out, you burn extra calories, you can eat those back and still maintain your 550 calorie deficit. I'm not going to go into the debate about whether to eat them or not. Just be aware, that with MFP, it is all for the "average" person. Your BMR may be a little higher or a little lower, your calorie burn may be a little higher or a little lower. So, you may have to play with how much of your exercise calories you eat.

Note: BMR is NOT Maintenane. BMR is minimum calories your body needs to function - breathing, digestion, heart beats, etc.

Maintenance is your BMR PLUS a certain number of calories you would burn naturally doing regular daily activities (I don't have the formulas at the moment...something like BMR x 1.2 for sedentary, BMR X 1.4 for light active, etc, etc.)

Edit to add: sorry for typos...the keys on my laptop stick sometimes and I tend to type fast and don't see the typos until posted!!! LOL