So, how many calories do you burn daily without doing planned exercise? Your body burns calories all day and night, even when you are not exercising. This energy is used for basic life functions like breathing, thinking, and pumping blood, plus daily movements outside of planned workouts. The exact number of calories burned without formal exercise varies greatly from person to person. It depends on things like your size, age, sex, and how active you are in your daily life outside of the gym. We can look at different parts of your daily energy use to get an idea.
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Comprehending Your Daily Energy Use
Your body is always working. It needs energy to keep you alive and moving. This energy comes from the calories in the food you eat. The total number of calories your body uses each day is called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Your TDEE has a few main parts:
* Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) or Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): This is the energy your body uses just to stay alive at rest.
* Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): This is the energy used to digest, absorb, and store the food you eat.
* Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): This is the energy used for all your movements that are not planned exercise.
* Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): This is the energy used during planned physical activity like running or lifting weights.
This article is about how many calories you burn without planned exercise. So, we will focus mainly on BMR/RMR and NEAT. The Thermic Effect of Food is also part of burning calories without exercise, but BMR and NEAT make up the biggest parts of this number.
Deciphering Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Let’s start with BMR and RMR. These terms are often used to mean the same thing.
* Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic life functions when you are completely at rest. This means after a night’s sleep, in a fasted state (not eaten for 12 hours), and in a calm environment. It is the minimum energy needed to keep your heart beating, your lungs breathing, your brain working, and your body temperature right. It is hard to measure BMR perfectly.
* Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is similar to BMR. It is the number of calories your body burns when it is at rest. RMR is usually measured in a less strict setting than BMR, often just after resting quietly for a short time. RMR is usually a bit higher than BMR because it includes a little bit of energy used for recent activity or digestion. Most online tools and calculators use RMR. For our purposes here, we can think of RMR as the energy expenditure at rest.
Your BMR or RMR accounts for a very large part of your daily calorie burn without exercise. For most people, it is the biggest part. It can be 60% to 75% of the total calories you burn in a day. This shows how much work your body does just to keep you alive, even when you are doing nothing.
How Body Burns Calories Naturally at Rest
Your body’s natural processes burn calories all the time. Think of your organs. Your brain uses a lot of energy just thinking and sending signals. Your heart uses energy to pump blood through your body. Your lungs use energy to breathe. Your kidneys filter waste. Even your cells are constantly working, fixing themselves and doing their jobs. This constant work is what your BMR/RMR pays for.
Burning calories at rest is vital for survival. It keeps your body running smoothly. It is the most basic way your body uses energy. This energy is not for movement, but for staying alive and healthy.
Factors Affecting Metabolism at Rest
Many things can change your BMR or RMR. This means the number of calories your body burns at rest is different for everyone.
* Age: As you get older, your BMR usually goes down. This is often because people lose muscle mass as they age.
* Sex: Men usually have a higher BMR than women. This is often because men tend to have more muscle mass and are generally larger.
* Body Size: People who are bigger or heavier burn more calories at rest. They have more cells and tissue that need energy to keep going.
* Body Composition: This is about how much muscle and fat you have. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue. So, someone with more muscle will have a higher BMR/RMR.
* Genetics: Your genes play a role in how fast or slow your metabolism is. Some people naturally have a higher BMR than others.
* Hormones: Your thyroid hormones have a big effect on your metabolism. If your thyroid is overactive (hyperthyroidism), your BMR is higher. If it is underactive (hypothyroidism), your BMR is lower.
* Health: Illnesses or fevers can raise your BMR as your body works to get well.
* Environment Temperature: Living in very cold or very hot places can slightly raise your BMR as your body uses energy to keep its temperature normal.
* Sleep: Not getting enough sleep can sometimes mess with hormones that affect metabolism.
Knowing these factors helps you understand why your resting calorie burn might be different from someone else’s.
Grasping Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
Now let’s look at NEAT. NEAT is the energy your body uses for everything you do that is not sleeping, eating, or planned exercise. It is a big and often surprising part of your daily calorie burn.
NEAT includes things like:
* Walking around your house.
* Standing up.
* Typing on a computer.
* Cooking.
* Shopping.
* Fidgeting.
* Taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
* Gardening.
* Cleaning.
* Playing with kids or pets.
NEAT can be very different from person to person. Someone with a job where they are on their feet all day will have much higher NEAT than someone who sits at a desk. Someone who fidgets a lot burns more calories through NEAT than someone who sits still.
NEAT can range from very low (for someone mostly sitting or lying down) to very high (for someone with a very active job or lifestyle). It can change a lot day by day based on what you do.
Calories Burned Sitting and Sleeping
Let’s look closer at some parts of NEAT and rest:
* Calories Burned Sleeping: When you sleep, your body is at its most basic level of energy use. This is very close to your BMR or RMR. Your body is still working hard: repairing cells, processing memories, keeping your organs running. A typical person burns around 50-100 calories per hour while sleeping. This number depends on the person’s size and metabolism.
* Calories Burned Sitting: Sitting burns more calories than sleeping or lying down, but it is still a low level of energy use. When you sit, your muscles are doing a little bit of work to keep you upright. You might burn around 60-130 calories per hour sitting, again depending on your size. Things like typing, talking, or small movements while sitting add a tiny bit more.
Compared to standing, walking, or other activities, sitting and sleeping burn relatively few calories. This is why NEAT is so important. Small increases in daily movement add up over time. Standing instead of sitting, walking short distances, or taking the stairs all boost your NEAT and your total calorie burn without exercise.
Interpreting Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) Without Exercise
So, how do we put this together? The Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) without exercise is mainly the sum of your BMR/RMR and your NEAT, plus the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).
TDEE without exercise ≈ BMR/RMR + NEAT + TEF
Let’s break down the percentages typically:
* BMR/RMR: 60-75% of total daily calorie burn
* NEAT: 15-50% of total daily calorie burn (this varies a lot)
* TEF: About 10% of total daily calorie burn
As you can see, NEAT is where most of the variation comes in for calorie burn without planned exercise. Your BMR/RMR is fairly stable (though affected by factors like weight change). Your NEAT is highly variable based on your lifestyle.
Someone with a desk job who drives everywhere and sits in the evenings will have low NEAT. Their TDEE without exercise will be closer to their BMR/RMR plus TEF.
Someone with a physical job who walks or bikes to work, takes the stairs, and is active in the evenings will have high NEAT. Their TDEE without exercise will be much higher than their BMR/RMR plus TEF.
This is why focusing on increasing NEAT can be a helpful way to burn more calories daily without needing extra time for the gym.
Calculating Daily Calorie Burn Without Activity
Calculating your exact daily calorie burn without planned activity is tricky. It’s hard to measure NEAT precisely. However, we can estimate it.
First, estimate your BMR or RMR. There are formulas for this. The most common ones are the Harris-Benedict formula and the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula is often seen as more accurate.
Mifflin-St Jeor Formula for RMR:
* For Men: RMR = (10 * weight in kg) + (6.25 * height in cm) – (5 * age in years) + 5
* For Women: RMR = (10 * weight in kg) + (6.25 * height in cm) – (5 * age in years) – 161
Let’s do an example using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula.
Example: A 30-year-old woman, 165 cm tall, weighing 60 kg.
RMR = (10 * 60) + (6.25 * 165) – (5 * 30) – 161
RMR = 600 + 1031.25 – 150 – 161
RMR = 1320.25 calories per day
This is her estimated resting calorie burn. This is the main part of her daily burn without exercise.
Next, we need to estimate NEAT and TEF. TEF is about 10% of your total daily calorie intake or burn. NEAT is the hardest part to estimate. It depends on your activity level.
Online calculators often use an “activity factor” to estimate your total daily calorie burn (TDEE, including exercise). These factors are:
* Sedentary (little or no exercise, mostly sitting): TDEE = RMR * 1.2
* Lightly active (light exercise 1-3 days/week): TDEE = RMR * 1.375
* Moderately active (moderate exercise 3-5 days/week): TDEE = RMR * 1.55
* Very active (hard exercise 6-7 days/week): TDEE = RMR * 1.725
* Extra active (very hard exercise, physical job, or 2x training): TDEE = RMR * 1.9
To estimate TDEE without planned exercise, we would use a factor that represents RMR + NEAT + TEF. A simple way to think about this is to use the RMR and then add calories for your estimated NEAT.
Let’s go back to the example woman with an RMR of 1320 calories.
If she is very sedentary (sits most of the day, no planned exercise), her TDEE without exercise would be her RMR plus a very small amount for NEAT and TEF. Using the activity factor of 1.2 for sedentary gives a rough estimate of TDEE including minimal NEAT: 1320 * 1.2 = 1584 calories. This 1584 includes her RMR, her very low NEAT (like walking to the kitchen, fidgeting), and the energy to digest food.
If she is lightly active in her daily life but does no planned exercise (e.g., walks around the office, does housework), her NEAT is higher. Estimating this precisely is hard. However, we know that NEAT can add anywhere from a couple of hundred to over a thousand calories per day.
Here is a rough guide for estimating NEAT based on lifestyle (these are just estimates):
* Very Sedentary (desk job, little movement): NEAT might add 100-300 calories above RMR+TEF.
* Lightly Active (some walking, standing, housework): NEAT might add 300-500 calories above RMR+TEF.
* Moderately Active (active job, lots of movement, no exercise): NEAT might add 500-900 calories above RMR+TEF.
* Very Active (highly physical job, very active lifestyle): NEAT might add 900+ calories above RMR+TEF.
So, for our example woman (RMR 1320 kcal, let’s estimate TEF as 10% of a moderate intake, maybe 1800 calories total, so ~180 kcal):
* If Very Sedentary: TDEE without exercise ≈ 1320 (RMR) + 150 (NEAT) + 180 (TEF) = 1650 calories. (This aligns somewhat with the 1.2 factor estimate of 1584).
* If Lightly Active Daily (no planned exercise): TDEE without exercise ≈ 1320 (RMR) + 400 (NEAT) + 180 (TEF) = 1900 calories.
* If Moderately Active Daily (no planned exercise): TDEE without exercise ≈ 1320 (RMR) + 700 (NEAT) + 180 (TEF) = 2200 calories.
These are just estimates. The key takeaway is that NEAT has a huge impact on the total calories you burn without formal exercise.
Here is a table showing estimated RMR ranges based on size and sex, plus how NEAT adds to this:
| Characteristic | Estimated RMR Range (calories/day) | Potential NEAT Calories Added (Sedentary) | Potential NEAT Calories Added (Active Daily Life) | Estimated TDEE without Exercise (Sedentary Example) | Estimated TDEE without Exercise (Active Daily Life Example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Woman (lighter) | 1100-1300 | 100-200 | 300-600 | 1300-1600 | 1500-2000 |
| Average Woman (heavier) | 1300-1500 | 150-250 | 400-700 | 1550-1850 | 1800-2300 |
| Average Man (lighter) | 1400-1600 | 150-250 | 400-700 | 1650-1950 | 1900-2300 |
| Average Man (heavier) | 1600-1800 | 200-300 | 500-900 | 1900-2200 | 2300-2800 |
(Note: These ranges are broad estimates. TEF is not separately added here but is included in the NEAT factor based on typical food intake for these activity levels)
This table helps show how much variation there is, especially due to NEAT.
Deciphering the Impact of NEAT on Daily Burn
Let’s look more closely at how everyday activities add up. Even small things can make a difference over a whole day or week.
Think about these examples:
* Standing vs. Sitting: Standing burns about 10-30 calories more per hour than sitting. If you stand for 3 hours at work instead of sitting, that’s 30-90 extra calories burned. Over a week, that’s 150-450 calories.
* Taking Stairs: Climbing stairs burns a good number of calories quickly. Taking stairs for just 5 minutes might burn 40-70 calories. If you do this a few times a day, it adds up.
* Walking Short Distances: Parking farther away, walking to a nearby shop, or taking a short walk during lunch break adds movement. A 15-minute casual walk burns about 70-100 calories. Doing this daily adds up significantly.
* Housework/Gardening: These activities involve bending, lifting, and moving. 30 minutes of cleaning can burn 100-150 calories. 30 minutes of gardening can burn 150-200 calories.
* Fidgeting: Even small movements like tapping your feet, shifting in your chair, or moving your hands burns calories. Some studies suggest fidgeting can burn an extra 100-800 calories per day! This shows how variable NEAT can be.
These examples show that NEAT is not just one number. It’s the sum of all your little movements throughout the day. If you have a lifestyle or job with lots of natural movement, your NEAT is high. If your life involves mostly sitting, your NEAT is low.
Increasing NEAT is a practical way to burn more calories without dedicated workout time. It’s about making small changes to be more active in your daily routine.
Fathoming How to Increase Calorie Burn Without Exercise
Since NEAT is the most variable part of your non-exercise calorie burn, increasing it is the main way to burn more calories daily without hitting the gym. Here are some simple ideas:
* Stand Up More: Use a standing desk, stand during phone calls, or stand while watching TV.
* Move More at Work: Walk to talk to colleagues instead of emailing, take the stairs, take a longer route to the restroom or printer.
* Increase Daily Walking: Park farther away, walk during your lunch break, walk the dog for longer, take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
* Do More Housework/Chores: Cleaning, gardening, and other household tasks burn calories.
* Play Actively: Spend time playing actively with children or pets.
* Pace While Talking: Walk around when on the phone.
* Get Up Often: Set a timer to stand up and move for a few minutes every hour if you have a sedentary job.
* Carry Groceries: Carry shopping bags instead of using a trolley for part of the way (if safe).
These small changes might not seem like much on their own, but they add up over the day and week. An extra 200-500 calories burned through NEAT each day can make a big difference over time.
For example, burning an extra 300 calories per day through NEAT equals burning 2100 calories per week. This is like adding several exercise sessions without needing extra gym time. Over a year, this is over 100,000 extra calories burned.
Reviewing Factors Affecting Metabolism Beyond Rest
We already talked about factors affecting RMR (age, sex, size, muscle mass, genes, hormones, etc.). These also affect your overall metabolism, including how efficiently your body uses energy during NEAT.
Other things that can affect your total non-exercise calorie burn include:
* Amount of Muscle Mass: People with more muscle burn more calories both at rest (higher RMR) and during movement (NEAT activities require muscles).
* Nervous System Activity: How active your nervous system is can affect metabolism. Stress, for instance, can sometimes increase hormone release that might temporarily boost metabolism slightly, but this is not a healthy long-term strategy.
* Body Temperature: Being slightly colder can make your body burn more calories to stay warm (thermogenesis).
* Hormonal Balance: Thyroid hormones are key, but other hormones like insulin, cortisol, and sex hormones also play a role in how your body uses energy.
* Nutritional Status: Severe calorie restriction over a long time can slow down your metabolism (adaptive thermogenesis) as your body tries to save energy. Eating enough protein can slightly increase TEF and help maintain muscle mass, supporting RMR.
Understanding these factors helps you see that metabolism is complex. While you can’t change your age, sex, or genetics, you can influence muscle mass (through strength training, which is exercise, but the effect on RMR is not), and you can definitely influence your NEAT.
Tying It Together: Your Daily Non-Exercise Burn
So, to answer the question “How many calories do you burn daily without exercise?” – there is no single number for everyone.
It is the sum of:
1. Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): The energy to keep you alive at rest (60-75% of your total burn). This depends on your age, sex, size, muscle, etc.
2. Your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): The energy for all your daily movements outside of planned exercise (15-50%+ of your total burn). This depends heavily on your job and lifestyle.
3. The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The energy to digest food (about 10% of your total burn).
For a very sedentary person, their daily calorie burn without exercise might be only slightly above their RMR (RMR * 1.2, roughly). This could be anywhere from 1300 to 2200 calories or more, depending mainly on their size and body make-up.
For a person with a very active daily life but no planned exercise, their daily calorie burn without exercise could be much higher. It could be 500-1000+ calories more than their RMR.
The best way to estimate your own number is to:
1. Calculate your estimated RMR using a formula (like Mifflin-St Jeor).
2. Estimate your daily NEAT based on how active you are in your everyday tasks.
3. Add RMR + estimated NEAT + a percentage for TEF (around 10% of your estimated total intake).
Or, use an online TDEE calculator and select the “Sedentary” or “Lightly Active” option, keeping in mind these factors are meant to include some level of daily non-exercise movement. Remember that these are just estimates, but they give you a good idea.
Knowing your estimated non-exercise calorie burn is useful. It helps you understand your body’s basic needs. It also highlights how much your daily routine outside of exercise affects your total energy use. Increasing NEAT is a powerful, often overlooked, way to burn more calories and improve health. It doesn’t require special equipment or gym time, just a focus on moving more throughout your regular day.
Frequently Asked Questions About Burning Calories Without Exercise
h4 What is the lowest amount of calories a person can burn without exercise?
The lowest amount is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the energy needed just for basic life. This happens when you are completely at rest, like during deep sleep. For most adults, BMR is typically between 1000 and 2000 calories per day, depending heavily on size, age, and sex.
h4 Can I increase my BMR?
Increasing your BMR is hard. The most effective way is by building muscle mass. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue. However, building a lot of muscle takes time and effort, and the increase in BMR from added muscle is significant but not huge on a day-to-day basis compared to NEAT.
h4 Does drinking cold water burn extra calories?
Yes, drinking cold water makes your body use a tiny bit of energy to warm it up. But the amount is very small, only a few calories per glass. It is not a significant way to burn extra calories.
h4 Does thinking hard burn a lot of calories?
The brain uses a good amount of energy (calories) relative to its size, even at rest. But intense thinking or studying only increases this use slightly. It does burn more calories than just relaxing, but it’s not a huge increase compared to physical activity.
h4 How many calories do you burn just by being awake?
Being awake burns more calories than sleeping because you are doing NEAT activities like sitting, standing, moving around, and your brain is more active. Even just sitting up burns more calories than lying down. The exact number depends on what you are doing while awake (your NEAT level).
h4 Is NEAT more important than exercise for weight loss?
Planned exercise burns a lot of calories in a short time. NEAT burns fewer calories per minute but happens over many hours of the day. For very sedentary people, increasing NEAT can add hundreds of calories to their daily burn, potentially making a bigger difference than adding one or two short workouts per week. Both NEAT and planned exercise are important for health and calorie burning. Increasing NEAT is a simple way to add more movement and calorie burning to your day without dedicated exercise time.
h4 Does stress affect how many calories you burn?
Yes, chronic stress can affect hormones like cortisol, which can influence metabolism and body composition over time. Acute stress might temporarily increase heart rate and some metabolic processes, slightly raising calorie burn in that moment, but this is not a large or sustainable effect.
h4 What is the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)?
TEF is the energy your body uses to digest, absorb, transport, and store the nutrients from the food you eat. It usually accounts for about 10% of the total calories you burn each day. Foods high in protein have a slightly higher TEF than fats or carbs.
h4 Can my metabolism be “broken”?
It is very rare for metabolism to be truly “broken” in a way that makes it impossible to burn enough calories or lose weight. Medical conditions like severe thyroid problems can affect metabolism, but these can often be treated. Often, what people think is a “broken” metabolism is actually a very low NEAT level combined with eating more calories than they realize, or the natural drop in metabolism from losing weight itself (adaptive thermogenesis).
h4 How accurate are calorie burn trackers for non-exercise activities?
Fitness trackers and smartwatches can estimate calorie burn based on movement (steps, arm swings, heart rate). They are often reasonably good at estimating planned exercise, but they can be less accurate for NEAT, especially activities that don’t involve a lot of steps or clear motion patterns (like standing still, fidgeting, or light tasks). Use them as a guide, not a perfect measure.