You can divide up your energy expenditure in a number of different ways, but this is the most common set of categories:

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): How much energy your body burns at rest

TEF (Thermic Effect of Feeding): How much energy your body burns in order to digest and absorb the energy in the foods you consume

EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): How much energy you burn engaging in purposeful exercise (like jogging, swimming, lifting weights, doing yoga, etc.)

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): How much energy you burn…doing everything else. This includes things like doing your job, running errands, fidgeting, or simply standing or sitting instead of lying down.

With the exception of elite endurance athletes and some people with extremely physically demanding jobs, BMR is the largest component of total energy expenditure, typically accounting for about 60-70% of total energy expenditure.

NEAT usually clocks in at #2, accounting for around 15-20% of total daily energy expenditure, on average (though that figure could be quite a bit higher for people with active jobs, or lower for people with a sedentary job and a sedentary lifestyle).

TEF typically accounts for about 10% of daily energy expenditure, clocking in at #3.

Finally, energy burned through purposeful exercise usually brings up the rear, accounting for about 5-10% of daily energy expenditure.

In total, most people's energy expenditure is around 1.4-2 times greater than their BMR, but that’s quite a wide range.

However, for reaching your goals, it’s important to have a pretty goodestimate of your total energy expenditure.