We all more or less know that we have a metabolism which, if considered according to the set of activities we carry out in a day and not only according to the calculation of the basal rate, takes the name of total metabolism: under the definition of total metabolism we find in fact the expenditure energy that our body implements to perform any activity during the day. And we all know that, roughly, if we eat more than our total metabolism we will tend to gain weight (I’m not talking about 20 calories more, of course, or the day we overdo it), if we eat less than the body asks us we should lose weight. . What many do not manage to establish exactly is precisely how much their daily caloric requirement amounts to, which coincides with their total metabolism.

First of all, let’s see in detail which activities are included in the calculation of our total metabolism, and we do it taking a cue from this interesting  Complete Human Performance article . 

TOGETHER OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT FALL IN OUR TOTAL METABOLISM
1) The basal metabolism:it is the set of activities that our body performs to simply keep us alive, net of all other activities, at a normal temperature. Very often the example of the bed is used to make this clear: if a person stayed in bed all day, how many calories would he spend to keep himself alive? In reality, even this example presupposes a certain activity (for example sleeping); however, it gives us a pretty good idea of ​​the calories we would spend to keep ourselves alive without doing anything at all. Basal metabolic rate is correlated among other things to one’s own BMI, i.e. to our body mass index, and more specifically, it is found correlated to one’s own lean mass. Other parameters: sex, age, genetic predisposition.
2) The level of activity (and its thermogenetic effect):depending on the physical activities we perform, our body can burn 15 to 30% more per day. It is the most important item after the basal metabolic rate, and it is essential to take this into account if we want to lose weight, for example. There are athletes who follow a six-thousand-calorie diet, because they train in the afternoons and mornings. This item includes: exercise-induced thermogenesis or TEA, to which is added the post-workout thermogenic effect or EPOC, which however is the least significant item.
Put simply: it is easier to focus on training and calories to burn than to count on the thermogenic effect you get after training, a little more complicated to establish although undoubtedly one of the advantages of those who train regularly.