5 Ways to Increase your NEAT Levels

For everyone who decides to jump on the path to fat loss, the two obvious factors that we first think about are diet and training. But that’s fat loss 101, right? You up your training time, increase your intensity and eat less food. However, there is a third variable to this equation that most people almost never take into account – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, otherwise known as N.E.A.T. for short.

 

So what is N.E.A.T. and how does it work?

 

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy that we use for all the other tasks and movements we perform when we’re not exercising (or sleeping for that matter). A few good examples of this would be doing choirs, cleaning the house, going shopping, walking up a flight of stairs to get to the office or even the hour of fidgeting after a strong cup of black coffee in the morning. These are all instances where our bodies’ burn calories on the throughout the day.

 

Our jobs and careers have a direct impact on our NEAT levels and how many calories our bodies’ burn. Occupational NEAT is the activity thermogenesis that comes from our work. Nurses, waiters or waitresses, construction workers or personal trainers – anyone working in a profession that involves you constantly being on your feet, moving around or engaging in any physical activity – would have NEAT levels that are super conducive to fat loss goals that any of these people would or, even unknowingly, keep them lean without any extra exercise activity.

 

Conversely people who spend their week staying seated at their desks for the majority of their day have rather low levels of NEAT when compared to the groups of people mentioned above. The energy expenditure difference between active jobs and sedentary jobs can be anywhere within the range of hundreds of calories. IF you think of this number on a weekly basis, that could mean a difference of anywhere between 0.5kg – 1kg of weight loss (and in some extreme cases, even more).

 

Overall, your total daily NEAT could very well burn as many calories, if not more, as your training sessions. If you can learn to take control of your NEAT, then hitting a plateau in your fat loss journey could no longer be a concern for you. By using NEAT in your arsenal of tricks, you could very well take the steps needed to get over what would normally be a slump and get right back on the road to a lighter you.

 

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, a 65kg person can expect to burn approximately 102 calories an hour while sitting at work. If that person stood while working, they would burn 174 calories. An extra 72 calories might not seem like a lot, but it can add up to more than 18,000 calories burned per year, leading to an approximate 2,2kg weight loss. Without utilizing NEAT, you would have to do sixty 30-minute runs at 8 kilometers per hour to burn the same rate of calories.

 

So, are 5 ways that you can do to help increase your NEAT levels:

 

1. Stand. That’s right.Standing can really help. A growing body of evidence shows that sitting still for too long can be hazardous to your health. Simply standing is one form of NEAT that can help increase your daily caloric expenditure.

 

2. The number of steps you take on every day really add up.Research has shown that 10,000 steps a day is an achievable goal for daily physical activity. Even if you don’t make it to 10,000 steps, adding extra steps to your day is an important part of NEAT that can burn calories, while adding while promoting overall health to your lifestyle.

 

3. Walk or cycle for transportation.Have you ever been stuck in traffic during your commute and thought, “There has got to be a better way?” By choosing to walk or ride a bicycle for your daily commute, you can burn significant amounts of energy during an activity where most people spend their time sitting. If you take a bus or train as part of your commute, getting off a stop or two early provides a great opportunity for some extra walking. Most errands are run in close proximity to home, so when you need to make that quick run for baking supplies, and time allows, walking to your destination is a great way to increase your NEAT.

 

4. Doing household chores can really add up. There is cleaning and then there is getting-ready-to-host-a-party or have-your-mother-in-law-over-for-dinner cleaning. We all know the difference. Doing additional tasks around the house or putting a little extra effort into your daily chores can be a great opportunity to increase daily NEAT.

 

5. If you are a parent, play with your kids. In today’s technological era of having an app for everything, there is no app for spending extra time with your kids. If you can find even a few minutes for playing catch, kicking a ball or walking down to your neighbourhood park, you will be spending valuable time with your children while racking up NEAT. An additional benefit to playing with your kids is that it can also help boost neural activity and cognition. So, not only are you burning a few extra calories, you could actually be increasing your brain function as well.

 

If losing weight is your primary reason for exercising, NEAT is an essential component of that goal. If you could try to get in 10,000 steps in a day, that could potentially be up to 500 calories burned. Over the period of a week, that would be 3500 calories and that value is the same as losing approximately half a kilo of fat. You may even notice that you will lose an additional 5kg of weight on top of your training and dieting weight loss after a few months. It all adds up in the long run.

 

So, while it may come across as a small adjustment, making the effort to change your daily habits by adding more NEAT along with reducing overall caloric intake and training well, you will a cornerstone in your lifestyle that sets you up for long-lasting weight-loss success.