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The NEAT Way To Speed Up Your Fat Loss

We all know that diet is the most important factor in fat loss, but if you’re tracking your intake properly and in a caloric deficit, there are also other ways to speed up the process to reach your weight-loss goals. The answer is NEAT. And no, I don’t mean the answer is cool…although it is pretty cool if you think about it 😉

NEAT refers to non-exercise activity thermogenesis and is any non-exercise physical activity you do during the day. For example, cleaning, yardwork, and your daily steps all count as NEAT. By doing these things you are increasing your energy expenditure and thus burning more calories. Jobs can effect NEAT very much; ie nurses, construction workers, and waiters have very high NEAT during the day.

However, if you work at a desk job you may need to purposely add some NEAT into your day. This can be the difference in HUNDREDS of calories burned per day! How can you increase your NEAT you ask? Take the stairs. Incorporate a couple ten minute walks during the day or a daily walk at lunch. Do some housework. Play with your kids. The list goes on. But why is NEAT so important if you’re going to the gym and burning those calories lifting weights and running on the treadmill? Because the calories burned doing all of these small things throughout the day significantly add up to more calories than the small amount you actually burn during your workout.

In 2015, Dr. James Levine found that a high level of NEAT could result in an extra 2000 calories burned per day! So, make sure to keep moving throughout the day, fidgeting at your desk, and cleaning that house…the calories add up! 

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196%2815%2900123-8/abstract