Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or N.E.A.T., is a fancy name to describe the calories burned from all of the movement you do during the day that is not exercise, and it can make a big difference in your fat loss program. Examples of N.E.A.T are cooking, shopping, walking, and gardening. The energy burned doing things that are NOT sports or exercise.
Your metabolism is always working to burn energy. During periods of higher activity, your body will burn more calories than when you are at rest. But even at rest, your body is always expending energy.
Here are five things to know about NEAT and how it can help you reach your health and weight-loss goals:
- Standing can make a difference. 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.
- Daily steps add up. 10,000 steps a day as 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 component of NEAT that can burn calories, while adding health-promoting activity to your life.
- Walk or cycle for transportation. 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.
- 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.
- Play with your kids or furry friends. In this modern era of having an app for everything, there is no app for spending extra time with your kids. If you can carve out even a few minutes for playing, kicking a ball or walking down to your local park, you will be spending precious time with your kids/dog while racking up NEAT.