Today I would like to talk about increasing your NEAT. This is the first post of my movement series.
Movement is so important for your physical body. It helps relieve stress, manages weight, keeps your heart in great condition, allows energy to flow and not become stagnant, and allows you to enjoy your day to day more without feeling like you are taxing your body.
There are many types of movement, in this post I want to focus on NEAT.
What is NEAT? NEAT is the abbreviation for Non-exercise activity thermogenesis.
NEAT is the energy expenditure not related to sleeping, eating, or exercise.
Some examples are cleaning the house, gardening, taking the stairs, etc.
Exercise is great however, is not enough for keeping you well if the rest of your life is sedentary.
Studies have show this time and time again. Regardless of how intense your workout may be, it is vital to move your body throughout the day. Small increments of movement throughout the day make a big difference!
This is a big reason fitness experts recommend a step tracker to their clients. When it comes to the wellness of your body, it matters what you do both in AND outside the gym.
A step tracker helps bring your awareness your daily movement. Keep in mind that a tracker is great but there are other factors that go into NEAT. Things like fidgeting, working in the garden or doing laundry, may not show up on your step tracker but all contribute to your NEAT.
That is why a step tracker is a great place to start but you shouldn’t become obsessive about the number on the tracker.
The key is to become aware of how important NEAT is and start to incorporate more of it into your day.
I’m sure you have heard of the typical “take the stairs instead of the elevator” or “park further away at the store” recommendations. There is a reason they are so common, they work! It is a great way incorporate some extra movement in your day.
Some other ways you can incorporate more movement in your day is keeping up with house hold tasks. If you tend to let messes pile up and do a big clean, it might be worth it to adapt more of a daily cleaning or clean as you go mentality. Along with that you could ditch the mop and get down on your hands and knees to scrub the floor. This probably doesn’t sound appealing but it would clean the floor better, helps your mobility, and would really bump up the NEAT for the day.
Another great trick is getting some movement in during commercials while watching TV. Every time there is a commercial break, stand up, do some stretches, march in place, do some inclined push-ups or tricep dips using the couch, you get the idea.
You could get in the habit of using the bathroom that is furthest from you at home or work. If you have a two story house using the bathroom on the opposite floor you’re on not only takes more steps, but now you’re adding a flight of stairs to the journey.
This bathroom trick is good for work as well, if you have the option. Speaking of work, if you have a sedentary job, your NEAT is probably suffering.
It is definitely a struggle modern day workers face. More and more jobs are being able to be done from a desk, which is great for convenience sake but it is costing workers in the health department.
One of the best way to combat this is to move for 10 minutes for every 50 you are sitting. You can set an alarm or just be aware of the time. Once you have been sitting for 50 minutes, get up. You can walk around the office, do some stretches, go to the bathroom, or go talk to a coworker about something you would normally email.
Taking breaks every hour to move your body isn’t just good for your NEAT it is great for your productivity and mental state. It has been shown that workers who take frequent breaks are more productive and have increased focus.
Having a healthy amount of NEAT in your daily life is good for overall wellness and is good for weight management.
If you are working out and eating healthy consistently but your body is still holing onto some extra weight, try increasing your NEAT.
To summarize, a big part of wellness is keeping your body well. This is no secret. However, diet and exercise isn’t enough. Keeping your body moving throughout the day is vital to body wellness! This type of movement, NEAT, is achieved by small increments of movements throughout the day.
These movements are daily tasks like cleaning, walking up stairs, and gardening.
The key is to bring your awareness to the about of NEAT in your daily life and making sure you are getting enough.
I hope you enjoyed this post and gained some value from it. Be sure to stay tuned for more of my movement series.
Share this with someone who could use a little more NEAT in their lives!
Thank you so much for reading!
Stay well my friend!
