Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis
Don’t let that scientific title scare you. Think of NEAT as an exercise free way to expend calories.
Managing NEAT is a fantastic way of expending calories without committing to a designated exercise session. With the recent prevalence of activity trackers, getting an indication of your day to day calorie expenditure has never been easier.
NEAT can be described as any of the activities we undertake which require us to expend calories that are not sport/exercise based, sleeping or eating.
The most common NEAT activities we undertake are:
- Walking to, from and during work
- Typing
- Housework & Manual Chores
- Fidgeting
It’s important to note that when you are in a calorie deficit research has shown that we typically reduce NEAT. This means we park closer to work, we fidget less and in essence, the brain is telling us to expend fewer calories. This can become a problem if our goal is to lose weight/body fat.
This is where we believe an Activity Tracker can be helpful. Typically worn as watches, an activity tracker can indicate how many steps you’ve taken in a day, how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed whilst also keeping an eye on your heart rate and any elevations. As all of this data is recorded an estimate of expended energy is calculated.
From here we can look to set targets such as completing a certain number of steps or expending a certain amount of calories each day. Manipulating this up or down as required.
It’s important to bear in mind NEAT is only one aspect of the picture which we need to consider in order to make changes in body composition. To discuss all other aspects feel free to Contact Us and speak directly with one of our coaches.
