Whilst effective training and nutritional management is an efficient way to approach body compositional goals, they can be considered highly ineffective if you neglect your NEAT.
What is NEAT?
NEAT is your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, and it basically involves any physical activity you do in a day outside of the gym.
If you work in a predominantly sedentary office job, it is imperative to consider your neat, especially if you are trying to achieve fat loss.
Studies have shown that you could burn up to an extra 2000 calories per day simply from upping your neat, let alone the benefits to mental and cardiovascular health also.
This could mean:
- Popping out for a walk
- Taking the stairs
- Tidying your room
- Doing the food shop
- Walking to speak to someone rather than sending a text
& so on.
Whereas in a full hour on an exercise bike in the gym you will likely only burn around 300 calories in comparison (body composition dependant).
It will be a real struggle to out-train an inactive lifestyle. So if the only movement you’re getting in is your one training session in the day, it’s likely your goals will take a lot longer to reach.
Focusing on just the exertion you put into the gym is one of the most common mistakes in fat loss and also training in general.
Instead of trying to dramatically drop calories to lose weight, upping your neat will be a much better solution.
With less calories you will also be likely to move less as a result of less energy consumed, therefore progress is likely to decrease immediately and your mental health will also suffer.
So, if your goal is fat loss, when you finish work: Get some steps in, get some chores done and up your NEAT!
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