How To Burn More Calories Outside of The Gym
Has the scale stopped moving in the right direction? Do you want to speed up the weight loss process?
Here I’m going to explain how to boost a part of your metabolism called NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis, and give you examples of how to burn more calories outside of the gym so you reach your weight loss goal faster.
What is N.E.A.T.?
The total amount of calories we burn every day comes from three different areas.
Here is that breakdown,
· 60 – 70% = basal metabolism, calories our bodies burn to keep us functioning.
· ~ 10% = thermic effect of food, calories burned during digestion, absorption, and storage of food.
· 10 – 30% = activity expenditure, calories burned during all physical activity.
Breakdown of the different parts of your metabolism.
Activity expenditure covers all calories burned during exercise and non-exercise activities such as N.E.A.T.
The percentage of calories burned in activity expenditure is highly variable, from 10 – 30%, because you can increase or decrease your caloric burn with many forms of movement inside and outside of the gym.
Activities outside of the gym provide a great opportunity to increase the number of calories you burn every day.
Everyone has 24 hours in a day and we sleep an average of 7 to 8 hours. This leaves us with about 16 hours of awake time. If we make it to the gym an hour a day, we still have 15 hours left.
Staying active and moving during the remaining 15 hours will burn additional calories beyond our workout. This is how N.E.A.T. works.
Benefits of N.E.A.T. for weight loss
Weight loss and fat loss can be explained by,
total calories consumed < total calories burned
N.E.A.T. helps you increase the total amount of daily calories burned.
The number of calories burned can vary widely from person to person even if they both exercise the same amount and weigh the same.
We reduce calories burned via N.E.A.T. with extreme dieting and large reductions in our calorie intake. No matter how few calories we eat or how much we move, our metabolism will adjust accordingly and slow down. This adaptation is why many struggle to continue to lose weight no matter how little they eat or exercise.
Researchers suggest that N.E.A.T. is a promising tool to control and maintain our body weight. But remember, it’s only one component of a healthy weight loss strategy.
Strategies to increase N.E.A.T.
Even if you increase your N.E.A.T. it’s still a good idea to keep going to the gym to do strength training. Building muscle mass helps to increase your basal metabolism and fitness levels. When your basal metabolism increases so does the amount of calories you burn during activities including your N.E.A.T. levels.
N.E.A.T. activities do not always have the benefit of building muscle mass.
Here is a list of suggestions to help you increase your daily N.E.A.T.,
· Walking or pacing to increase your step count. Walking is a low-impact activity that you can do anywhere especially if you’re working from home. Instead of sitting down in your office meetings, you can stand up and pace or do walking meetings with your team. You might notice that walking meetings help you think better and help you stay focused.
Parking your car further away from the stores can also help you get in extra steps. And you’ll have an easier time finding parking and save on gas circling for parking too since everyone likes to park closer instead of farther.
· Taking your dog to the park. Dogs always need to go for a daily walk and instead of just going around the block why not take them to the local park and play fetch with them? You can throw them a ball or a Frisbee or run with them in the park with a game of tag. You’ll have fun bonding with your dog while burning extra calories.
· House cleaning. Usually, we have a love-hate relationship with cleaning. We love a clean house but hate how much time it takes to clean it. Instead of cleaning all at once space it out during the week to get your N.E.A.T. in.
For example, do the kitchen on Sundays, bathrooms on Mondays, vacuuming on Tuesdays, and so on. This is also helpful if you cannot devote a whole day to cleaning your house.
· Skip the elevator or escalator. Instead of waiting for the elevator take the stairs instead. Use the stairs to get to your destination. If you’re at a shopping center or the airport, skip the escalator and use the stairs.
· Choose to stand instead of sit. Your body burns a few more calories standing than sitting. If your work requires lots of sitting see if you can get a sit-stand desk to increase the time you’re standing. If that’s not possible, set a timer to remind yourself to get up and stretch. Spending too much time sitting can be detrimental to our health.
Conclusion
N.E.A.T. is a great weight and fat loss tool when combined with a proper caloric deficit diet.
Candace is the owner of Rhodes To Strength. She provides weight loss and mindset coaching services to women around the world so that they keep the pounds off for good. She believes in working with clients to create sustainable habits that work for their lifestyle.
You can find her rollerskating, hiking, and bird watching in her spare time.