We don’t talk about NEAT much when starting on your weight loss journey. However, NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) plays a significant role in maintaining and losing weight.
NEAT, in general terms, is all the activity and movement you do in a day that is not exercising. That is movements like walking, how active your job is, moving about the house, etc.
Let’s look at the relationship between exercise and NEAT.
Exercising and NEAT
A funny thing happens when you start exercising. You get tired. This feeling of tiredness can lead to less motivation which can lead to less activity.
We often don’t think about all the little activities we do throughout the day, such as walking and just moving around; that is what NEAT is made up of. It is very common as you start exercising for your NEAT to become less, which balances out all the work you put into your workout.
For example, you start working out three times a week, but instead of going for that walk on the weekend, you now find you don’t have to motivation or energy to do it. Or you might have changed jobs, the first job had you walking from department to department but now with your new job you can do all your work from a computer or phone.
If you are one of the thousands of people that uses a smartwatch or Fitbit, you might see your steps starting to drop. In the beginning, you don’t think much of it. But, if you are slowly taking a few thousand steps less a day, that adds up to almost a full day’s worth of movement lost by the end of the week (based on the standard guideline of 10,000 steps a day).
What to do?
Make sure you are not consciously or subconsciously starting to move less. If you have smartwatch technology, see if you notice a trend, or if you don’t, make sure you don’t find yourself sitting around more at work or on the weekends.
Also, keep an eye on your sleep. As you add activity to your life, sleep quantity and quality play a more significant role in keeping you energized and motivated to keep moving and being active.
All that tiny activity really adds up and matters; keep it up.
Your Fitness Sherpa,
Josh
