NEAT Ways to Boost your Metabolism
Let’s talk a little more about maximising your Nonexercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT).
Remember NEAT is all the calories you burn outside of formal exercise sessions, and its NEAT that explains the difference between each individuals total daily calorie expenditure. Ever wondered why some people seem to have such fast metabolisms and never seem to gain weight even after eating a tonne of junk food? NEAT is the reason why.
Obese people are profoundly more sedentary than lean people. They move 2.5 hours less per day than lean people, resulting in roughly 350 fewer calories per day.” – Dr James Levine, endocrinologist.
As you saw earlier, NEAT accounts for around 30% of physical activity calories per day, but this can range greatly from 15 – 50% when you compare sedentary people to active people.
NEAT calories per day - Sedentary People
15 %
NEAT calories per day - Active People
50 %
Walking contributes to the vast majority of NEAT so obviously the type of work you do and how you spend your spare time will have a major influence. If you work at a desk all day long, hardly get up and then go home to spend hours on the sofa then your NEAT level is low. If you deliver mail or work in any other type of physical job and then spend the evening playing tennis then your NEAT can be very high!
Most people sit all day long, surf the internet, watch TV and play video games. We have gone from a world where 90% of the population worked physical jobs in agriculture, to a chair bound technology based society filled with cars, chairs, computers, elevators and TV.
How Can I Increase my NEAT?
Short of changing from a desk job to a lumberjack, you are probably thinking that NEAT is too trivial to worry about, and if you looked at one activity at a time, you’d probably be right. But if you open up to a long term perspective, and you make numerous changes in daily activities that become a habitual part of your lifestyle, the accumulation is very significant.
Simple ways to be more active:
- Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator.
- Stand or pace where possible instead of sitting.
- Get a stand up desk
- Get a pedometer to motivate you to walk more.
- Get out of your chair and walk around, stretch and do bodyweight exercises at least once per hour.
- Skip using labour saving devices and do it yourself. (riding mowers, leaf blowers, golf carts).
- Do your own house work and garden work.
- For short trips, walk or cycle instead of driving.
- Look for ways to walk more (walking the dog, family trips)
- Spend more time doing physical recreation and hobbies (sports, cycling, hiking) instead of watching TV or playing video games.
- If you have kids, use them as an opportunity to be as active as possible with them.
- Set alarms or reminders to stand up if you’re sat down.
Spend less time in a chair and more time standing and walking. I personally use a smart watch to track my steps and remind me to stand up at frequent intervals.
A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion has found that in previously overweight sedentary adults, the subjects who met a 10,000 steps per day goal saw large improvements in body composition. Those who missed their goals did not get any improvement at all.
A pedometer study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise reported that the Amish population (who have a 4% obesity rate, while eating mainly meat, eggs, gravy, pies, cakes and potatoes) walked an average of 18,425 steps per day. At the same time the American average logs around just 5,000 steps per day. That equates to a difference of 400 – 600 calories per day!
