6 Practical Ways to Increase Your N.E.A.T.

What if I told you, you could lose fat without changing your diet or exercise program.

You’d probably be interested.

Going further, what if I said this was how you could lose fat and never gain it back.

Now it might sound too good to be true.

I won’t pretend that it’s a magic pill.

It does require work just not exercise. 

But doing this, you can simultaneously get chores done, roll through audiobooks (like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, which I highly recommend) and podcasts…

While also losing fat, and improving your health.

I’m talking about non-exercise activity thermogenesis, NEAT, since you know we love acronyms. 

The Premise of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

NEAT refers to all of your energy expenditure excluding what you burn while exercising, sleeping, and digesting food.

Basically, it’s all of our everyday movement.

Walking.

Fidgeting.

Cleaning the house.

Doing the dishes.

It’s all… NEAT.

Which is the perfect acronym, because these actions make things… neat.

Washing the dishes makes your kitchen neat.

Cleaning the house makes the house neat.

All while you burn more calories.

And lose more weight.

The Power of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis 

Our everyday motion and movement (our NEAT) account for a huge proportion of our caloric expenditure.

For active individuals, it accounts for more than 50% of total caloric expenditure, and even 15% for sedentary people (1), which adds up to a variance of around 2,000 calories.

The Citi-biker to work will burn more calories through NEAT than the subway-rider, naturally.

Vacuuming burns around 120 extra calories per hour for a 150lb person (2). It’s similar for washing the car, slightly lower for doing the dishes, and higher for walking and light biking (like Citi-biking on your commute).

Compare that to the average hour on a stationary bike or treadmill which is around 400 calories (obviously it varies based on the speed and the person).

So, without exercising, you’re getting a significant amount of a calorie burn. 

All these activities add up to significant body composition changes.

One study found that higher NEAT correlated with lower insulin levels (better insulin sensitivity), smaller waist circumference, and higher HDL (good cholesterol) (3).

People who do more non-exercise activity thermogenesis tend to be leaner and healthier. 

Another study looked in particular at NEAT’s impact when you eat too much.

When participants overate 1,000 calories above normal, NEAT had a strong (77%) correlation with their ability to maintain their leanness (4).

N.E.A.T Helps 

As you exercise more and eat less, your metabolism will decrease. Now, there are many dieting strategies to prevent this, like cheat days.

However, NEAT won’t impact your metabolism the same way extreme dieting and hours of cardio will. So, simply increasing NEAT could be a more sustainable method for fat loss, although I’d like to see more research and experiments done. 

 

4 Practical Strategies to Increase Your NEAT

1) Don’t Own a Car

With NEAT, as with so much else in life you’ll want to think about what changes will have the biggest impact.

When it comes to increasing your regular non-exercise activity, it’s clear that walking, biking, and taking transit is the the biggest way to move the needle. 

Sure, you can do the dishes or take up gardening, but when it comes to a complete lifestyle change, ditching a car is the best way. One British study found that those who walk, bike, or take transit have lower rates of obesity. Another study showed that people who live in more walkable areas have lower rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Our car-dependent culture is a huge reason why we’re sedentary. For all of human history, we had to physically move to transport ourselves. Yet, when we all have our personal vehicle, we sit down while it takes us places.

I know, you may live somewhere that’s completely impossible to get around without a car. However, you may also live somewhere where it is possible, maybe just a bit challenging. According to 2021 Department of Transportation stats, in 2021 29% of trips were under a mile and 24% between 1-3 miles! That’s all comfortable biking distance.

I know it’s hard, because I personally have traveled around the U.S. without a car. I know some places are miserable to move by bike and bus, but it so many more places than I expected, it wasn’t so bad.

This is a big reason why those who live in walkable and bike-friendly areas tend to be happier and healthier. They get more NEAT from their regular commute and errands.

You may also consider just how much happier you’ll be if you didn’t have to sit in traffic, and instead could be out for a nice bike ride.

For more inspiration, I love this YouTube video from City Nerd about how we lived car-free in Las Vegas.

 

2) Take The Stairs

Okay, perhaps less extreme but also something to consider is to stop riding elevators. Just as a rule, don’t get in elevators.

My freshman year of college in New York, I lived on the 14th floor. It was a crappy dorm, so the elevators were crowded and slow. It was faster to take the stairs, and I got into great shape just from that.

3) Reconfigure Your Workspace

Third, consider your workspace. If you’re in a classic cubical, you’re not getting much NEAT. Do you have options where you can stand sometimes when the spirit moves you?

I like going to co-working spaces and getting the “flex” desk option, because then I can move around I can sit down if I want, or go to places where I can stand. 

If you have a personal office, a cheap way to be able to stand is to have a stack of books you can slide on and off your desk.

4) Find an Active Hobby

What I like about the first three, is you’re increasing your NEAT without dedicating any extra time. You have to commute and run errands regardless of the mode of transit you use, you either take the stairs or the elevator, and you’re working no matter what.

This one, may require more time investment. But, consider a hobby that’s more active. For example, I love going to punk concerts. That’s NEAT bordering on an actual workout. You can try cooking or gardening. Or you can have your friends over to plan Kan Jam or your favorite yard game of choice.

There is no shortage of ways to increase your NEAT.

Literally anything that involves moving, but that isn’t as vigorous as exercise, is NEAT.

Final Thoughts

Human beings are designed to be in motion all day long. That might seem crazy, but as many workers who are on their feet (like trainers) can tell you, you do get used to it, and some even learn to love and embrace the constant motion.

Movement is a foundation of, not only a good physique but of a healthy lifestyle. By incorporating more opportunities for movement into your life, you’ll likely feel better, on top of looking better.

Plus, you can do a lot less monotonous cardio. Kan Jam and beer die are just way more fun.