Staying physically active throughout the day can be a serious struggle for some, while for others it remains an easy task that requires little concentration. It can be even more challenging, if not impossible, to get to the gym even a few times per week.

Krisha McCoy, on her EveryDay Health blog, recently quoted Pete McCall, MS, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise, “Research shows that people who are physically active during the day can burn an extra 300 calories per day.  Over 12 days, that can add up to an extra pound of weight loss.”

These additional burned calories are often called non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT. NEAT consists of energy  you burn when aren’t eating, sleeping or engaged in organized activities like sports.

This means that the small activities you do throughout the day add up to a significant number of calories burned. Many of us adopt easier (or lazier) ways of doing small tasks, and by doing this you’re minimizing the amount of calories you could potentially burn.

Just as small, frequent meals speed up your metabolic rate, so do small activities. It’s no secret that someone who works a physically demanding job such as a mechanic, or construction worker, usually has a significantly higher metabolic rate than someone who sits at a desk for much of the day.

Staying spontaneous throughout the day and walking to the store instead of driving, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or taking your dog for an extra walk, pacing or doing knee bends while you are on the phone – are all things you can do to ensure that you get the amount of physical activity that you need to stay healthy.

Challenge: Increase your NEAT activity during the day. Do it for a week and notice how you feel. If you can burn 300 an extra calories per day without going out of your way, what do you have to lose?

 

Sources:

Burning Calories With Everyday Activities – Weight Center – EverydayHealth.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from EveryDayHealth.com.