How NEAT are you? hmmm...

It's not what you think. :)

How NEAT you are determines how much you weigh, how you feel, and how you perform in your daily life!

NEAT = Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (Check out this article here)

A large percentage of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is a combination of both your NEAT as well as Exercise.

Both NEAT and Exercise together is your Activity Energy Expenditure.

What's been observed is that more calories are burned in NEAT, than in Exercise.

Examples of NEAT include fidgeting, sitting, standing, walking, working in/on your yard, snow shoveling, taking out the trash, wood cutting/splitting, hunting/foraging, etc.

Ideally, if you have a large percentage of your Activity Energy Expenditure coming from NEAT, then there would very little need for Exercise.

With most of us living in the world of automation with sources of convenience, then we're seeing our percentage of NEAT go down, as well as obesity and other chronic disease rates go up. This is why we now need more structured Exercise before/after work, or during lunchtime, to make up for the lack of NEAT.

What the overall message should be is to keep or stay moving throughout your day. That'll keep your NEAT up, and if you do engage in Exercise, then your Exercise may be a more targeted, or specific approach, like working on your movement quality and technique.

Or if you're training for a specific event or sport, then your Exercise is devoted to that. 

What's your go-to NEAT? Post it to the comments below!

And for your Exercise, be sure to come over to Idahome Movement Academy to get it in!

Be sure to join the 6,000 Calorie New Year Challenge starting 1/1!
Go here to sign up!