Is NEAT the reason for your expanding waistline during lockdown?
Have you put on weight or felt that your clothes are a little tighter in the last 4 months, despite continuing to exercise 3 – 4 times per week at home? There could be a valid reason for this despite continuing to exercise.
There are two ways we expend energy which can be separated into two categories:
- Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)
- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
NEAT is an acronym for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Essentially this is the energy expended for everything we do when we’re not sleeping or completing scheduled exercise. This includes activities such as – mowing the lawn, walking up a flight of stairs to get to the office, walking to work, catching public transport are all great examples. They all burn calories, and more than you would expect.
EAT is energy expended from exercise that we intentionally engage eg. gym, cycling, brisk walking, running, aerobics class, swimming etc. This is what we mainly focus on to burn calories to maintain and/or lose weight.
The problem is, with the majority of us in lockdown and working from home for the last 4 months, our NEAT and EAT have both been severely compromised. As a result, you may have experienced weight gain and an expanding waistline.
I’d like to share with you 5 ways you can increase your NEAT to manage your weight during lockdown:
1. Get Up and Walk
Working from home can create sedentary behaviours which can lead to complacency as we are in the comfort of our own home. Most of us are spending our days in warm comfortable tracksuit pants and ugg boots so there is no temptation to get out into the winter elements and move!
However, we need to make up for the lack of movement with our activities of daily living like we are used to when we commute to work and carry out our daily tasks. Plan your day like you would a meeting to include a 30 min walk each day. The benefits go beyond the physical, you will get an endorphin hit and mental clarity to set your day up for success!
2. Workout at Your Desk
Working from home gives you the flexibility to get up and complete some simple body weight exercises to keep your muscles strong and heart rate up without the fear of your work peers looking at you like you’re mad! If we can take the positives from this lockdown, it would that you have more flexibility to take care of your health than you normally would – particularly if you’re a 9 – 5 office worker.
I have prepared a 5 minute exercise program you can do to boost your metabolic rate ideally first thing in the morning!
Get your Natural Morning Metabolic Boost here – https://bit.ly/2OIpPEI
3. Do Your Chores
What better time to do a deep house clean than now, while you’re home…right? Let’s get that Spring clean done early! Tackle one room or one cupboard at a time. Completing your daily chores all count towards the energy expenditure for the day.
If your local café is open and serving take away coffee, perhaps go for a morning walk to pick it up. You’ll be surprised how many steps you accumulate over the course of the day if you include such activities.
Taking the stairs, chasing the hills on a walk, gardening, mowing the lawn, vacuuming, moping, shopping and carrying the shopping bags to and from home or the car, are all ways to increase your energy expenditure.
Perhaps writing down at the beginning of the day what you’d like to achieve before the end of the day and schedule it in. When you plan for something it is more likely to get done. Further to that you can set a reminder in your phone.
4. Stand Instead of Sit
Did you know that you burn more calories when standing, as your resting heart rate is higher? Take some time after sitting for a period of 40 – 45 mins or so to get up and change your body position. You can take a scheduled phone meeting standing or go for a walk while chatting.
Any opportunity you get to stand up from your desk you should try your best to do it. Another really affective way to stand more often is to drink water from a glass. By doing so you will need to refill it more often by walking back and forth to the sink. The more you move the better. Set your day up for success.
5. Set a Daily Physical Challenge
Drop and give me 10 push ups! Every hour on the hour or near enough! Simple yeh? Setting up little challenges throughout the day is definitely going to help you burn those unwanted calories. It’s also a nice way to get your family members involved and more active during the day.
Each morning have a family discussion and decide what the challenge will be for the day and assign a leader to ensure it happens! Here are some ideas – 10 squats, 30 sec plank, stair runs, bicycle crunches etc. It can be absolutely anything. Just get moving and do so frequently and consistently and watch your weight and waistline improve as we navigate our way through lockdown and working from home.
Staying active throughout the day could hold the key to managing your weight and waistline. Consider including most of the suggestions above to increase your movement and activities of daily living. Not only will you feel better physically and energetically, but you will also benefit from the mental aspect of exercise and movement.
ACTION STEP:
Take the Awaken Your Body Movement Challenge to increase your N.E.A.T Activity!
