NEAT: to Lose Weight without Exercise

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Have you ever tried to lose weight by cleaning up your diet and going full on at it with exercise… whether that was via a gym, running, or another activity?

Only to then find yourself annoyingly back at square one months [if not weeks] later?

It feels frustrating and defeating, right? Or maybe not… maybe you just side line it and forget about it.

Either way, the initial fire that was ignited and the hard work you put in goes to waste.

But, here's something you'll be pleased to hear:

You've been going about it all wrong.?

You don't need a gym or exercise to lose your 'tum-tum' [or whatever name floats your boat].

Here's why:

Heavy dependancy on the role of exercise to lose lbs is not an efficient or optimal approach to weight 'loss'.?

That said, don't discard exercise just yet… I'll explain why soon.

Firstly, just look at the maths! I'll let you decide how you'd rather spend your energy losing weight.

? In a nut shell, the below image shows how calories are burned and in what proportion of total daily energy.

TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure

EAT - *Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

TEF - Thermic Effect of Food

NEAT - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate

**REE - Resting Energy Expenditure

NREE… take a wild guess [Clue: look at NEAT]

(**REE cannot be easily or acutely impacted, and is almost entirely not in your control which leaves you with only ~30% of TDEE that can be impacted.)

As you can see, exercise isn't exactly a big player in calorie burn.?

And now look at it from a time perspective:

1 week = 168 hours.

So 5 hours of exercise = 2.98% of 1 week (time wise)

Or, 3 hours of exercise =?1.79% of 1 week (time wise)

Now, if you're time challenged because of work, 5 hours might be a luxury, right??

And that 2.98% window of time in your week will impact ~5% of your total daily energy burn. Proportionally, it's the smallest chunk of calorie burn.

In Contrast…

Non-exercise activity (NEAT) accounts for about 15% of you total daily energy burn.

Plus the thermic effect of food (TEF) is another 10% of your total daily energy burn.

So that's ~25% of total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). And 5x the impact of exercise alone for energy burn.

Three cool things to note:

1. That 25% from these two energy expenditure areas is almost entirely impacted by daily habits and behaviours.
2. Both of these areas are [and can be] impacted by [changes in] any of your waking hours which accounts for around 70% of your day and week.?
3. These two areas are not something you squeeze into your calendar - they are found within that 70%, which is basically just your awake time. But how you use that time, is the differentiator between a good and bad NEAT / TEF.

All this means is looking at regular lifestyle habits and day-to-day behaviour which is not a 'time requirement' but rather, a change of 'how you do things within your time'.

Now Put 2 + 2 Together…

? Which do you think is a better starting point and more sustainable focus for weight loss..?

? Lean heavily on the 1.79% - 2.98% of your time per week via 3-5 exercise hours just to get a 5% impact on your TDEE, in order to lose weight. And that's if you manage to get 3-5 hours worth of exercise every single week. Or…

? Change & tweak daily habits and how you behave during your awake time (which is ~119 available hours per week depending on sleep) to impact NEAT and TEF of which accounts for 25% of TDEE.

Which option sounds more impactful for weight loss do you think..?

Main Point:

? Exercise absolutely matters… but not as a primary way to lose weight. It's just not the most effective, mentally sane, or time conducive approach to lean on.

? Instead, as I always do with clients, focus on the behaviour changes that can be impacted across the other approximate 119 hours per week - even if you're working, traveling for work, commuting, or working from home, you have far more ability to impact your TDEE both immediately and for the long term. You already use this time, but how you use it is the difference. Exercise then compliments all of this.

The Reframe:

? Exercise will of course impact weight loss, but not as directly as you think - certainly not long term if you go with the 'calorie burn' mindset. It's not about how many calories you burn with exercise. This is what leads to frustration and weight loss fatigue.

? You might not realise it, but exercise impacts thermic effect of food (TEF). And also helps to raise your BMR in the long term. Not to mention it:

• Improves tolerance to stress
• Lowers blood pressure
• Plays a major role in blood sugar management (prevent diabetes)
• Strengthens your heart and other cardiovascular related muscles
• Lowers your breathing rate & need for oxygen (respiratory efficiency)
• Improves bone, ligament, and tendon strength (reduced fracture risk)
• Increases feelings of energy, focus and alertness
• Uplifts sleep quality
• Strengthens your immune system
• Improves your mood… which improves your motivation feelings
• Strengthens your muscles
• And conditions your body to be ready for action in an emergency

I could have kept going on. But you get the point.

? And almost all of the above points impact weight loss and maintenance indirectly. That's a lot of improvements to weight management from just doing intentional exercise, and of course more importantly, your quality of life, relationships, functional ability and performance.

Reframe your view of exercise.

Exercise is absolutely important, but it's a broken concept to view as a 'weight loss' activity. The other thing is, once - or 'if' - you lose weight, what happens to your motivation and reasoning to show up and exercise?

You already know the answer. It's a finite, temporary, surface level motivation.?

Whereas weight loss requires sustainable, deeply meaningful motivations.

But that's another can of worms for another time.

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