How To Lose Weight Without Working Out
I know the title is super click bait-y but I’m serious. Let’s talk about N.E.A.T. aka Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. NEAT is at the most simple explanation is how much you move around. It’s the amount of calories you burn when you aren’t working out. If you start to increase your non activity factor, you burn more calories.
Exercise activity thermogenesis is energy you burn from purposefully working out: going to the gym, running, HIIT classes, etc. These are the activities you do when you are trying to lose weight.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is energy you expended for everything else. It’s the energy you expend for just living. Walking the dog, carrying groceries, cleaning the house. All of these activities burn calories.
Your profession can impact your level of NEAT. If you have a job were you are always on the move like a waiter/waitress, teacher, personal trainer you are expending more energy (and burning more calories) then someone who sits at a desk 8 to 10 hours a day.
According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, a 145 lb. person can expect to burn approximately 102 calories an hour while sitting at work. If that person stood while working, they would burn 174 calories. An extra 72 calories might not seem like a lot, but it can add up to more than 18,000 calories burned per year, leading to an approximate 5 lb. weight loss. Without utilizing NEAT, you would have to do 60 30-minute runs at 5 miles per hour to burn the same rate of calories. source
EXAMPLES
PARK AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE
I’m sure you’ve heard this one before. Try to find the spot as far away as possible. Instead of searching and driving around the parking lot trying to find the perfect, park in the back and get your steps in.
ALWAYS TAKE THE STAIRS
Strengthen your legs and burn some calories. I live on the 5th floor and 90% of the time I take the stairs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come home and there’s a bunch of people in the lobby of the building waiting for the elevator and I just head to the stairwell.
WALK WHERE EVER YOU CAN
Get those steps in! Instead of driving a few blocks to the store or taking the train, walk! On days that I don’t run I try to average 10,000 steps. 10,000 steps a day can burn an extra 2500–3500 calories a week. A pound of body fat is roughly equal to 3500 calories so you could theoretically lose a pound a week by just gettin your steps in.
STAND INSTEAD OF SITTING
Did you know standing burns 0.15 calories more per minute compared to sitting. If a 143-pound person stood for six hours a day instead of sitting, they would burn an extra 54 calories a day. All those extra calories burned adds up. Source.
ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO MOVE
Pace while you talk on the phone, dance around while you cook dinner, squeeze your glutes when you are driving, do calf raises while you brush your teeth, etc. The possibilities are endless.
SET A TIMER TO MOVE
If you work a desk job or work from home, set a timer to move around for a minute or so every hour. Take a quick walk, bust out some push ups, do some air squats, just move.
Working out is important, but if that’s the only time you are active during the day you won’t see the results as quickly as you want to see them. If you are working out only 3–4 hours a week, focusing on your NEAT will hlep you see results sooner. Plus, paying more attention to your NEAT is (in my opinion) such an efficent way to burn calories. If you are talking on the phone, may as well walk around while doing it. Incorporating more movement in your day to day routine will help you lose weight, feel better and have more energy.
