The calories you burn outside of the gym.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT), in plain English, the calories you burn outside of the gym.

The activity that you perform outside of the gym will have a huge impact on you reaching your target. Your job will play a massive part in this calorie burning effect. If your job consists of heavily being sat at a desk all day, then your NEAT calorie burn will be less than that of someone who has an active job, for example, a construction worker. Even standing for an hour burns more calories than sitting for an hour.

Increasing your NEAT has many health benefits, it also has a brilliant psychological benefit that will help you through your fat loss journey. You can enjoy a higher calorific diet, due to the increase in calories burnt. I don’t mean go crazy and eat everything in sight, but it allows you to consume an additional 100-200 calories per day without beating yourself up with guilt (see Calculating and Tracking Calories). Therefore, there are a few recommendations to getting your NEAT up:

  • Aim to walk 10,000 steps per day, the more the better

  • Go on leisurely walks and aim for 20,000 steps

  • Park further away

  • Walk to work

  • Get off the bus one/two stops earlier

  • Take the stairs where possible

  • Stand instead of sitting where possible

  • Take phone calls whilst standing instead of sitting

  • Get up at work and walk around every now and again.