Having an active lifestyle can give you a nice boost in energy expenditure when losing weight.
The activity I’m referring to is called “Non-exercise activity thermogenesis” or NEAT. NEAT is things like fidgeting, ambulatory (walking) movement and postural movement. It’s not always planned activity for you to intentionally burn calories from, it’s just there in your day. Think of the difference between a computer programmer and a personal trainer. One is in a low energy expenditure state and the other high energy expenditure state.
This can make a huge difference when adding cardio or activity into your weekly routine & when/if you consider lowering food intake to promote a deficit for weight loss. If you’re so active throughout your day you may not need to adjust either that much but, doing so can certainly help.
When I go into a dieting phase I track my cardio done weekly and my macros daily. If I burn 2000 calories in the gym, but walk all day because I’m a PT, the walking is just there in my day because of what I do.
Personally speaking, this has made the world of a difference for me. My last job was much less active. I was working retail and walked around at a low-energy, para-sympathetic state most of the time. After becoming a Personal Trainer that quickly changed. I found that I was on my feet for 17hrs a day moving non-stop trying to fit in meals, trying to find ways to wind-down and easily wake up while still aiming for 7-9hrs of sleep. I mean I was basically exercising ALL day. But, because of this I've come to realize that my last dieting phase has gone so successful because I just don't stop moving! Based off my Apple Watch (Series 4 so you know its pretty accurate) on average I take 14000 steps per day where, at my last job I was averaging around 9000. An extra 5000 steps could be approximately 2-3 miles and that could be a couple hundreds calories -per day! So you see how at least for me getting some extra steps in really added up in compound interest for my dieting phase.
Here are my results:
*NOTE: The picture on the left is from 2014, about 5 years ago. I am referring to my latest progress picture on the right taken July of 2019. This is the best shape I've ever been in... Until next year.*
Today, there’s so much technology available that sometimes it’s really hard to shut the screen & enjoy the outdoors. There are fun ways to be active! Join a softball team w/ friends, volleyball, walk your dog, walk the mall w/ your partner, yoga, go to a local park, swim! Having a weekly activity goal or just making an effort to do some kind of fun, low stress activity, can make a big difference in how much you burn daily.
This is just one way of tracking some of the variables than can promote weight loss. Find something fun, something relaxing & stress relieving, invite a friend or a loved one and stick to it.
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