5 Easy Ways to be NEAT!

Let me start this conversation by saying I am NOT going to help you get your closets organized by color and season!  I want to talk about something that will impact your vitality and energy level each day by an easily available way to burn more calories, that is NEAT:

Non

Exercise

Activity

Thermogenesis

Dr. James A Levine published an article in Best Practice & Research in Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.  He explains that NEAT is the energy/calories we burn in every daily activity that is not sleeping, eating or an athletic activity.  I have used my activity tracker to watch my daily calorie burning activities as a Personal Trainer in my late 60’s.  My highest calorie burn does not come from my personal exercise session, but from things I do each day like walking to and from my car, carrying laundry upstairs from the laundry room and other everyday activities.

However, this article is NOT about me, it’s about helping you stay healthy and energized.  So let’s look at some easy ways to take advantage of this health-changer. 

In the morning how about sweeping your kitchen floor and then go outside to sweep the sidewalk or porch. Fall is here so take advantage of those leaves on the sidewalk.

How about an after breakfast stroll or mid-day and then grab a cup of tea?  

Let’s consider your regular trip to the market for groceries.  Complete your usual trip down the aisles to get your needed items,  Now go back to the start of the aisles and push your filled cart up and down each aisle again at a consistent speed.  You have now added MANY additional steps to your day.  As you proudly head for your car, you are again logging in extra steps because you smartly chose to park in a space far away from the entrance!

Calorie burn increases as you unload groceries from your car and carry the load into your home. Reaching up in your cabinets or down into the lower part of your refrigerator to store your groceries will keep NEAT actively burning calories with these everyday movements.  Isn’t it an exciting way to view these tasks?  Further NEAT burn can be as close as the stairs inside or outside your home.    Bringing laundry up from the basement, climbing stairs instead of using the elevator at the doctor’s office building, these stepping movements will turn up the burn and strengthen your lower body!  Cleaning the bathtub absolutely gets the heart going as you bend, reach and scrub.  So does sweeping the bathroom floor, cleaning the toothpaste out of the sink, shaking and hanging towels, and cleaning that bathroom mirror.  

It’s easy to get NEAT working for you to improve your health and mobility. So rake your leaves, squat down to pick them up and stash in the trash. Park your car further away from the grocery entrance and don’t forget to take an extra trip around the aisles with that loaded cart!  Begin to view stairs as your assistant to a stronger heart and improved blood pressure.  Vacuum your floors and clean your bathroom mirror daily with big, sweeping arm strokes.  See?  It’s easy to get NEAT working for you!