NEAT Ways to Wiggle Yourself Thin Outside the Gym

September 8, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

I used to have this sweet but very vexing neighbor.

Whether we were out for a jog or watching T.V., this chick just wouldn’t quit wiggling.

Seriously. Anytime I was around her, she was fidgeting.

She’d just sit there, legs crossed, with her shin bobbing up and down against the other one in a hummingbird rhythm. It was annoying. It was distracting. It made me not wanna be around her. It made me anxious. But you know what else it did? Her nerve wracking habit probably contributed to her undeniably super slim frame everyone was jealous of. Unconvinced? Well, I was when I heard this “myth” before as well. That is, until I heard of sommething called Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. (Abbreviated as NEAT.) And, retrospectively, I suppose that’s what Janie (that’s the name we’re going with for today) was exhibiting with her incessant jiggling reminiscent of a meth addict. You see, NEAT has to do with the level of activity you’re doing each day that has nada to do with trying to lose weight. It’s about all the activities that are independent of exercise. And, sure enough, when you chronically carry on like you’ve got spiders in your slacks, you tend to bust up more blubber than sedentary Betty over there who’s so still, she could pass for a cadaver.

Just how much, you ask?

Up to 350 calories a day.

Okay, so now you’re interested. And what’s the takeaway exactly? To wiggle more? No. Please don’t pick up a fidgeting habit like my annoying neighbor. You’ll lose your friends along with that weight. But you can finally see the silver lining when the closer parking place at Trader Joe’s gets stolen from you. Or you can talk like an Italian (gesticulating excessively counts as NEAT). Or strut around while studying notes. Or stand while doing laptop work. Or walk up the stairs to take down the pounds. From stretch breaks to running to the loo – all those things you wouldn’t think count or add up, totally do. (All the more reason to up your hydration, am I right?) In fact, according to WikiHow, even just sitting on a stability ball instead’ve a regular desk chair can up your thermogenesis as well.

(Simply scheduling in wiggle breaks can help as well…)

And it’s that simple.

No weight lifting. No dough spent on spin class. That’s 350 calories a day, burnt, just by limiting your stillness.

That’s some pretty “NEAT” news, if you ask me…