The human body is simply amazing! Its intricate networks and systems share fluids and energy, on a cellular level, throughout muscle, fascial tissue, organs and bone. And it does this 24/7 throughout our lifetimes.

Let’s dig a little deeper on cellular energy. Seventy percent of all caloric intake is used to simply keep us alive. Having heard that, you’re probably thinking: Well, then why am I putting on weight? To answer that question, we have to talk about the other thirty percent. The other thirty percent gets used by your body for exercise and what’s called N.E.A.T. or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

N.E.A.T. can be pretty neat when it comes to keeping your body in energy balance, so let’s investigate what N.E.A.T. actually is:

  1. The body needing to warm itself! This is one reason why cold training can be a workout—it takes a lot of energy to keep your body at 98.6 degrees.
  2. Walking to and from work.
  3. Taking the stairs to the train, office or home.
  4. Life stuff. Basically anything we do that doesn’t fall under the headline of keeping us alive or exercise.

I put the N.E.A.T. factor to the test with wearing shorts this winter, ice baths and adding extra movement throughout my day with more stairs and any movement that came to mind. Some of the movements did happen to be exercises, but they were spontaneous moves and not a planned workout.

Here is the outcome:

-I had more energy from moving more.

-I lost 3 lbs in a month.

-My sleep improved.

I now have a N.E.A.T. mindset! Take the neat challenge and start moving more throughout your day.

Namaste,

Daniel