NEAT: New way of Exercising

Introduction

• I believe that all of us want to be healthy. All of us want to exercise and eat cleanly so that we could achieve our goals. However the obstacles are too high. Exercise requires a lot of time and dedication. Consistent workout throughout a long period of time. Going on a diet is the same as well. Pressuring ourselves to eat healthy for most of the time. These two activities are mentally challenging.
• Would it be better if there is a way to work on these two activities naturally? Here is one of the ways to do it. The process is called NEAT

What is NEAT

• NEAT or Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is an act of non-structural exercise activity. We think of our daily activities as exercising. For example, instead of running or heavy weight lifting, we focus on cleaning the house, go shopping, walking to work. This also extend to our extra activities such as photography or playing sports.

The Procedure

The idea is to transform your daily activities into something that expends your energy more

1. Instead of 5 minutes driving to work, try 30 minutes walk to work
2. Instead of cleaning the house once a week, try cleaning it everyday
3. Instead of taking a 10 minutes train to a specific location in a city, try an hour walk sightseeing the city instead.

The Benefits

1. It occurs naturally, so there's less need to force yourself to do it.
2. You feel less tired at once, since little energy is spent over a large amount of time
3. Less resistance in starting or maintaining NEAT activities by rules of Atomic Habits which can be read here
4. Can benefit you in other ways (for example not driving to work means saving gas)

The Drawbacks

1. Takes a lot of time since exercise is non-structural
2. Starting it is still difficult if you never incorporate NEAT into daily lives
3. With technologies that make our lives easier today, we are also easily swayed by our these technologies
4. It is still inefficient, structured exercise is still required to enhance parts of our body

Conclusion

While NEAT helps us maintain our health, it is still not enough. NEAT has to go hand in hand with structural exercising and healthy diet. However, it is still a great start for most people who haven't done any exercise at all

References

• Stone, W. (2023, July, 22) There's a way to get healthier without even going to a gym. It's called NEAT, NPR, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/22/1189303227/neat-fitness-non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis