Wellness Wednesday: Are you moving outside of the exercise you do?

Years ago, I thought if I got my workout in that I didn’t need to focus on walking and movement for the rest of the day. I moved my body already, right?

Then I learned more about the research on movement and how important it is for both your health and meeting your fitness goals.

There is a thing in the health world called “NEAT”. This isn’t the neat that means tidy and orderly. NEAT stands for Non-exercise activity thermogenesis. NEAT is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercising.

Although exercise is a great thing, it is not all about the workout that you did that day!

There is a thing in the health world called “NEAT”. This isn’t the neat that means tidy and orderly. NEAT stands for Non-exercise activity thermogenesis. NEAT is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercising.

Although exercise is a great thing, it is not all about the workout that you did that day!

There are some great ways to get in your “NEAT” for the day. My favorite way is through walking. Not only does walking boost your metabolism and burn calories, it also reduces stress and provides energy! Some other examples include playing ball with your kids, cleaning your house, mowing the lawn and parking further away from the store to get in extra steps.

Research shows that NEAT can contribute to up to 50% of your energy expenditure. NEAT is as important as regular exercise and on some days will actually expend more energy than your workout!!

The bottom line — be as active as you can throughout the day! Find something you enjoy and do it! Move as much as you can. You will burn more calories, improve your health, reduce stress and if you have weight loss goals, you will most likely reach your goal of weight loss even faster.

If you have questions on daily movement and how to work it into your lifestyle, please reach out to me!

I’m the online fitness and nutrition coach for women 40+ who likes to keep things simple….

If there’s one thing I know to be true about taking care of our bodies, it’s this: keeping things simple makes a really big difference.

I’ve worked with hundreds of clients who all used to think the same thing: losing weight and eating well has to be difficult in order for it to work. In fact, I used to believe this too when I was just starting out.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve mastered the art of simple, doable fitness and nutrition that doesn’t require fad diets, hours of cardio or eating foods that you just don’t enjoy. Now, I teach women the same thing – that it’s totally possible to love how you look and enjoy the process while getting there.

Susan is the owner and CEO of Susan B Fit, LLC. 

Susan earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion from Appalachian State University in 1995. She is certified as a Personal Fitness Trainer through NASM, National Academy of Sports Medicine and as a Nutrition Coach through the Nutritional Coaching Institute.

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