When it comes to losing weight its a case of A) Eating less or B) Moving more or a combination of both.
Seems pretty simple right? And you can’t cheat the law of thermodynamics (energy in versus energy out) but in reality applying the above is not that simple.
First off – eating less sounds like a simple thing but then when you are tired and stressed (two things a lot of us busy over 30s men endure) then it’s not always easy to keep the discipline to do this.
It’s also about making the right foods choices, after all we know that some foods (whole foods) are gonna keep us fuller and satisfied for longer in comparison to less nourishing, processed foods (notice I didn’t say junk as I don’t want to get into food labelling)
When it comes to moving more this can also be tricky especially for a lot of you guys that have office based or driving jobs where you are constantly sitting down.
Let’s take a look at an average day for a bloke.
We drive to work, then we sit at a desk all day then drive home from work and sit in front of the telly.
Okay this may not be you but it will be the case for a lot of lads.
I’ve invited some clients to daily Fitbit challenges and was alarmed to see they had barely done 2000 steps by 6pm on some days.
Now you may not think that daily steps and movement adds up to much but it all contributes to your N.E.A.T which I have spoke a lot about this year.
So if you are new to our stuff then read on.
N.E.A.T stands for NON – EXERCISE – ACTIVITY – THERMOGENISIS which is the calories you expend on a daily basis doing daily activity.
Now if you have an active job and are on your feet all day then you are in luck because your N.E.A.T is gonna be way higher than someone who is sat at a desk.
I’ve said time and time again I am very lucky to be in a job whereby I move all day and am predominantly standing and always up and down stairs. An average day coaching will see me easily clock up 15,000 steps.
This therefore makes a pretty big contribution to my daily calorie output (good job as I’m a greedy fucker).
Always thought it’s what you do in the gym that burns the most calories? Well of course a gym session will burn calories as will all of our 30plus bodyweight and kettlebell workouts.
However these only take up between 30-60 minutes of your time and most don’t train daily therefore you may only be doing this 3 to 4 times a week (and thats fine due to the higher intensity).
But, a major contributing factor is what we are doing OUTSIDE of the gym which will help with overall fat loss.
So if you are sat there reading this and desperately want to lose weight without over complicating it, I urge you to follow some of the action points below.
1) Start to walk MORE daily. Can you walk to work? Walk on your lunch break? Walk home from work?
2) Take the stairs at every opportunity.
3) Make the most of moving on the weekends especially if you are sedentary during the week (family walks – footy in the park)
4) Get a stand up desk and work on your feet (I love doing this at the gym).
Get yourself a Fitbit or a Garmin and set a daily step count target (10,000 is a great daily total) to start.
Moving more doesn’t always have to be about hitting the gym, doing a bootcamp or smashing yourself with intervals – especially if you are on the heavier side. What you can do is move more using the tips above.
Trust me when I say this will make a big difference with your weight loss goals – learning about N.E.A.T was a huge game changer for me, hope it is for you too?
Keep Truckin
Coach Tregs
