YOUR DAILY CALORIE BURN
Most people massively overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise.
Whether it’s a half-arsed gym session, the odd jog, or a once-a-month spin class, at the same time, they massively underestimate the impact of their daily movement (or lack of it) on fat loss.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): The Breakdown
Your body burns calories in four main ways:
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) – 60–70%
The calories you burn just by existing – keeping your organs working, breathing, and generally not dying. Even if you lie in bed all day doing nothing, you’d still burn these calories.
NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) – 10–20%
The calories you burn from non-exercise movement–walking, fidgeting, cleaning, taking the stairs instead of the lift. NEAT burns more calories than your workouts.
EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) – 5–10%
The calories burned from planned exercise – lifting weights, running, and exercise classes. This is the most overrated part of fat loss. You can’t out-exercise a lack of movement and a diet primarily composed of ultra-processed foods.
TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) – 5–10%
Your body burns calories digesting food, especially protein, which requires the most energy to break down. Eat more protein = burn more calories without doing anything extra.
Why Daily Movement (NEAT) Beats Exercise for Fat Loss
NEAT burns 3x more calories than your workouts.
If you only train twice a week and sit the rest of the time, your workouts aren’t doing much.
More movement = more calorie burn = easier fat loss.
Simple Ways to Move More Every Day
- Park further away from the shops.
- Use the stairs whenever possible.
- Get up and move for 2–3 minutes every hour.
- Walk while on the phone instead of sitting.
- Do household chores more often (bonus: your house stays clean).
These don’t require effort—just minor tweaks. But over time, they make a massive difference.
Your Task for Today
Take a look at your daily movement—are you relying on the gym while sitting all day?
Pick one small habit to increase NEAT – something you can start today.
Remember: the more you move, the easier fat loss gets.
On the next one: Finding your laughables…
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