The Fat-Burning Power of Walking

NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This is the energy your body uses during normal movement outside of planned exercise. Walking around the office, taking the stairs, cleaning your home, shopping, cooking, dance and walking to your car all count. Even getting up from your desk adds movement to your day. Parking farther away, taking the stairs, walking during phone calls, and taking a lap around the office between meetings.

These tasks might not feel like exercise, but the calories add up over time.

Easy way to increase your NEAT is to get in steps as a marker.

Let’s use a person who weighs 150 pounds.

• Walking 7,500 steps might use 135 to 170 calories each day. Over 1 month, this is equal to about 1.2 to 1.5 pounds of fat.
• Walking 10,000 steps might use 180 to 225 calories each day. Over 1 month, this is equal to about 1.5 to 1.9 pounds of fat.
• Walking 12,500 steps might use 225 to 280 calories each day. Over 1 month, this is equal to about 1.9 to 2.4 pounds of fat.
• Walking 15,000 steps might use 270 to 340 calories each day. Over 1 month, this is equal to about 2.3 to 2.9 pounds of fat.

These numbers are only estimates. How fast you walk, how far you walk, and whether you walk up hills will change how many calories you use.

Your Seven-Day Challenge

Track your steps for the next seven days. At the end of the week, add your daily steps together and divide the total by seven. This gives you your daily average or download the STEPUP APP on the App Store and start tracking your steps today.

Once you know your average, aim to add 1,000 steps per day. If you average 4,500 steps, aim for 5,500. If you average 7,000 steps, aim for 8,000 until 10K is your minumum.