3 Non-Exercise Methods to Boost Metabolism for Fat Loss

Have you ever bemoaned this: "Why do I gain weight just by breathing in front of food?!" You probably believe you've got 'slow metabolism', burning less calories per day than someone else who is able to eat as much as they want without concern about gaining weight. At 118 kilograms, armed with determination and a toolkit that included my trusty sneakers and a simple mantra of calories-in-less-than-calories-out, I embarked on my weight loss journey.

The simple equation I swore to was based on the concept of calories in v.s. calories out...

EAT LESS, EXERCISE MORE.

The only two things I knew contributed to weight loss at the start of my journey.

While this fundamental concept of energy balance holds true, the devil, as they say, is in the details. 14 years on, I've discovered that weight loss is more of a Sudoku puzzle than a straightforward mathematical sum. I really did think that the secret to shedding all my extra pounds was as simple as replacing McDonald's with a salad for lunch and a daily jog around my block.

Ad infinitum.

The naivety! I wish I knew that only eating greens or long cardio sessions in the gym wasn't the only way to lose weight. The oversimplification of weight loss as a mere equation of calories in versus calories out, has reduced fat loss to a simple equation of eat less, exercise more. Beyond the myriad of factors affecting our body's responses to calories consumed, there are intricacies to energy expenditure.

These contain secrets to unlocking sustainable weight loss.

So if you're thinking that sweating it out through exercise is the only way to improve your metabolism 👉 (i.e. the amount of energy your body burns)... You're gonna love this article.

Energy Expenditure and Metabolism Boosters

The concept of Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is often reduced to ONE of its parts;

Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT) - the amount of calories burnt through exercise.

But each of the FOUR components (YES, there are four!) plays a vital role in overall energy expenditure, Neglecting them results in an incomplete understanding of what expending energy means.

Join me as I uncover why the calories-in-calories-out mantra isn't doing your weight loss efforts any justice...

Especially since it limits the possibilities of revving up your metabolism.

Let's delve into why this reductionist approach has become so prevalent, demystify the science of energy expenditure and expand on our understanding of weight loss beyond a numbers game.

4 Ways to Fan the Flames of Fat Loss

There are four key components that make up the fascinating puzzle of how our bodies burn calories. These can be categorized into TWO main categories - Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) and Non-Resting Energy Expenditure (REE). A brief note on these two categories:

• Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) refers to the calories you burn simply by existing, and it makes up a huge part (~60%) of your total daily energy expenditure.
  

• Non-Resting Energy Expenditure (NREE) is the amount of calories you burn when you move, eat and exercise.

Did you realize that EXERCISE has surprisingly the least effect on total daily energy expenditure?

Bear with me now, these might sound technical but trust me, it'll be worth it to learn...

These are crucial for me to teach you how to effectively expend more calories outside of the gym, at rest and even while digesting food!

Ready to set the world of caloric expenditure aflame with me? (lol)

1. The Silent Burn - Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

At the core of caloric expenditure lies the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the silent hero. BMR represents the calories our bodies need at rest to simply exist. They encompass physiological functions such as breathing, circulating blood, and regulating body temperature. This is primarily affected by your body composition - so the more lean muscle mass you have (everything that isn't fat on your body), the more calories you burn at rest!

FUN FACT: A lighter version of you requires less calories to function, so that means after losing weight your BMR decreases!

This is why it's absolutely crucial to incorporate strength training routines to build lean mass for sustainable weight loss efforts.

Isn't it crazy how our body has an inbuilt calorie-burning engine running 24/7, even while we binge-watch our favorite series or snooze through the night?

FACTS. Taken from: https://id.pinterest.com/pin/slow-metabolism--518969557061969177/

So the next time you're worried about no longer burning as many calories as you used to, take a deep breath and know that it IS AS IT NATURALLY SHOULD BE.

Our bodies adapt as we lose weight, and it's essential to adapt our routines to blast past plateaus!

2.  The Everyday Burn - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

The Everyday Burn (NEAT) encompasses the calories burned through all non-exercise activities, from fidgeting, typing on our laptops, to pacing while on the phone.

It's our accumulated daily (seemingly mundane) movements that contribute significantly to caloric expenditure. This is the most often neglected by people who want to lose weight through an extreme exercise regime but neglect their foundations of daily movement. Did you know that NEAT (daily non-exercise activity) is a larger contributor to our total daily energy expenditure than formal exercise within the gym?

With the advent of technology leading to even more sedentary lifestyles, we're less inclined to stay active. 👉 Why get the groceries by foot if we can have them delivered straight to our door step? 👉 Why take the train if we can call a taxi to send us from door to door? 👉 Why even bother washing dishes when I can use a dishwasher? Covid-19 definitely accelerated our descend into THIS dystopian future...

How relevant it this scene from Wall-E? Taken from: https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/g6j94p/misfits_of_walle/?rdt=61395

Over time, as technology advances even further, we might be even more inclined to move less and less!

These small INACTIVE habits really do add up. Plus our lifestyle habits on a daily basis also depends on our choice of career. Someone in a sedentary office job might end up spending 10-12 hours on a chair, staring at a screen. And if we're inclined to head home and unwind with our favorite Netflix show and a glass of wine... No matter how long we're occasionally spending in the gym smashing out a workout, our total daily energy expenditure will be sorely lacking in getting us towards our goals! Now it's time to reevaluate your existing lifestyle habits on the whole.

Forget the elevator; take the stairs, and let NEAT (daily non-exercise activity) be your neat (lol) ally in your battle against the bulge!

3. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) - Chew to Burn

This is one component of TDEE many of us probably don't know exists:

Our body is a multitasking whiz burning calories even while we're simply enjoying a delicious meal.

Can you imagine that? Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is the energy required to digest, absorb, and process the nutrients in the food you eat. For most of us, that'll be about 5-15% of our TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

This occurs right after we consume food... which means if we're on a diet streak and not consuming as much food or drinks, the calories burnt from eating falls.

Certain foods, especially protein-rich ones, demand more metabolic energy. So this means that we burn the most energy digesting them!

Though chewing to burn calories doesn't really make thaaaat much of a difference, it still does play a role. So if you're looking to optimize every aspect of your TDEE to turn your body into a well-fueled furnace, it's definitely worth turning your meals into a stealthy accomplice of caloric-burn.

4. Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT) - The Obvious Burn

Lastly, let's examine the component we're ALL familiar with – calories torched during intentional exercise. I used to struggle with this so much, at one point even exercising two hours daily... and eating so little just so that I could continue losing weight...

Caveat: Weight loss isn't a linear journey (more on this in another article)

From jogging in the park to smashing out a hard workout in the gym, exercise activity covers it all. And that was what I thought mattered the most. EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).

I know, I know... it gets confusing with the acronyms - EAT isn't chew to burn, but Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

But whether it's a planned HIIT sesh or a spontaneous victory dance, every move contributes to the grand total of caloric expenditure. An hour spent in the gym, even on a daily basis, is just 7 hours out of 168 hours in a week. I didn't use to know that... But now I do. And moving more throughout the day has now become an effortless part of my life. So ask yourself:

What are you doing for the rest of the other 161 hours even if you spend 1 hour in the gym daily?

And considering we spend 1/4 of our days sleeping (at least that's what I hope for you), how are we efficiently maximizing the hours we're awake? It'll shock you to realize how surprisingly little we're burning a week through exercise. Unless you're a professional athlete who has the time to spend hours on intense workout routines, most of the average population would prefer exercise to be a part of their lives, not their entire life.

Work Smart, Not Just Hard

While exercise is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle and weight management, understanding TDEE in its entirety provides a more holistic approach. 

Now understanding these four pillars of caloric expenditure – BMR (silent burn), NEAT (everyday burn), TEF (chew to burn), and EAT (obvious burn) – paints a comprehensive picture of how your body utilizes energy.

It's not just about the gym; it's about embracing a lifestyle that keeps you functioning like a well-oiled fitness furnace throughout the day. This means knowing your own lifestyle needs, habits and crafting a holistic plan that works for you. In my coaching, I always reinforce the importance of an active lifestyle and healthy habits beyond the gym.

The AMFIT holistic fat loss pyramid forms the foundation of my coaching philosophy at AMFIT Academy

A balanced perspective that considers all components of energy expenditure, coupled with a sustainable approach to both nutrition and exercise, is crucial for long-term health and well-being. As a coach who has lost 100lbs, I know better than to promote fat loss as an easy, short term solution to all of life's problems... Because I know that fat loss and muscle gain can repeat themselves in multiple phases in life. It's all a part of a lifelong journey. What remains constant is our quality of life, overall health and wellbeing. Instead of being tethered to fixed programs just promising short-term results that don't last, you too can create flexible, sustainable strategies that evolve with your changing needs.

Mastering these took me years of expensive private coaching, complicated formal accreditations and repeated cycles of trial-and-error. 

But it doesn’t have to be the same for you. It starts with learning the basics of holistic fat loss strategies.

From nutrition science, behavioral change approaches to flexible eating and meal prepping...

I’ve condensed my lifelong knowledge and skills into a compact 10-week nutrition and healthy habits implementation program meant to teach you how to adapt a flexible approach into your existing lifestyle habits. Taking you from yoyo-dieting, frustrated and feeling deprived to fully mastering your own nutrition and knowing how to adapt it to suit life's changing seasons. So you can ALWAYS meet your own changing fitness goals. Chock-full of only the most essential principles of nutrition, free from fluff and complex scientific jargon. Master the whys and hows of a gentle approach to nutrition, rebuild a positive relationship with food, and free yourself from the chains of guilt and anxiety that comes from sticking to rigid dieting regimes.

Lean lifestyle habits are now within your reach in 2024!

Click here to enroll for early access to my Empowered Eating program~ (psst: pre-launch goodies!)

Conducted virtually group, my coaching will reveal ALL the secrets in my holistic fat loss toolkit, equipping you with the skills to you to adapt eating habits intelligently to suit any phase of life. Let's break free from the simplification of weight loss as just eating less, exercising more. This involves recognizing the importance of balance, adaptation, and the holistic nourishment of both body, heart and mind. Join the AMFIT community today by keeping up to date with me on Instagram. If you'd love to work with a certified women's health and fitness coach, feel free to book a call and let's connect. For more holistic health and fitness tips, subscribe to my writing on Medium. Lastly, if you're a fellow fitness professional, I'd love to hear from you on LinkedIn!