What we think makes up calorie expenditure ..

What we think makes up calorie expenditure .. 🏃🏼‍♀️

When people think about energy expenditure (calories burnt) most people focus on exercise as being the most significant factor. Exercise obviously contributes to our calorie expenditure but for the majority of people, it is not a large percentage of total expenditure.

In reality exercise actually forms a small percentage of our total calorie burn. The majority of your calorie expenditure is from your basal or resting metabolic rate (BMR)- calories burned at rest for the body’s basic functions. A small portion comes from the thermic effect of food (TEF) – calories burned through the process of eating and digestion (this is 10% max). Exercise forms the smallest contribution – it’s dependant on how many workouts you do but usually less than 15%. The most significant contribution, aside from resting metabolic rate, comes from non-exercise activity thermogenesis – calories burned through movement that isn’t formal exercise. This includes fidgeting, standing, walking, house work, gardening etc) and accounts for 15 – 50% depending on how sedentary you are.

These percentages vary between individuals of course. For somebody who is mostly sedentary, then calorie expenditure from exercise and NEAT are much lower. Someone very active or with an active job will burn a large amount from NEAT.

For most people whilst your calorie expenditure might vary a bit day to day depending on whether you workout it’s not going to make a significant difference overall and is far less than a lot of people think.

What does this mean?
Well for a start it means it’s not the end of the world for your weight loss journey if you miss a workout. It’s also a reminder that exercise isn’t a great way to try to lose fat as it would take a huge amount of exercise to produce a significant calorie deficit (which is why what you eat is more important).
It’s also a good reminder that you don’t need to eat a lot less on days you don’t workout or a lot more on days that you do. You just need to have a sustainable calorie deficit on average. Separate the two – focus on food for weight loss, and exercise for health and well being.

Enjoy 🤗
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