Recently I came across a book being promoted as a new release at the local library called “Move a Little, Lose a Lot: New N.E.A.T. Science Reveals How to be Thinner, Happier, and Smarter” by James A Levine. A few days later, I was pacing as I read, per his suggestion.
Levine is the doctor who developed and heads the NEAT Lab at the Mayo Clinic, where the most detailed and data-rich study of obesity and the metabolism was ever undertaken. The results of the study, published in 2005, did not reinforce traditional ideas about obesity and weight-loss but rather suggested that it is well more effective to put more daily motion into your life than it is to seek out bursts of organized exercise. This daily motion is specifically called NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. And in essence the importance of NEAT boils down to the idea that we have removed many of the simply daily tasks our bodies, like sophisticated machines, are designed to do; tasks that are slowly being removed from our daily repertoire with the mere push of a button. Those little motions, actually add up to a lot, and serve to rev-up the metabolism.
I haven’t finished reading the book yet, but it coincides with a new theme going on at my house, where we’re consciously taking time each day after the little one’s nap to remake something in our environment closer to our ideal, as a family effort! It’s been…well, transformative…
As I was typing good friend Amy shared another video I have to pass along, especially as it fits so nicely with our theme. It is Jaime Oliver’s acceptance speech for the TED Prize. Oliver’s goal is “to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again, and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.” How Awesome is he??
The video is long… but this is such a perfect speech, it’s worth watching…
Cultivating Heaven 