Here is a breakdown of what each category really means:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Your basal metabolic rate refers to the calories your body needs to maintain all its essential functions – without moving. Functions like breathing, maintaining your organs, and supplying your muscles with nutrients. That’s why your BMR usually goes up as your fitness improves.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

This kind of thermogenesis includes all the calorie expenditure that comes from eating something. Sounds contradictory at first, but you have to process that food somehow, and that also requires some energy in itself.

Food needs to be broken down into its individual components, nutrients must be transported to their destinations, and anything unnecessary has to be eliminated. This process requires energy and therefore you burn calories alongside your energy intake.

Fun fact: Protein has a higher thermic effect than other macros. So if one of your goals is weight loss or fat loss, pay attention to your protein needs.

Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA)

Deliberate exercise has an obvious effect on your energy balance, so you burn more calories on workout days than on rest days. Intensive HIIT units, in particular, keep your metabolism boosted with the afterburn effect.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

The calories you burn through NEAT are those your body needs for everyday activities like climbing stairs, walking from your desk to the kitchen, doing household chores, fixing your bike, and other similar movements.

Now for the good stuff...

10 Simple Ways  to Burn More Calories in Your Daily Routine

Every movement counts with NEAT no matter how small. Fidgeting in your desk chair, parking further away for an extra walk, or those 10 minutes of standing in place instead of sitting. Alone, those movements may not seem like much, but they can really add up throughout the day!

     1. Add Exercise to Your Breaks

How often do you catch yourself checking your social-media feeds or getting up to grab a snack while working at your desk? If you’re like most of us, the answer is probably “too often.” And that’s good! Because it’s also your chance to establish a new movement routine.

Always wanted to learn handstands, do more ab workouts, or just stretch more often? Every time you think about whipping out your smartphone or grabbing a snack, do a handstand, 5 crunches, or a little stretch instead.

You can even do your stretches while sitting on your office chair. But you’ll boost your NEAT levels more by standing up (or switching to a standing desk).

    2. Go By Bike or Foot

The classic solution for anyone who wants to move more: Take your bike instead of driving a car public transportation.

Of course more movement is better, but baby steps add up too: Get off the bus one stop earlier, or walk up and down the street after parking. Whatever works for you!

    3. Stand When You Can

Whether you’re on the phone, in a meeting, or in the office, simply stand up instead of sitting whenever possible! Standing burns more calories than sitting, increasing your NEAT. Plus, your cardiovascular health and your muscles will thank you for the change of pace.

    4. Take the Stairs

Climbing stairs for 15 minutes burns an average of 120 calories. Think about how many show up in your daily routine. If you take every chance to take the stairs, you’re sure to get to at least 15 minutes.

Bonus: taking the stairs is a great lower-body workout. If you mostly use the ball of your foot, your calf muscles have to work. If you concentrate on evenly distributing your weight over the whole foot instead, you also train all your quads and gluteal muscles.

    5. Walk Your Groceries Home

Carrying shopping bags is Functional Training par excellence, it’s completely free and doesn’t take up any extra time.

Pack your bags to distribute the weight of your groceries evenly between them, and carry them home from the grocery store instead of loading them into your bike basket or car. A fully loaded backpack also counts.

Pro tip: a bit of weight in your backpack (a liter of water for example) is also a great way to add an extra challenge to climbing a stair or two.

    6. Get Cleaning!

Imagine your parents are coming to visit. You’d probably have to do at least a bit more cleaning than usual. And household chores, especially vacuuming, mopping, and ironing, increase your NEAT significantly. Not to mention, everyone loves the feeling of a clean space.

Cleaning not your thing? Gardening is also a fantastic way to get your body and heart moving.

    7. Lose the Laundry Basket

This may sound silly, a very simply way to sneak in some extra steps is to take each pile of clean laundry individually to its place, rather than loading your basket to deliver. Remember, all these small things add up. Laundry isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so this tiny habit can keep you consistently moving more.

While you're at it, try switching sitting for standing while you’re folding!

    8. Intentionally Park Far Away

Ok, I know this is a tricky one when you’re in a hurry. If you run 4 errands and your walk to and from your car is an extra 2 minutes each way, you’ve just added 16 minutes of NEAT into your day.

For a little extra motivation, it’s also a great way to protect your vehicle from door dings!

    9. While You’re Waiting… Walk!

Whether it’s passing time at the bus stop when your date is running late, or if you’ve just arrived somewhere too early, talk another walk around the block instead of sitting down right away.

In addition to the effect on your NEAT level, your spine will thank you if you walk a bit between longer periods of sitting.

    10. While You’re Doing Everything Else… Walk!

Phone calls, podcasts, chats over coffee. Almost everything can be enjoyed on a walk instead of sitting. Exercise in the fresh air also strengthens your immune system and gives your eyes and mind a welcome break from screens.

Sources: https://www.foodspring.co.uk/magazine/how-to-increase-neat

https://www.nifs.org/blog/keep-up-with-neat-less-sitting-and-more-little-things-that-burn-calories