Kate Garraway at 58 swaps the gym for NEAT: could 10 minutes and 50% of your burn save hours?

They shape energy, mood and health more than you think.

TV presenter Kate Garraway, 58, has leaned on NEAT — non‑exercise activity thermogenesis — to stay fit while juggling work and family. Her routine favours brisk walking, turning school pick‑ups into actual runs, and quick bouts of stretching or gardening when time is tight. It’s simple, repeatable and it sidesteps the stress of finding an hour for the gym.

Kate Garraway’s real‑life NEAT plan

Garraway has long spoken about moving fast between commitments. She power‑walks instead of strolling. She treats the school run as a literal run four or five days a week. During a period of intense caregiving, she banked ten‑minute “something physical” breaks — light stretching, pottering in the garden, a quick tidy‑up done with purpose. Last year she even shared a day lost to weeding and pruning; it all counts.

The mindset shift matters as much as the minutes. She no longer chases a smaller jeans size. She chases strength, stamina and confidence to face tougher days. That reframing makes small choices feel worthwhile: stairs not lifts, a fast walk not a cab, hands‑on chores not a trolley.

NEAT can contribute up to half your daily energy burn, often eclipsing what you get from a single gym session.

What NEAT actually is — and why it works

NEAT covers every calorie you burn outside formal workouts and sleep: walking for transport, household jobs, fidgeting, DIY, gardening, playing with the dog. Those minutes stretch across the whole day, so they accumulate powerfully, even when each effort feels modest.

The numbers behind your daily burn

Because NEAT spans hours rather than minutes, small boosts compound. Swap two short bus stops for a walk, carry your shopping, choose a standing desk for part of the day, and you raise daily expenditure without touching your calendar.

Think habit, not heroics: add 2,000–3,000 steps, climb 10 flights, and carry loads once or twice — most days.

A 10‑minute template you can start today

Short, purposeful “movement snacks” raise heart rate, body temperature and step count. Stitch them around your routine and they become automatic.

• Morning: a 10‑minute brisk walk before emails (800–1,200 steps; roughly 40–60 kcal for many adults).
• Commute: get off one stop early and stride the last 8–12 minutes.
• At work: stand for calls, pace during voice notes, and take stairs in pairs.
• Lunch: 10 minutes easy mobility and a quick lap of the block.
• Afternoon: two flights of stairs every hour for five hours.
• Evening: carry your shopping in two heavy bags for 6–10 minutes, focusing on posture.
• Home: tidy at pace for 10 minutes, then stretch hips, calves and upper back.

For many people, that adds 3,000–5,000 steps and 150–300 kcal of extra burn, with noticeable gains in stamina within weeks.

Turn your commute into calories

Walk 1 kilometre in 12–15 minutes at a brisk pace. Do it both ways and you’ve stacked 24–30 minutes of NEAT without booking a class.

Desk moves that actually add up

Alternate 30 minutes sitting with 15 minutes standing. Set a timer to stand up, stretch calves and sweep your arms every hour. Fidget — gentle foot taps and posture shifts raise NEAT across the day.

Errands as training

Carry bags close to your ribs, shoulders down, walk tall. Skip the trolley for a light weekly shop and you’ve built a loaded carry. Park farther away and take two trips rather than one heavy, sloppy haul.

How to copy Garraway’s fast‑walk strategy

Move with intent. Swing your arms, lengthen your stride and aim for a pace that nudges your breathing into the “can talk, not sing” zone. If you’re picking up children, jog the last block. If you’re on the school run solo, choose the hillier route. Bookend work with 8–12‑minute brisk walks and your baseline fitness rises without a membership fee.

Tracking without overthinking

• Use steps as a guide: add 2,000 steps to your current daily average for two weeks. Reassess and add another 1,000 if you feel fresh.
• Try the talk test: you should speak in short sentences during brisk NEAT. If you can’t, slow a touch.
• Log “movement snacks”: aim for 4–6 slots of 8–12 minutes each day.
• Watch your resting heart rate trend. A gentle downward drift across weeks suggests improved fitness.

Safety, footwear and when to seek advice

Build volume gradually. Joints and tendons like patience. Choose cushioned, supportive shoes for hard pavements. Break up long standing periods with short strolls to avoid stiff lower backs. If you have a long‑term condition, recent surgery, or chest symptoms with exertion, speak to your GP before big changes. In heat, walk earlier or later and carry water. On dark evenings, pick well‑lit routes and wear reflective details.

Why this approach shines after 50

From the mid‑50s, muscle mass and bone density tend to drift down. Frequent, low‑impact movement challenges bones and connective tissue without hammering joints. NEAT improves insulin sensitivity, steadies mood and helps sleep quality. For many in their 50s and 60s, a high‑frequency, low‑friction plan beats sporadic high‑intensity sessions. Garraway’s routine reflects that reality: little and often, most days.

A quick example with real numbers

Imagine a 75 kg person who adds:

• 3,000 extra steps at a brisk pace (about 2.2 km) ≈ 120–160 kcal.
• Ten minutes of stairs across the day ≈ 70–100 kcal.
• Ten minutes of loaded carries (two 6–8 kg bags) ≈ 50–80 kcal.

Total: roughly 240–340 kcal extra in a day, without a formal workout. Do that five days a week and you’ve banked 1,200–1,700 kcal. Over a month, that’s the equivalent energy of several long gym sessions — earned in slivers of time that already exist.

NEAT moves you can bank this week

• Walk the school run at pace four or five days, like Garraway — add a short jog if joints are happy.
• Swap one short public‑transport hop for a 10‑minute walk, twice a day.
• Pick two chores and race the clock for 8 minutes each: bathroom clean, hoovering, sorting laundry.
• Garden once this week for 45–60 minutes: prune, rake, dig lightly, then stretch calves and hips.
• Stand for three meetings or calls; pace while you talk.

Want a gym too? Blend, don’t replace

NEAT isn’t an enemy of training. Two short strength sessions per week — 25–35 minutes of squats, pushes, pulls and carries — multiply the benefits of your active days. Stronger legs make fast walking easier. A tougher grip makes carries safer. If you’re time‑poor, keep the strength plan minimal and let NEAT do the heavy lifting between sessions.

Final pointers to make it stick

Schedule your first walk before your first scroll. Keep trainers by the door. Pair movement with cues you already have: kettle boils, you pace; advert break, you stretch; school bell, you stride. Tiny rules beat giant plans. Garraway’s example shows that life’s chaos doesn’t have to cancel fitness — it can power it.