About this episode

This episode discusses the importance of daily movement and NEAT in fat loss, challenging the common belief that more cardio leads to more fat loss.

Most dieters think more cardio equals more fat loss. And most of them have spent years stacking HIIT classes, bootcamps and spin sessions on top of their training, assuming the intensity of those workouts is what drives the result. But the data tells a different story. The variable doing the most work for your daily energy expenditure isn’t your formal cardio sessions. It’s your non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT — the daily movement you do outside of structured training. In parts one and two of this Fat Loss Series, I broke down the nutrition strategy that creates the deficit and the training strategy that preserves your muscle. In this episode, we shift into the third lever of the fat loss process, your energy output. We cover where cardio actually fits into a fat loss phase, why HIIT isn’t the superior fat loss tool most people think it is, why NEAT and daily movement are the most powerful and most sustainable energy expenditure levers you have, and why your step count is one of the most important numbers you should be paying attention to if you want to lose fat and keep it off. Because the dieters who actually succeed long-term aren’t the ones doing the most cardio…

People in this episode

Host: Brandon DaCruz

Topics covered

• fat loss
• cardio
• NEAT
• daily movement
• energy expenditure
• nutrition strategy

Keywords

• fat loss
• cardio
• HIIT
• NEAT
• energy balance
• daily movement
• nutrition strategy
• exercise

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• HIDDEN DIETARY MISTAKES SABOTAGING YOUR FAT LOSS PROGRESS & HOW TO FIX THEM | FAT LOSS SERIES PART 4 | EP. 228 · July 20, 2026 · 47 min
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• LATEST BODY RECOMP RESEARCH & THE 3 LEVERS I PULL WITH CLIENTS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN | ERIC HELMS FOLLOW-UP | EP. 226 · July 6, 2026 · 32 min
• ERIC HELMS: BODY RECOMP — THE SCIENCE OF BUILDING MUSCLE & LOSING FAT AT THE SAME TIME | EP. 225 · June 29, 2026 · 2h 10m
• CAN YOU ACTUALLY RECOMP? DEFINING BODY RECOMPOSITION & THE 5 POPULATIONS WHO CAN BUILD MUSCLE & LOSE FAT AT THE SAME TIME WITH JEFF HOEHN | EP. 223 · June 22, 2026 · 1h 43m
• ERIC HELMS: TRAINING IN A DEFICIT: WHAT THE RESEARCH ACTUALLY SAYS ABOUT VOLUME, MUSCLE LOSS & FAT LOSS PHASE PROGRAMMING | EP. 222 · June 15, 2026 · 1h 56m

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