This is the key factor in losing weight that everyone forgets.

When we set a goal to lose weight, two concepts inevitably come to mind: diet and exercise. We wonder which of the two is more important when it comes to losing weight, without realizing that there is third element something that is (almost) never talked about and that, as scientists at the Mayo Clinic discovered in January 2005 after confirming that obese people tend to sit an average of 150 minutes more per day than thin people (which means they burn up 350 calories less). ). ), has the greatest impact on our relationship with scale

What are we talking about? About the concept we love about ZEN: CAREFUL. Jorge Sánchez-Infante Gómez-Escalonilla, professor of sports injuries at the European University, explains to us what this miracle that nature has given us and which we use so little today. “NEAT is an acronym for non-exercise thermogenesis, which is Spanish for activity thermogenesis without exercise. This concept is defined as the energy that is expended during all the activities we perform in our daily lives, except sleeping, eating, or engaging in physical activity or sports.

As the Mayo experts and many others have noted in their studies, “although NEAT is usually not taken into account when we set weight loss goals, “This is a key concept of losing weight and optimal calorie expenditure relative to our calorie intake.”.

The clearer thing is that, as Sánchez-Infante Gómez-Escalonilla says, when we want to shed pounds, “the first thing that comes to mind is to reduce calorie intake and increase sports activity by doing physical exercise.” However, this crazy life we ​​lead means that sometimes “we don’t have enough time to meet both demands and in this scenario NEAT is a factor.” It is very important to break a sedentary lifestyle“.

For example, he continues, “gestures” are as simple as go shopping on footon my way to work ride a bike, climb stairs, or spend less time sitting They can be very important factors in the transition to a more active lifestyle and, as a result, weight loss. All of this will contribute to improving our health and will be the key to preventing diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle, such as e.g. obesity“.

A simple act is to get up from your chair from time to time to standing for a few minutes awakens our PURE and therefore burn more calories, as demonstrated (again) by a team of Mayo Clinic researchers in a study published in January 2018.

So what can we do to get the maximum benefit from NEAT and thereby improve our daily calorie burn? Jorge Sánchez-Infante Gómez-Escalonilla sums it up: “The main thing is to restore the following activities that we may have stopped performing during comfort or because of our tendency to take advantage of the advantages that life offers us. technologies. That is: take the stairs; walk or bike to work, to the store, or anywhere else; sightseeing; make a purchase in person rather than online; spend more time on your feet; do housework…” In short, it’s about using our body for what it is “meant” for…moving!