This is the main factor of weight loss that everyone forgets

When we set a weight loss goal, there are two concepts that inevitably come to mind: Diet and exercise. We wonder which is more important when it comes to losing weight without even realizing they exist Third element Which is (almost) never talked about, which scientists from the Mayo Clinic revealed in January 2005 after confirming that obese people tend to sit for an average of 150 minutes more per day than thin people (which means they burn 350 fewer calories)))) It has the greatest influence on our relationship with Libra

What are we talking about? About the concept we love at ZEN: salary. Jorge Sánchez-Infante Gómez-Escalonilla, professor of sports injuries at the European University, explains to us what this wonder is that nature has given us and that we use so little today. “NEAT” is an abbreviation for “Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis,” which is Spanish for Thermogenic activity without exercise. This concept is defined as the energy that is expended when performing all the activities that we do in our daily lives other than sleeping, eating, physical activity or sports.

As the Mayo experts point out in their research, and many others as well, “Although NEAT is not usually taken into account when we set a weight loss goal, “It's a basic concept for losing weight and having optimal calorie intake in relation to our calorie intake.”.

It's clearer than water, says Sanchez-Infante Gómez-Escalonilla. When we want to lose a few kilos, “the first thing that comes to mind is to reduce calories and increase exercise, and do physical exercise.” However, this hectic life we ​​live means that sometimes, we don't have enough time to fulfill both requirements, and in this scenario, NEAT is a factor It is very important to break the sedentary life“.

For example, he continues, “Gestures are as simple as going to Doing shopping on footmoving to work Cycling, climbing stairs, or spending less time sitting They can be very important factors in adopting a more active lifestyle and thus losing body weight. All this will affect the improvement of our health and will be key to preventing diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle, such as, for example, obesity“.

It's the simple act of getting up from your chair, from time to time, to do this Standing for a few minutes awakens our NEAT Thus burning more calories, as a team of researchers at the Mayo Clinic proved (again) in a Stady Published in January 2018.

So what do we do to get the most out of NEAT and thus boost our daily calorie burn? Jorge Sánchez-Infante Gómez-Escalonilla gives us a summary: “The key is to recover the following activities that we may have stopped doing a long time ago.” comfort Or because of our tendency to take advantage of the facilities that life provides us. technology. This means: go up the stairs; Walking or cycling to work, shopping or any other destination; the landmarks of the city; Make your purchase in person rather than “online”; Spend more time on your feet. Doing chores…” In short, it's about using our body for what it was “designed” to do…to move!