- With Mayo Clinic nutritionists
Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
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Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Katherine Zeratsky and Jennifer Nelson
Jennifer K. Nelson, M.S., R.D., L.D., C.N.S.D.
Jennifer Nelson is your link to a better diet. As specialty editor of the nutrition and healthy eating guide, she plays a vital role in bringing you healthy recipes and meal planning."Nutrition is one way people have direct control over the quality of their lives," she says. "I hope to translate the science of nutrition into ways that people can select and prepare great-tasting foods that help maintain health and treat disease."
A St. Paul, Minn., native, she has been with Mayo Clinic since 1978, and is director of clinical dietetics and an associate professor of nutrition at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
She leads clinical nutrition efforts for a staff of more than 60 clinical dietitians and nine dietetic technicians and oversees nutrition services, staffing, strategic and financial planning, and quality improvement. Nelson was co-editor of the "Mayo Clinic Diet" and the James Beard Foundation Award-winning "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook." She has been a contributing author to and reviewer of many other Mayo Clinic books, including "Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for EveryBody," "The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" and "The Mayo Clinic/Williams Sonoma Cookbook." She contributes to the strategic direction of the Food & Nutrition Center, which includes creating recipes and menus, reviewing nutrition content of various articles, and providing expert answers to nutrition questions.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor of the nutrition and healthy eating guide, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.A Marinette, Wis., native, she is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She's active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in wellness nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and nutrition related to weight management and practical applications of nutrition-related lifestyle changes.
Other areas of interest include food and nutrition for all life stages, active lifestyles and the culinary arts.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
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Nutrition-wise blog
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May 1, 2013
Is NEAT part of your weight-control plan?
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
In a previous blog, I talked about why some people struggle to lose weight despite increasing their exercise level and changing their diet. In this blog, I'd like to highlight another factor that might be key to weight-loss success.
After you exercise, do you look forward to a well-deserved rest? Maybe you collapse on the couch to watch TV or recline with a favorite book. And the housework? That can wait. Or can it?
I've often suspected that time spent at the gym doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to exercise and weight loss. There's research to support my hunch.
Consider the findings of a study that looked at total daily energy (calories) burned in a group of women who started a walking program. The study measured not only calories burned while walking but also total calories burned during the day in activities such as vacuuming, dusting, and walking from the parking lot to work or shops. This type of activity has a clever acronym: NEAT. NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis.
The study found that a number of the women decreased their NEAT in response to the walking program. Which meant that they missed out on burning an additional 175 calories a day. Yes, housework, walking to meetings, and taking the stairs all add up.
Bottom line: Activity is important — all activity. Find exercises you enjoy and practice them regularly. And be sure to take advantage of other opportunities to burn calories as well. Keeping your house clean might be the edge you needed to tip the scales.
To your health and finding more ways to be NEAT,
Katherine
9 comments posted
- Colley RC, et al. Exercise-induced energy expenditure: Implications for exercise prescription and obesity. Patient Education and Counseling. 2010;79:327.
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