Whenever we set out to lose weight, we think diet, working out, or both. Experience and many years of hearing the same story have taught us that weight loss is not only impossible without these two or a combination of both, but also ridiculous to imagine. Mental-agility expert Tim Forrester has recently managed to prove the exact contrary, SkyNews informs.

All we have to do instead of fasting or working ourselves to the bone is to pick up a magazine and solve a puzzle, Sudoku or crosswords. One hour of this type of mental activity burns about 90 calories, Forrester says based on recent studies, so this means we can actually lose weight without as much as getting up from our favorite armchair. Of course, in order for the results to be visible, we’d also have to watch what we eat a bit, but that can perhaps be done more easily than going on a strict diet.

“An hour’s worth of Sudoku, crosswords or any other brain-training exercise can burn more calories than you would find in a biscuit, researchers say. Two hours’ brain activity could let you loose on a bag of Maltesers or a packet of Hula Hoops – that is, if you are not watching your weight. The discovery has come from Tim Forrester, a mental agility expert who works on the brain training website Cannyminds.com.” SkyNews writes of the recent findings.

Research has shown that, the more we exercise our brains the more calories we burn, because neurons produce neurotransmitters that require glucose, calories and oxygen in order to work effectively. Thus, weight loss can be achieved without us even realizing, which surely beats breaking a massive sweat at the gym or putting ourselves through hell with restrictive diets that fail to return the promised results.

“Anything that challenges your brain is good for burning calories. It could be Sudoku, crosswords, KenKen or even reading and really concentrating on a difficult poem. It’s all about getting your brain going and, when it’s firing on all cylinders, it’s going to be using up energy, which is where the burning calories come in. It’s particularly good for your brain and could even be good for your body!” a spokesperson for the aforementioned website explains for SkyNews.