7 Foods That Boost Productivity

The fuel you put into your body not only provides physical energy but can provide mental energy as well. When you eat something, the nutrients enter your bloodstream and ultimately make their way to your brain. Of course there are some foods that are better than others when it comes to sustained energy. And the more energy you have, the more you can get done in a day. Read on for seven that are particularly good at boosting productivity. Just be sure to consult with your Grocery Guide for portion help!

Almonds
There’s a reason why almonds—as well as other nuts and seeds—have long been regarded as “brain food.” Nuts and seeds are packed with vitamin E, which has been linked to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment. Add a half ounce a day to your daily snack or meal routine to get the brain benefits and still stay on the weight loss track. There are many ways to eat nuts and seeds. Almonds or sunflower seeds can easily be tossed into a salad. Some even prefer to eat a handful of plain nuts for a midday snack. Raw or roasted doesn’t impact the vitamin power so opt for what you like best. Just be sure to opt for nuts that skip the added salt.

How to Know How Many Nuts You Should Eat

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Whole grain bread
Carbohydrates in general are responsible for more than half of the energy that keeps us going. Of course whole grains, which also offer vitamins and minerals, are the best kind of carbs. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism found that eating whole grains can prevent a surge in blood sugar—meaning fewer energy crashes throughout the day. Add whole grain toast to your breakfast or lunch for long-term sustained energy.

Bananas
Bananas have long been a favorite source of energy among endurance athletes. Some of the world’s best competitors have been spotted on the sidelines eating a banana. And there’s a good reason why! A study from the Appalachian State University Human Performance Lab found that eating half a banana every 15 minutes during a cycling time trial test aided performance as much as drinking a sports energy drink at the same intervals. For those not engaging in heavy duty daily cycling, one banana should suffice.

Raisins
If you’re looking for an easy and portable snack that packs a ton of energy, opt for raisins. The nutrients are more concentrated than fresh grapes so you can get more energy with less intake. It’s the perfect snack for a busy work day or a weekend cycle. Just be careful as raisins also contain a lot more sugar and calories when compared ounce for ounce with fresh grapes. A handful is all it takes to get a nutritional boost.

Eggs
Eggs for energy? That’s what research published in Nutrition Today indicates. Researchers found the high-quality protein in eggs provided sustained energy and promoted satiety. In other words, eggs as part of breakfast will keep you productive and full all morning long.

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Blueberries
You’ve undoubtedly already heard blueberries referred to as superfoods. These berries may be small but they pack a powerful punch. Blueberries are loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants, vitamin C and iron. But blueberries are also brain food. A study by Harvard researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that a high-intake of flavonoid-rich berries, like blueberries, can delay memory decline in women.

Yogurt
Yogurt may get the most credit for its calcium, but it also offers some serious protein power (as much as six to nine grams per serving—Greek yogurt has even more). Fitness experts call it the perfect post-workout snack as it not only helps jumpstart muscle repair but replenishes energy. Yogurt in the morning is also a great way to power up for a productive day.

The post 7 Foods That Boost Productivity appeared first on The Leaf.

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11 Cauliflower Recipes So Good You’ll Forget You’re Eating Veggies

Noticed a lot of cauliflower recipes popping up in your social media feeds lately? It’s no wonder: In June, Time magazine declared that cauliflower is the new “It” vegetable. That’s quite a step up for a vegetable that, for decades, has been broccoli’s boring cousin.

Turns out, cauliflower is extraordinarily versatile, which is why cauliflower recipes are all the rage these days. You can mash it like mashed potatoes; rice it like, well, rice; turn it into pizza crust, sandwich bread, faux buffalo wings, “tater” tots, mashed “potatoes,” even grilled “steak.” Suddenly, its mild flavor and interesting texture—crunchy when raw, soft when cooked—has made it the go-to replacement for higher-calorie, high refined-carb foods.

Like broccoli and cabbage, cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable. One cup of raw cauliflower has only 25 calories and a filling 2.5 grams of fiber. One serving also supplies 77 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C and it’s a good source of folate, a B-vitamin that helps your body produced healthy new cells.

Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower also contain large amounts of antioxidant chemicals that, studies suggest, may help you prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. For example, one study done in China found that women who ate the most cruciferous vegetables had 50 percent of the risk for breast cancer as women who ate the least amount.

Combine them with their cousins, which include Brussels sprouts and kale, and you boost their antioxidant power.

You can find some delicious ways to serve cauliflower on The Leaf, Nutrisystem’s website that provides hundreds of recipes (and lots of inspiration). Start with our guide to using cauliflower to make rice, pizza crust and more (Available here >).

All you need is a food processor or a grater to turn raw cauliflower florets into rice-like morsels that you can use just like rice or, mixed with egg, goat cheese and herbs and spices, into a delicious pizza crust. You can also use your cauliflower rice to sub for bulgur wheat in Tabbouleh Salad and for potatoes in tots and chowder.

But the options don’t end there.

Here are 11 other cauliflower recipes you need to try ASAP:

1. Cauliflower Fried Rice >

Imagine your favorite wok dish with way fewer calories. This authentic cauliflower recipe calls for mixed veggies—like carrots, snow peas, bell pepper, water chestnuts and soy beans—in a soy sauce-ginger mix with garlic, scrambled eggs and shrimp. It’s only 278 calories per serving and counts as two PowerFuels, one Vegetable and one Extra.

2. Spinach, Mushroom, Cauliflower Risotto >

Creamy risotto at 143 calories—and without the tedious stirring? You’ve got it in this recipe that substitutes riced cauliflower for rice. Two full cups of mushrooms, three cups of spinach, onion, garlic and a low-fat three-cheese blend make this dish extra flavorful and healthy. Counts as one PowerFuel, one Vegetable and one Extra.

3. Slow Cooker Garlic Herb Mashed Faux-tatoes >

One head of cauliflower, mixed with vegetable broth, garlic and herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley, will fill the house with delicious fragrances while it cooks in your slow cooker. It can turn even leftover holiday meats into a special dinner. One-sixth of this recipe counts as one Vegetable and two extras.

4. Cauliflower Mac and Cheese >

Mac and cheese at 114 calories? Sounds impossible, but not when you substitute cauliflower for the usual macaroni. Cut one head into small florets and mix with a creamy, cheesy sauce containing cheddar, cream cheese and almond milk. This makes a tasty side dish or a fabulous lunch or dinner that counts as one PowerFuel, one Vegetable and one Extra.

5. Cheezy Cauliflower Soup >

Save yourself the excess calories of cheese with this recipe for a creamy soup that gets its cheese flavor from nutritional yeast. Yes, yeast. Trust us, it’s delectable. Add sliced leeks, garlic and low-sodium chicken broth to finish off this light flex lunch (add some lean meat for a full, filling meal). Counts as one SmartCarb and one Vegetable.

6. Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup >

Like cauliflower, sweet potatoes contain antioxidant chemicals that may help you fight chronic and killer diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, so you’re getting a double dose of healthy in this satisfyingly sweet soup spiced with coriander, paprika, cumin and ginger. And all for only 127 calories a serving. Not bad… just like all of our cauliflower recipes! Counts as one SmartCarb, one Vegetable and one Extra.

7. Cauliflower Buffalo Bites >

We have to admit… this is our favorite of the cauliflower recipes. If you’re missing your buffalo wings, you won’t be for long when you taste these. The secret of great buffalo wings—which are high in fat and calories—is the sauce. And you can get that same satisfying taste by substituting cauliflower florets for meat. Really! (You can even find buffalo cauliflower in the frozen food section!) Serve spicy buffalo sauce over florets that you’ve baked in the oven for 20 minutes and you won’t miss the chicken. One cup counts as one Vegetable and two Extras.

8. Asian Salmon Cauliflower Rice >

Wean yourself off of expensive and high-fat Asian takeout with this easy-peasy recipe that substitutes nutrient rich cauliflower rice for real rice. The easiest-peasiest part? You can buy already riced cauliflower in the frozen vegetable section of your supermarket. Your job is limited to baking the salmon and sautéing the rice with bean spouts then topping with a wasabi-soy-vinegar sauce and matchstick carrots, English cucumber slices, Nori and sesame seeds. One serving counts as two PowerFuels, two Vegetables and one Extra.

9. Twice Baked Cauliflower Casserole >

Two kinds of creamy melty cheese, tangy Greek yogurt and mashed cooked cauliflower, and you have a twice-baked casserole that will make you think you’re eating cheesy mashed potatoes—the ultimate in comfort food. Heavenly! This delicious dish counts as one PowerFuel and one Vegetable

10. Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice >

You won’t believe how tangy and tasty this recipe is. And so simple: Just cauliflower rice, lime juice, lime zest and cilantro. It’s the perfect side dish for Nutrisystem’s microwavable Southwest Fiesta Melt. Best of all, all of that flavor counts as just one Vegetable on the Nutrisystem program.

11. Cauliflower Crust Breadsticks >

Every bit as flavorful as your favorite pre-meal indulgence, these tasty breadsticks leave the fat, sodium and excess calories behind.

The post 11 Cauliflower Recipes So Good You’ll Forget You’re Eating Veggies appeared first on The Leaf.

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I started losing weight- and then I came to college

18F, 5'5", last time I checked I weighed 155 pounds, but I'm afraid I may lose more. My goal is to weigh 120lbs.

My weight loss has been sporadic. In 2017, I weighed about ~150lbs. That summer, I went up to 160lbs. I got sick in 2018 and in May my lowest weight was 139lbs. Now, in September 2019, I'm at 155lbs.

I finally found a method of weight loss that worked for me- intermittent fasting. I had tried full on water fasts, but I could never get past the 1st day, and then I would binge on food to compensate. I lost 4 pounds in my two weeks of intermittent fasting, I went from 156 to 152.

Then I got to college.

I'm a freshman, and they had many events going on the first week. Everywhere I went, free pizza, free icecream, free cookies. I have horrible impulse control, so of course I ate all of that junk. I haven't checked my weight since I came to school, and I'm honestly afraid to know.

Even after all the events calmed down, I still have trouble controlling my food intake. My friends always want to meet up after class for food in the dining halls. I can literally get as much food as I want there, and it's already covered by my meal plan. This much access to readily available food is horrible for me, due to my impulsiveness. When I lived at home, I never had this problem. Not to mention their icecream machines. I can literally get as much icecream as I want. It's bad.

When my friends ask to meet up for food, I feel compelled to say yes. I don't want to be left out of the group. However, whenever I go into those dining halls, I eat. sometimes a lot. I can't go in there and not eat. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to be left out.

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Advice on my weight loss journey with Phentermine

I’ve been on phentermine once before for a month a year ago. I had great results, almost no side effects, lost some more weigh myself the following months (15kgs total).

Over the course of 6-7 months this year I gained back 7kgs. I’m back on phentermine for a kick start, 1.5 weeks in. Last week I lost 3.8kgs (mostly water weight I know).

I’m counting calories (1,200-1,300) and I’m back at the gym. I’m really wanting sustainable weight loss this time around and don’t mind if it comes off slowly after this.

Here’s the dilemma - I’m going to overseas in 7 weeks for a month. What I’m really worried about is being on phentermine for 2 months and then going off it right before my trip and gaining lots of weight trying new foods when my appetite comes back. But obviously I can’t take the drug with me/would prefer not to.

So should I finish this one month on it, continue calorie counting for the month leading up to my trip and then maybe go back on it afterwards? I don’t expect to lose weight overseas, I really want to maintain any losses I make.

Sorry if this is all over the shop and I’ll talk to my doctor about it too but I’m just after some thoughts. Thankyou!

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Wednesday, 04 September 2019? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

Welcome to r/Loseit!

So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

Why you’re overweight

Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

Before You Start

The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

Tracking

Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

Creating Your Deficit

How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

Exercise

Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

Crawl, Walk, Run

It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

Acceptance

You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

Additional resources

Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!
• Loseit Compendium - Frame it out!
• FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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What is the most accurate way to track your calories burned?

For context; I'm 19/F, about 171cm/5'7", and weigh about 74kg/163lb at the moment. I use MyFitnessPal to track calories and my streak is at 112 days now - I usually aim to eat 5,700kj/1300calories each day for a weight loss of 0.5kg/1lb per week. When I started tracking, I was about 81kg/178lb.

I find tracking my food/calories in fairly simple and I've lost a good amount of weight (around 7.5kg/16lb) over the past few months, solely from being in a calorie deficit each day without regular exercise.

However, recently I've started going back to the gym about 4 times a week for the past month, and my weight loss has dramatically slowed / plateaued during this time. It either seems to be at a maintenance or less than 0.2kg/0.5lb a week. At the gym I typically do about 30 minutes of strength/weight exercises, 20 minutes on the stair master at level 10-12, and 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer.

I suspect the weight loss plateau is probably due to a combination of muscle gain, and also overestimating the amount of calories I've burned during my workouts (which then leads me to believe I have more calories left in my budget for that day, eat more, and be in less of a deficit than I should be).

I know that MyFitnessPal and the number shown on the machines at the gym (what I've currently been using to estimate) is wildly inaccurate in determining how many calories I'm burning, but I've also heard that wearable fitness trackers or MET calculations can be inaccurate too.

So, what's the most accurate way to track the amount of calories I've burned so I don't accidentally overeat and slow down or stop my weight loss? Or is weight loss plateau when you start exercising normal, and I shouldn't worry about it?

Thanks for any advice :)

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Anyone else lose sense of who they are after a fitness / weight loss journey? / the dark side of a “successful” weight loss journey

Hey guys, a little backstory:

Started: January 9th - M/22/5’9”/297 lbs Current: 187 lbs

My progress pics are in my post history.

I generally am very positive about the journey and changing my life, but I feel like I’m losing sense of who I am. I feel like that while certain aspects of mental health have improved (confidence, energy levels, self image), others have deteriorated (anger management, stress management, general happiness).

I find myself putting more weight onto social media likes and attention, and I’m about to purge all of my accounts because of it.

Also, my libido is all thrown off - idk if it’s being in a cut for 7 months, but my sex drive is basically nonexistent at the moment.

Sorry if this seems disconnected and ramble-y, but I’m just trying to connect the dots and see if anyone’s dealing with the same.

I just feel very hollow and fake at the moment and I don’t really like the person I am currently

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