The Leaf | Healthy Weight Loss Blog

Haven’t chosen your New Year’s resolution for 2022 yet? You’re never too late: Any day is the perfect day to start exercising and reaping loads of health benefits , like drastically reduced risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even early death. Just make sure your goal is really achievable: While many people like the sound of running 10 marathons or becoming a world champion powerlifter, keeping things simple in year one can help you build towards bigger goals with subsequent resolutions. Your fitness goals should be challenging yet realistic. According to experts at Cañada College , “unattainable goals are often the cause of injury, frustration, and ultimately the discontinuation of exercise.” They recommend creating short-term goals that are more attainable in the beginning of your fitness journey. So here are five fitness goals you can really achieve this year—and each is backed by science, so they’re really worth doing! Goal 1: Walk 4,400 to 7,972 steps per day. Thou

It’s okay to get a little nutty while you’re dieting. If you’re talking about peanut butter, that is! The Leaf is filled with healthy peanut butter recipes that are diet-friendly. According to Harvard Health, peanuts aren’t actually nuts. They are a legume, similar to lentils or soybeans. Regardless of their origin, peanut butter is a delicious and healthy option for those trying to lose weight. Studies show that people who eat nuts and peanut butter have a decreased risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, says Harvard Health. Nuts and nut butters are filled with healthy fats and can help keep you full throughout the day. Never underestimate the fullness factor when you’re shedding pounds! Fortunately, Nutrisystem has developed more than a dozen peanut butter recipes. All delicious, all healthy and all diet-approved! Keep reading to see how versatile peanut butter really is. Go Nuts for Nuts: 10 Nuts to Add to Your Diet Read More Hint: Click the recipe name or image to c

Shorter days, less sun and chilly temps have a way of bringing you down. The winter blahs are real and for some people, it may develop into seasonal depression. Food is not a fix. However, a growing body of research suggests that your diet and certain healthy superfoods may influence (and even improve) your mood. One recent study, published in the journal PLOS ONE , found symptoms of depression dropped significantly among a small group of young adults who ate healthier for three weeks—which meant, in part, increasing their intake of fruits, veggies, whole grains and fish. In the peer-reviewed journal Psychiatry Research , a meta-analysis of 21 studies from ten countries investigated the connection between diet and depression risk. They found that a healthy eating pattern high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and low-fat dairy products may decrease the risk of depression, whereas a diet high in red or processed meat, refined grains and fat may increase the risk of depression

Even if you’re someone who prefers to walk or run outside, you know that treadmills can serve a valuable purpose. Sometimes it’s just easier to hop on the treadmill if the weather is questionable or if you need a simple and easy workout. Whether you own one yourself or use one at the gym, you want to know that you’re getting the most out of the time you put in on this machine. We’ve rounded up some of our best tips for enhancing your treadmill workout for weight loss. With these four ideas, you can get maximum value out of your treadmill exercise. 1. Turn up the tunes. If you’re someone who likes to run or walk with music, then it might be nearly impossible to do it without your tunes. The truth is, there are a lot of benefits to working out with music . One study, published in the Journal of Exercise Physiology Online , found that people exercising with fast tempo music had a higher heart rate and increased their respiratory rate. This is because they were moving more. 1 Running