Emerging Caffeine, Fit For 50 Challenge, and More Productive Days

Nutrition Corner

Emerging sources of caffeine, including yerba mate, guayusa and yaupon holly, are among ingredients tapping into expanding consumer demand for food and beverages that support brain health.

As much as pressure cookers have made our lives easier by quickly preparing our foods, there are some things which should never be cooked in a pressure cooker.

Recipe for The Day

Spinach & Egg Scramble With Raspberries - This quick egg scramble with hearty bread is one of the best breakfasts for weight loss. It combines protein-packed eggs and superfood raspberries with filling whole-grain toast and nutrient-rich spinach. The protein and fiber help fill you up and keep you going through the morning.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

5 things to do this morning to make your whole day more productive

• Plan ahead - One of the most productive things you can do to start your day on the right foot should actually happen before you go to sleep the previous day — make a plan. It doesn’t need to be a minute-by-minute itinerary, but it should map out the major tasks or things you want to accomplish the next day — and how you want to spend the first few hours of the day.

• Resist the snooze - Giving yourself a few extra minutes of slumber may seem like listening to your body, but in the long run you’re probably doing more harm than good. That’s because those 10 extra minutes of shuteye tend to be low-quality, light sleep since it’s not long enough for your body to make it through another sleep cycle (which tends to take around 90 minutes).

• Drink water - Add lemon, ice or cucumber — or just drink it straight up. We get dehydrated overnight (especially if nature calls and you’re using the bathroom in the pre-dawn hours). A glass or two of H2O first thing helps replenish your body’s hydration stores. It also starts your metabolism on the right foot (since the body relies on water to keep all your digestive processes running smoothly).

• Exercise - Muster the energy to start sweating first thing and it will reward you. Exercise releases endorphins — chemicals produced in the brain that help minimize pain and discomfort and increase wellbeing (essentially the body’s own painkillers). 

• Eat breakfast - Food is where your body gets energy — so it makes sense that starting your day with food is one of the most energizing things you can do. Our metabolism works better earlier in the day.

Five foods to include in diet to help lose weight fast, according to experts

• Opt for brown rice - Containing fibre, complex carbohydrates, proteins, and antioxidants - and with healthy fat, it supplies your body with long-term energy during workouts.

• Another healthy swap is sweet potatoes - They contain vitamin A, potassium, and riboflavin to name a few, which all aid the muscle building process.

• Eating eggs - High in protein and have healthy fats, they can also help you feel fuller. When it comes to the best way to have them, boiled or poached will help reach your weight loss goal, as you don't need to add calories due to oil.

• Greek yoghurt is essential - It's high in protein and low in fat, calories and sugar, it can help you shed the pounds as well as build muscle. It contains probiotics to improve your immune and digestive health to contribute to a healthy gut biome.

• Eating oatmeal - It provides complex carbohydrates and protein and is also rich in fibre. Adding berries is also a good way to get anti-inflammatory antioxidants into your diet.

Need Motivation? 4 Unexpected Benefits for Your Happiness

• Movement helps you bond with others - Movement itself primes you to connect with others. That's just the brain chemistry of it. When you get your heart rate up, when you use your body, when you engage your muscles, it changes your brain chemistry in a way that makes it easier to connect with others and bond, trust other people. It enhances social pleasures like a high five, laughing or a hug.

• Exercise helps reduce anxiety and depression - You've probably heard that exercise increases endorphins, but it also increases many more brain chemicals that make you feel happy. When you exercise, it increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid -- these are all brain chemicals associated with feeling happy, feeling confident, feeling capable, feeling less anxiety and stress and even less physical pain.

• Exercise can help boost your confidence - When it comes to feeling happier and empowered in life, having confidence is key. When you move with other people it creates a strong sense of 'bigger than self' possibility that makes people feel more optimistic and empowered.

• Exercising outdoors has a effect on your brain similar to meditation - Exercising outdoors has an immediate effect on mood that is extremely powerful for depression and anxiety. Because it induces a state in your brain that is very similar to meditation, the state of open awareness.

Jay Cutler's 8 Arm Exercises for His "Fit for 50" Challenge

• Cable Triceps Pushdown (bar attachment) — 2-3 warm-up sets & 3-4 working sets

• Iso-Lateral Triceps Extension Machine — 3 x AMRAP (as many reps as possible)

• Seated Overhead Dumbbell Extension — 3 x 12

• Cable Triceps Pushdown (rope attachment) — 3 x 12

• Iso-Lateral Biceps Curl — 3 x 12

• Standing Dumbbell Curl — 3 x 12

• Machine Preacher Curl — 3 sets

• EZ Bar Curl — 4 sets

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