Vegetables, specifically those that fall into the green-leafy category, are plentiful in almost any weight-loss diet. This holds true for competitive bodybuilders, too.
As the weeks of contest prep carry on, the pain of hunger and difficulty of slashing carbs and calories week after week make it a challenge to stay committed to a nutrition plan. Justin Harris uses vegetables such as iceberg lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli and peppers to help fight off this mental exhaustion and need for fullness.
There are more benefits to vegetables than satiety, though. In this video, Harris discusses the various benefits of both vegetables and fiber in a diet.
WATCH: How Justin Harris got Dave Tate Shredded
Beets for example are loaded with nitrates, and those nitrates are converted in your body to nitric oxide (chemical formula, "NO" as in one nitrogen and one oxygen). For anyone who is unaware to the benefits of NO, here's a good link from Peak Performance Online.
http://pponline.co.uk/encyc/nitric-oxide-its-role-in-your-body-and-the-truth-behind-its-performance-enhancing-properties-40886
To wrap this up, beets and NO are only ONE benefit from ONE food. Aside from that, vitamins and minerals are absorbed much more easily through whole foods, they're more cost effective, and you can make them tasty if you learn how to cook and season!
Short lesson: Eat like an adult, that means having a well-balanced diet, which includes fruits and vegetables. We're indoctrinated by a petty, ignorant society to avoid things we don't like, which for some reason includes fruits and vegetables. We're also then led to believe that we're correct in our belief that these things aren't necessary because we're "doing well enough" without them.
Here's something to ponder, you will be massively unaware of most things that weaken you until the poo hits the fan. Wanna wait until your middle aged and feel like shit and have a REAL hard time recovering to your previous self? It will be a lot harder then. So, have some self-respect, broaden those horizons and eat the vegetables. How are you going to be your best self if you act like a child, and then want to lift weights? #nobrainnogain