Smoothies are a great way to help you slim down and keep the weight off long term. A smoothie chock full of fruits, vegetables, coconut oil and whey protein can help staunch your sweet tooth, stabilize your blood sugar, and help you avoid cheating on your diet or feeling unsatisfied two hours later.
Recipe for Weight Loss
Research shows that consuming thicker smoothies is an excellent way to replace a meal and boost feelings of satiety. Adding peanut butter, whey or another high-quality protein source to your smoothie is another way to round out the taste and keep you feeling satiated. Creamy peanut butter goes great in most smoothies, and the high protein content of peanut butter combined with its fat content helps to maintain blood sugar throughout the day and repel cravings.
Adding healthy fats like avocado can also help your body assimilate vitamins more efficiently and get you closer to your weight loss goals.
Avocados are full of monounsaturated fats, which leave you feeling satisfied and less tempted by the cookie aisle. As a rule of thumb, your body benefits more from the monounsaturated fats found in avocados and olive oil than the polyunsaturated fats found in cheaper cooking oils.
Fiber and Low GI Ingredients
Fruits and berries with a low glycemic index and high in fiber are great for smoothies for a few reasons. Berries high in fiber and low in quick-burning sugars that leave you feeling drained later are an excellent addition to smoothies.
Blueberries and raspberries, for instance, are high in fiber and work with your digestive system; blueberries and raspberries also happen to be lower in quick-burning sugar, which means you’ll feel satiated and on your weight-loss purpose for longer.
Tips to Stay Fuller Longer
Due to the fact that blueberries and raspberries are mild tasting and blend well with other ingredients, you could consider tossing these into almost any smoothie. Couple the blueberry’s micronutrients, Vitamin C and antioxidant power with an absorbable form of protein and you’ve likely just created a smoothie sure to leave you satisfied and fuller throughout the day.
Whey protein and Greek yogurt also work well together, but many people use these separately in smoothies because each is very high in assimilable protein. Purely for weight-loss reasons, though, you might want to opt for Greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt has live active cultures and other ingredients that help strengthen the ecosystem in your gut and ultimately aid in the digestion process. In other words, Greek yogurt can indirectly help you digest all of your food better and glean more of the nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants from the other fruits, vegetables, and nuts in your morning smoothie.
Smaller meals spaced throughout the day are also a surefire way to kickstart your metabolism. For this reason, you might want to consider having one smoothie for breakfast and one in the evening and slotting three meals in between to get the most out of your nutrition and make sure your metabolism and meals are working towards your weight-loss goals.
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Bio
This contribution comes from Cherry Creek Medical Weight Loss. Their Denver clinic specializes in helping people make healthy decisions with weight loss goals, as well as hormone therapy for men and women.