Smoothies

Shane732

I'm currently trying to get my bodyfat down toward the 10% mark as well as trying to eat healthier than I currently do.

Anyway I'm starting to make smoothies.

I can the following smoothie this morning -

• 1 Apple
• 5/6 Strawberries
• Handful of Blackberries,
• 2 Handfuls of Grapes

My question is how good/bad for me is the smoothie above?

Also, is it ok to make a batch of smoothies for like 3 days?

boogle

Well is this smoothie intended as a meal, or is it in addition to your normal meals? There's only fruit in there so it's not going to make you feel full for very long.

There's no protein in there. Maybe throw in some whey protein powder or greek yoghurt (high in cals though so watch the portion). If you want your smoothie to give you energy, a teaspoon of peanut butter is good too.

Shane732

boogle wrote: »

Well is this smoothie intended as a meal, or is it in addition to your normal meals? There's only fruit in there so it's not going to make you feel full for very long.

There's no protein in there. Maybe throw in some whey protein powder or greek yoghurt (high in cals though so watch the portion). If you want your smoothie to give you energy, a teaspoon of peanut butter is good too.

It's snack, not a meal.

I don't like whey protein in a smoothie. I take whey protein and water at a different stage in the day.

Really this is intended to be taken at, say, 11am with lunch being taken at 1.

Really I just want a clean snack. I don't eat nuts or dried stuff.

ling-zing

yes it's healthy if it fits your macros you'll get down to 10%

2 days in the fridge at most I'd say(never tried it tho)

my goto smoothie at the moment is avocado,spinach,berries,whey

Shane732

ling-zing wrote: »

yes it's healthy if it fits your macros you'll get down to 10%

2 days in the fridge at most I'd say(never tried it tho)

my goto smoothie at the moment is avocado,spinach,berries,whey

The problem with me is that I'm quite picky with fruits/veg.

Really I'm just looking to get my fruit intake up with it.

ling-zing

well its perfect for upping your fruit intake

thats why i use frozen spinach at the moment when i make'em handy way to get it in my diet

also you should try a banana it really thickens it up to more smoothie consistency

Adding a smoothie to your diet won't make the blindest bit of difference to your bodyfat.

Bodyfat % is a function of diet and exercise as a whole. A fruit smoothie (containing a lot of fructose - aka sugar) is just natural calories. They're still calories and sugars.

A better snack for those aiming for satiety and lower bf% would be some beef jerky. Or some tandoori chicken skewers, or a tin of tuna with full fat mayo. Or some turkey and cheese. Or some avocado.

Feed that breakdown of fruits into mynetdiary or any app and have a look at the nutritional breakdown, is that what you're looking for in a snack? I doubt it!

muffinn

I would avoid liquid calories when cutting. If you insist on upping fruit intake in your diet then just snack on them. It will take you longer to consume it instead of drinking it as a smoothie.

You will get to eat something instead of drinking which psychologically is really helping when dieting. Personally I feel more satiated after eating solid foods than its caloric equivalent in liquid.

In the end everything comes down to calories in and out.

thegreatiam

is that all your putting in it? just fruit?

Would you eat that much fruit normally?
are you finding it hard to get fruit into your diet?
What purpose does all that fruit serve in a cutting diet?

Jason Todd

I'd make myself a smoothie 3-4 times a week, something like;

2 handfuls of Strawberries
1 handful of Blueberries
1 Banana
2 Pineapple rings
juice from half a Lime
1 Strawberry Greek Yoghurt
Dash of honey
Dash of Tropicana OJ

I would like to make it more protein-friendly. I don't eat eggs, and can't imagine the peanut butter going well in the smoothie, so is whey protein really the best thing to add to it?

If so, can someone recommend a whey protein for a novice, something that won't break the bank? I should add that, this is more often than not, a snack, not a meal replacement. I usually have one the days I have a workout or a game of 5 a side scheduled.

TIA

thegreatiam

Jason Todd wrote: »

I'd make myself a smoothie 3-4 times a week, something like;

2 handfuls of Strawberries
1 handful of Blueberries
1 Banana
2 Pineapple rings
juice from half a Lime
1 Strawberry Greek Yoghurt
Dash of honey
Dash of Tropicana OJ

I would like to make it more protein-friendly. I don't eat eggs, and can't imagine the peanut butter going well in the smoothie, so is whey protein really the best thing to add to it?

If so, can someone recommend a whey protein for a novice, something that won't break the bank? I should add that, this is more often than not, a snack, not a meal replacement. I usually have one the days I have a workout or a game of 5 a side scheduled.

TIA

peanut butter goes extremely well in smoothies.
For a high(er) protein smoothie try a combination of milk, yoghurt, peanut butter (or any nuts), honey (for flavour, or a banana or other fruit)
replace the OJ in your smoothie with milk. and avoid the lime juice and youre mostly there.

For whey protein just look for one with high protein content and little else, but if you get protein from food sources you dont need it

Jason Todd

thegreatiam wrote: »

peanut butter goes extremely well in smoothies.
For a high(er) protein smoothie try a combination of milk, yoghurt, peanut butter (or any nuts), honey (for flavour, or a banana or other fruit)
replace the OJ in your smoothie with milk. and avoid the lime juice and youre mostly there.

For whey protein just look for one with high protein content and little else, but if you get protein from food sources you dont need it

Cheers! I'll give the PB a go so! Would a tablespoon of it suffice?

thegreatiam

Jason Todd wrote: »

Cheers! I'll give the PB a go so! Would a tablespoon of it suffice?

depends how much you like peanut butter.

soften it a little in the microwave first tho, or it just sticks to the spoon.

mufcboy1999

I wouldn't go crazy on smoothies if your looking to drop to 10 % body fat. Like said there full of sugar and that's something you should look to limit.

I often have one from my juice bar usually the turbo charge with protein but it's straight after my workouts on weight training days so I'm avoiding bad insulin spikes throughout day when their not needed.

Again like said if your looking to cut body fat you need to keep an eye on your sugar and complex carb intake, if your taking in too much of either carb you'll have a hard time reaching 10%.

A bit off topic but Sometimes I think people underestimate how lean you can potentially look like at 10 % providing that you have enough lbm and how much dedication it takes diet wise to get in and under it.

Iv recently dropped from 14 bf to 11.5 purely from cycling carbs,being in a small deficit of kcals and re-introducing interval/sprint type training.

y0ssar1an22

Just a question regarding smoothies...

is there anything you can add that will bulk up the smoothie (make you full) but with a minimum amount of calories. Basically something that makes you full without the calories.

Thanks

thegreatiam

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

Just a question regarding smoothies...

is there anything you can add that will bulk up the smoothie (make you full) but with a minimum amount of calories. Basically something that makes you full without the calories.

Thanks

Depends,

are you using smoothies as a meal replacement, if so why?

A smoothie is just liquidized food stuffs, so I would say unless you have a specific reason for liquidizing the food in the first place you are better off just eating it whole.

If you are cutting weight then the only reason to drink a smoothie is convenience. it is faster to drink and you can take it with you easier.

Generally you want to be eating your food on a cut purely because it takes longer and fills you up more, its easy to drink a lot fruit and veg in a smoothie, but eating the same amount will be harder.

The original recipe in the OP is very bad Idea for cutting weight. There is no need to eat that much sugar while losing weight, so no argument can be made for drinking it either.


TL:DR if you're losing weight just eat the food you intend to smoothie, unless there is a valid reason not to.


Having said all that, milk, flax seeds, banana and peanut butter is a pretty filling smoothie. but certainly not low calorie
Spinach and kale can add bulk and veg to almost any smoothie without changing the flavor too much.
Almost any veggie can be smoothied in a blender and will be a low calorie, high nutrition option, but eating the veg will make you feel fuller.

y0ssar1an22

i'm trying to lose weight and also the convenience of bringing it with me. so i guess i'll throw in some veg that doesn't have a strong flavour...would lettuce work?

Marty McFly

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

i'm trying to lose weight and also the convenience of bringing it with me. so i guess i'll throw in some veg that doesn't have a strong flavour...would lettuce work?

Frozen spinach is a good one to throw into a smoothie that wont have a strong flavour.

y0ssar1an22

thanks, i'll give that a go.

thegreatiam

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

i'm trying to lose weight and also the convenience of bringing it with me. so i guess i'll throw in some veg that doesn't have a strong flavour...would lettuce work?

lettuce would work, but lettuce is essentially green nothing. so almost pointless.
Stick with the spinach, buy it frozen and its cheap, or €1 a bunch fresh at a market