Although fruit smoothies can be very healthy, that isn't always the case. Many cafe and restaurant smoothies are packed with high-fat and high-calorie ingredients such as ice cream, full-fat yogurt, fruit syrups and added sugar, which make the final products more like decadent desserts than nutritious snacks. To encourage weight loss, make your own smoothies and use them as balanced meal replacements.
Ingredients and Nutrition Facts
Be aware that commercially available smoothies are often too sweet and laden with calories to help you lose weight. A 24-oz. peach smoothie at one major juice chain, for instance, contains more than 450 calories, 100 g carbohydrates and 90 g sugar. To make your own healthier and lighter version, start with a base of 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, skim milk or soy milk. Add one piece of frozen or chilled fruit or 3/4 cup of sliced fruit. If you like, add a scoop of protein powder or wheatgerm, and blend the ingredients with crushed ice.
Meal Replacements
One reliable strategy is to use a daily smoothie as a meal replacement. According to a series of 2003 studies reported in "Nutrition Journal," overweight and obese participants who used meal replacements through a 40-week period lost more weight on average than participants who followed a more traditional low-calorie diet. To use the method, drink a healthy smoothie that has about 250 to 400 calories as a replacement for any main meal during the day. If you get hungry between meals, have a light snack.
Calories
The amount of weight you can lose by using fruit smoothies as meal replacements depends upon the calories you save. Losing 1 lb. requires burning or saving 3,500 calories. So if you normally eat about 700 calories at a meal and replace one meal per day with a smoothie that contains 300 calories, you could lose about 3/4 lb. per week.
Considerations
The key to losing weight healthfully and keeping it off is following a balanced diet. If you have too many smoothies at the expense of other healthy food groups, you could suffer nutrient deficiencies or other health problems, and you may even gain weight. After all, fruits are higher in calories and sugar than vegetables and some other natural foods, so physician Melina Jampolis of CNN.com recommends limiting your fruit servings to three per day if you're trying to break through a weight loss plateau. Before you adopt smoothies as meal replacements or make any major changes to your diet, speak with your doctor.
Member Comments