Smoothie For Breakfast? BAD Choice!
Why Are Smoothies A bad Breakfast Choice For The Majority?
No, it’s not because I think it’s lazy.
No, it’s not because of the sugar fix you think you need to get going in the day.
It’s not even the sugar loaded smoothies I see made.
To start, a MAJORITY of my audience and clients are women.
So this really concerns them more.
So what’s my beef with smoothies?
Let’s us some context first.
MOST smoothies I see posted are nothing more than blood glucose spikes in a glass that send you on a rollercoaster all day.
Sure, there are some good ones out there but they are few and far between.
My awesome client Maja made a great point that she can use them to help clients go from zero food to an easy entry.
She is a smart cookie.
What she also said is these are a transition to real food.
Again, very smart.
Over the past few years I’ve seen this pattern with women.
Many are unhappy with their bodies so latched onto fasting as it means they can miss a meal, thus equal weight loss.
I get it.
But I deal with the depths of the bodies biochemistry / brain and nervous system.
Thus for me, drinking liquid to signal to your body is not ideal for several reasons.
1. When you chew, you trigger your digestive processes via the vagus nerve.
This regulates stomach acid, bile release, enzymes and motility.
(The no.1 gut issue I see in women is constipation)
Furthermore, over time, just drinking liquid, often low protein options will lead to lower stomach acid,
Poor food digestion and thus poor nutrient uptake into the body.
2. Blood glucose management.
Many will tell me these smoothies make them feel great and I reply ‘I’m sure they do’
They often make people feel great due to increase in blood sugar and firing of dopamine (which motivates / excites you)
Do a test, measure you blood sugars 20 mins before your smoothie, 40 mins after and 1 hour after.
If you are seeing big elevations, you are actually holding yourself back…
…and making appetite control harder, leading to binges at night.
3. They teach us to rush.
Did you know a study with women that spent the longest time eating a meal were the most slim and healthy?
Taking your time to eat gives your body the time to send the right signals.
Drinking liquid food doesn’t allow that to happen, often leading to urges you can’t control later in the day
Now, I could write another 20 points here but hopefully you see my point.
For the people I help, I want things to be boring and consistent.
My clients start losing weight slowly, but it keeps coming off because we know how to work the body.
If you are focused on how much you can lose in a week or two,
You’ll forever be on the ‘next’ best diet.
Now, some said that I have recommended a smoothie before and well, that’s not correct.
What I recommend with breakfast or lunch is a veg mash up.
Pick 20 different vegetables from the store, blend them raw and freeze.
Then each day break off a tablespoon full and put with some flax / hemp / vegan protein etc
The reason for this ADDITIONAL thing is to help broaden the microbiome and regulate the immune system.
Anyhoo, not sure if that helps but thought I’d share my thoughts.
I’m off to get a smoothie
