Indeed, no drink or food is a surefire guarantee for weight loss. If the amounts of calories you take in are still more than what you burn, your efforts at weigh loss will be useless. You should be able to find a way to consistently burn calories by regularly exercising and following a healthy diet. Following a healthy diet means eating the right kinds of food and drinking healthy beverages such as green smoothies.
Green smoothies refer to blended beverages that contain leafy greens, veggies, healthy fats and fruits. Healthy fats include coconut, flax, hemp seeds and almonds. Examples of leafy greens are parsley, mint, Swiss or rainbow chard, wheat and barley grasses, kale and spinach.
The ingredients actually may vary, depending on the individual’s preference. Some people use all raw, fresh ingredients, while others use frozen fruits to create green smoothies with a thicker texture similar to that of an ice cream. However, the ideal smoothies for weight loss usually contain very few ingredients such as veggies, fruits and greens alone.
Green Smoothies are Low in Calories
More often than not, the ingredients that are used to make green smoothies are a combination of whole foods that are low in calories. Thus, they are considered as ideal drinks for losing weight. Chips and cookies or other high-calorie snack foods can be quite tempting, but drinking green smoothies instead of snacking on high-calorie foods is a wise strategy to lose weight.
Green Smoothies Keep You From Feeling Thirsty
According to experts, most people don’t actually drink 8 glasses of H2O daily. Some people, if not most, like the taste of sweet carbonated drinks or high-calorie beverages more than the taste of water, so they tend to buy these drinks more. Aside from that, most people choose beverages or drinks other than plain water to quench their thirst. These drinks primarily contain lots of sugar and great amounts of calories that can lead to weight gain. When preparing your smoothie, you can always add more H2O into it. By doing this, you will be able to drink more water and this will reduce your cravings for sweet or high-calorie drinks.
Green Smoothies are Very Filling
The veggies and fruits present in your green smoothie are not only low in calories but are also high in fiber. As you consistently include green smoothies in your daily diet, you will gradually lose weight. The USDA claims that eating more veggies and fruits can prevent overweight and obesity. Furthermore, based on a certain research review that was published in the 2005 “Nutrition” journal, a diet that contains high fiber is important in maintaining a healthy weight.
Because of the great amounts of water and fiber found in green smoothies, they are the best examples of drinks that are very filling. They will keep you from feeling hungry for long periods of time. For this reason, you will have the tendency to eat less as your cravings are reduced. Thus, many weight losers like to drink green smoothies.
5 Advantages of Green Smoothies
You must have heard a lot of people talk about green smoothies and all their health benefits. Why do so many people nowadays love it? What makes them become a popular drink these days? They are packed with essential ingredients needed for optimum health and not only that but there are also more advantages in drinking smoothies than any other drink. Here are some reasons why it is more beneficial to drink green smoothies than other beverages.
They are easy to prepare.
It only takes a few minutes to prepare a healthy green smoothie at home. They are also quite easy to prepare. As long as you have the equipment such as a blender, a pitcher or any container, there is no reason you cannot make a healthy smoothie for yourself. All you have to do is to select the kinds of veggies and fruits you like, and after that you can mix them well with the use of a blender.
They are easily digested.
Fiber-rich green smoothies are not hard to digest. In fact, since they are liquefied and blended, smoothies are quickly digested. This means your body does not need to put in so much effort to digest it so that the nutrients can be extracted. Green smoothies relieve and prevent constipation.
They are cheap.
Buying a glass of smoothie from any juice bar can cost you up to $6. However, when you make your own green smoothie at home, it will only cost you a few cents. Besides, you do not have to spend much on your vitamins since drinking a single glass of smoothie already contains lots of vitamins.
Green smoothies come in handy.
After you have made your own green smoothie, you can keep it in a container and store it in a fridge. You can store it up to twenty-four hours or so and drink it anytime you want. You can then take the chilled smoothie with you wherever you go, be it at work, the gym, the park or on a train. You can store your green smoothie in a stainless steel or a glass container as this is the most recommended storage option.
They contain veggies that you would not eat or drink alone.
Although eating veggies is quite healthy, most people still prefer to eat more fruits than vegetables. Since vegetables are combined with fruits in making green smoothies, you will get to eat some vegetables without even tasting them. More often than not, the flavor of the veggies is somewhat masked by the fruity flavor that it is even hard to distinguish the veggies used in green smoothies.
A green smoothie is not only good for adults but also for children. Most children don’t like, if not hate, vegetables. However, they love to drink a cold glass of chilled smoothie. The best way to prepare green smoothies for kids is to use lots of fruits instead of veggies until they become more comfortable with the taste.
