Two shakes and one meal a day?
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lolliopopsnrainbows
Posts: 101 Member
Hi everyone,
I'm back on the bandwagon yet again and finally seem to have found a way to control my hunger..... I'm having two shakes and one meal a day, with plenty of water/very diluted fruit squash in between if needed.
I'm making the shakes myself, using hemp powder (protein), coconut oil (fat + MCTs), whatever veggies I have to hand (beetroot, pepper, cucumber etc) and one item of fruit (banana, apple or mango usually). The shakes actually started as a way of increasing my vegetable intake but I've found that they really control my hunger cravings (plus, they have a touch of sweetness from the fruit which I think may help - though these shakes are definitely not "sweet" in the way a fruit smoothie is!).
I have a shake mid morning and mid afternoon and then have a cooked dinner with my partner after work. I try to keep the dinner reasonably healthy by ensuring there are plenty of veggies included but won't exclude "unhealthy" foods so if we want a takeaway or fried food, for example, we'll have one. Since discovering that eggs were the cause of my continuous stomach pains, I also tend not to eat dessert as almost all of them have egg in (including every single variety of Ben and Jerrys that is sold in the UK!!)
For the first time in a long time, I am eating regularly, three times a day without getting to mid afternoon without eating and then pigging out on junk food. I am happy eating this way, and can see myself being happy eating this way for quite a while (apart from anything else, it's so EASY - make up two shakes in the evening with whatever you have to hand and then no popping to the shops for lunch and ending up eating crap again!). I also love that (so far) it has really helped dampen down my feelings of guilt when it comes to eating anything that I deem even remotely "unhealthy". Because I know how much goodness I've put in my body during the day with the shakes, I'm more relaxed about what we eat for dinner.
But, do you think this is a healthy way of eating? What are your thoughts on this way of eating (and I won't take offence so be honest with me!).
I'm back on the bandwagon yet again and finally seem to have found a way to control my hunger..... I'm having two shakes and one meal a day, with plenty of water/very diluted fruit squash in between if needed.
I'm making the shakes myself, using hemp powder (protein), coconut oil (fat + MCTs), whatever veggies I have to hand (beetroot, pepper, cucumber etc) and one item of fruit (banana, apple or mango usually). The shakes actually started as a way of increasing my vegetable intake but I've found that they really control my hunger cravings (plus, they have a touch of sweetness from the fruit which I think may help - though these shakes are definitely not "sweet" in the way a fruit smoothie is!).
I have a shake mid morning and mid afternoon and then have a cooked dinner with my partner after work. I try to keep the dinner reasonably healthy by ensuring there are plenty of veggies included but won't exclude "unhealthy" foods so if we want a takeaway or fried food, for example, we'll have one. Since discovering that eggs were the cause of my continuous stomach pains, I also tend not to eat dessert as almost all of them have egg in (including every single variety of Ben and Jerrys that is sold in the UK!!)
For the first time in a long time, I am eating regularly, three times a day without getting to mid afternoon without eating and then pigging out on junk food. I am happy eating this way, and can see myself being happy eating this way for quite a while (apart from anything else, it's so EASY - make up two shakes in the evening with whatever you have to hand and then no popping to the shops for lunch and ending up eating crap again!). I also love that (so far) it has really helped dampen down my feelings of guilt when it comes to eating anything that I deem even remotely "unhealthy". Because I know how much goodness I've put in my body during the day with the shakes, I'm more relaxed about what we eat for dinner.
But, do you think this is a healthy way of eating? What are your thoughts on this way of eating (and I won't take offence so be honest with me!).
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Replies
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Are you meeting your macro/micro nutrient and calorie goals? Do you feel satisfied?
If the answer to the above is "yes". Then you're in good shape.8 -
Are you meeting your macro/micro nutrient and calorie goals? Do you feel satisfied?
If the answer to the above is "yes". Then you're in good shape.
Thanks, that's really reassured me
Yes, when I first started making the shakes, I spent quite a long time playing around with how much of each ingredient to put in to make sure I meet my nutrient and calorie goals. And like I said, for the first time I am satisfied with what I'm eating, and not spending every hour of every day thinking about food!1 -
If your needs are being met and you are satisfied and happy that is fine.
Sounds like you went from not eating most of the day and being hungry to getting food in your body and thus not being hungry. You'd experience the same effect if you had the foods not blended.
I guess the only thing I would say is that it might not be very flexible long term if you feel you have to have shakes to be nourished and full. There will probably come a day when you can not have them and should be prepared to go ahead and eat food for those meals without feeling lost or bad about it. Maybe practice packing solid food for your lunch every once in awhile so you feel comfortable with that too.
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Yeah I never believed this smoothie business until I completed a detox consisting of a smoothie for breakfast for a couple of days. They are so much more easier on your stomach and you don't feel hungry either. I still drink smoothies from the detox as a quick meal and to help with digestion.
However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?0 -
Yeah I never believed this smoothie business until I completed a detox consisting of a smoothie for breakfast for a couple of days. They are so much more easier on your stomach and you don't feel hungry either. I still drink smoothies from the detox as a quick meal and to help with digestion.
However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
What are you detozing?0 -
Thanks guys,
That's a good point Lounmoun, at the weekends I'm still eating at least two meals a day, sometimes three (with no shakes) so I don't think that should be a problem. But I will make sure I take a "solid" lunch into work once or twice a week.
And that's an interesting point you make Phil, I've not heard of that before. I still make sure I include plenty of veggies in my main meal, and by blending them into a shake I'm consuming a lot more veggies in total than I was previously. So I figure, that even if blending decreases the nutrients by 25%, I'm eating 200%+ more veggies than I used to so I'm still having a lot more nutrients than I was before! I'll try as Lounmoun suggested, and take a solid lunch to work sometimes and see if I can find one that stops me getting super hungry
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However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
That is completely incorrect. Just because the blender breaks down the food - and not your teeth - makes no difference, whatsoever.
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If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
5 -
lolliopopsnrainbows wrote: »But, do you think this is a healthy way of eating? What are your thoughts on this way of eating (and I won't take offence so be honest with me!).
If it's satisfying to you, I think it's fine, assuming you are meeting your overall goals for the day (and it doesn't seem as if the shakes would be contrary to that goal).
Just realize that just because this is working for you now doesn't mean you have to stick with it if you get to the point where you maybe want more cooked foods or foods you can eat, and want to shift. I think the shakes sound reasonably balanced and healthy and maybe you will get bored of them (and maybe you won't) and also get to a point where you are more able to prepare other sorts of meals without skipping. For now sounds good, though!5 -
Yeah I never believed this smoothie business until I completed a detox consisting of a smoothie for breakfast for a couple of days. They are so much more easier on your stomach and you don't feel hungry either. I still drink smoothies from the detox as a quick meal and to help with digestion.
Nope. I like and eat smoothies quite a lot lately (with lots of veg and protein), but it has nothing to do with detoxing and I don't think they are better or worse for hunger (for me) than the same foods not blended. I think for OP and some others they may work well because they can be so quick. (Mine don't actually seem to take less time than making an omelet, but I've been in the mood for them.)
Also, why would blending help with digestion? You chew stuff up before you digest it.However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
No, this makes no sense. Maybe you are thinking of juicing, which removes the fiber? You break down the nutrients when you chew, after all.6 -
However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
That is completely incorrect. Just because the blender breaks down the food - and not your teeth - makes no difference, whatsoever.
So you're saying that there's no nutritional benefit to me eating the vegetables and fruit whole rather than blended? Because that makes it a whole lot easier for me!0 -
Juicing - removes fiber and pulp
Blending/Smoothies - keeps entire amount of vegetable/fruit added with no loss of nutrition
If you blend three apples, you're still consuming all three apples. If you juice them, you're removing a lot of the parts that make fruit 'good' for you.2 -
lolliopopsnrainbows wrote: »However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
That is completely incorrect. Just because the blender breaks down the food - and not your teeth - makes no difference, whatsoever.
So you're saying that there's no nutritional benefit to me eating the vegetables and fruit whole rather than blended? Because that makes it a whole lot easier for me!
Just think of the smoothie as pre-chewed food (sort of like what a bird feeds its nestlings but in a less gross manner). Personally I find chewing and savouring the food is one of the more enjoyable aspects of eating.
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This is in many ways the kind of dietary prep life that they have for bariatrics patients (I am one) but they have us focus on a specific kind of shake. There is nothing wrong with blending the foods... You can blend, puree, etc, as long as the whole fruit remains, it'll all be there... No blender breaks down molecular bonds through just chopping. I agree that having reasonable solid food meals and options is best (we do that too!) because there will come a day where you forget the shake or forget to prep, and knowing where to go and what foods meet your needs help eliminate food guilt and dependencies.2
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lolliopopsnrainbows wrote: »However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
That is completely incorrect. Just because the blender breaks down the food - and not your teeth - makes no difference, whatsoever.
So you're saying that there's no nutritional benefit to me eating the vegetables and fruit whole rather than blended? Because that makes it a whole lot easier for me!
I would say the nutrients are the same. The blood sugar effects *might* be different. They can be between raw and cooked vegetables, and between al dente and more cooked...
For me, this is an important factor. I find it much much easier to follow my diet if my blood sugar stays level. If I were doing two shakes I'd want to monitor that: do I feel comfortable, satiated, and solidly in control of my appetite? If so, no worries. (again, assuming you're getting enough fats, protein, and nutrient dense carbs)
ETA: I'd also caution that part of the purpose of a weight loss diet is learning how to eat for a lifetime. Be sure you're learning how to eat in maintenance while doing this...0 -
lolliopopsnrainbows wrote: »However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
That is completely incorrect. Just because the blender breaks down the food - and not your teeth - makes no difference, whatsoever.
So you're saying that there's no nutritional benefit to me eating the vegetables and fruit whole rather than blended? Because that makes it a whole lot easier for me!
Exactly.0 -
lolliopopsnrainbows wrote: »Hi everyone,
I'm making the shakes myself, using hemp powder (protein), coconut oil (fat + MCTs), whatever veggies I have to hand (beetroot, pepper, cucumber etc) and one item of fruit (banana, apple or mango usually).
Curious. How many calories does this equal?1 -
Yeah I never believed this smoothie business until I completed a detox consisting of a smoothie for breakfast for a couple of days. They are so much more easier on your stomach and you don't feel hungry either. I still drink smoothies from the detox as a quick meal and to help with digestion.
However I've heard that it is better to eat the food rather than blend it. If you eat an apple, a pear and a carrot you are ideally eating 3 of your 5 a day however if you blend an apple, a pear and a carrot you are only getting 1 of your 5 a day! Apparently the blender breaks down the nutrients of all the fruit and vegetables so they are all equal therefore your not getting nutrient equivalent?
have your kidneys and liver stopped working?
blending an apple, a pear, and a carrot does not combine them all into one serving...wow...0 -
Juicing - removes fiber and pulp
Blending/Smoothies - keeps entire amount of vegetable/fruit added with no loss of nutrition
If you blend three apples, you're still consuming all three apples. If you juice them, you're removing a lot of the parts that make fruit 'good' for you.
so you are saying that blending three apples does not magically reduce the serving size from three to one??? I thought blending broke all rules of math...1
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