Is a breakfast smoothie healthy? What's your opinion?

EllaGmember

I have a question.

I have a smoothie most mornings, I have 1/2 a banana and sometimes a coffee before I head off to the gym (this is more than enough for me otherwise I get the stitch) and then on the way to work after the gym I drink my breakfast smoothie. Sometimes I don't go to the gym because I can be lazy AF and trying to move my a*s to the gym some mornings is like trying to motivate a sloth on horse tranquilizers, but I still have the same smoothie.

A girl I work with has said to me everyday this week that my smoothie isn't "healthy" and "you should be more careful" and "You shouldn't be drinking it" and "Wheat packs smell weird". She also said I should be cutting my cheese stringer out of my afternoon snack Nooooeee. I loooove my stringer! and my smoothie, but I wanted to get a realistic opinion as to if it's healthy or not. I'm not cutting out my cheese.

I believe my body (and brain) accepts my weight loss efforts when I focus on creating and maintaining a balanced eating patterns with zero takeaways, so nothing is excluded (except sugar in raw form and processed crap obvs) but I can eat what I want within 1500 cals. Otherwise I binge exorcist styles. Instead of the projectile vomit, its the opposite direction, literally everything - GET IN MY BELLY. So I'm worried about trying to 'healthify' my smoothie.

I blend and freeze muffin tin size pucks of a huge bunch of kale, a huge bag of spinach and a wedge of watermelon. One of those pre-cut ones, maybe a few hundred grams?

When I make my smoothie the night before I have:
1 of my frozen kale/spinach/watermelon pucks
Half small green apple
Half a banana
1 tbsp of oats
1 tbsp of cottage cheese
Small handful of berries
1 tsp of spirulina
Water
Blend. Smash. DELICIOUS. I'm literally trying to scrape the bottom of the container thing.

It does fine calorie wise. I couldn't tell if it affects my weight loss because I quite often have random, itchy, burny, Korean fried chicken flareup that I'm trying to curb, but I thought I was doing okay for breakfast with the above?

smokinbluegrass

Looks fine to me. I'd add some protein, but that's it.

diannethegeek

Do you like it?
Does it fit into your personal calorie and nutrition goals for the day?
Do you feel okay eating it?

Those are the three questions I ask myself to evaluate foods. A single food is generally neutral food: neither good nor bad until you know how it fits into your day. If it fits your goals, you like it, and you don't have any negative effects from eating it, then it sounds like a fine choice. If you don't like it or it doesn't fit your goals or you feel crummy after eating it, then maybe consider something else instead.

If the smoothie works for you, then stick with it. It sounds like your friend at the gym is repeating some old diet myths without fully understanding them. You don't need to overthink this stuff.

nw623

As somebody else said, does it fit within your daily and nutrition goals? If you enjoy it, and assuming you know it isn't affecting your flare ups, then why not? There are some obvious dos and don'ts that go along with losing weight (being active good, lots of processed foods not so good). But it sounds like you're fine. If it's something you're worried about, look online for other recipes. I am sure your pucks can be used in a variety of other recipes as well

Evamutt

sounds good, I wouldn't let someone's personal opinion mess up what works for you. It's good to look at what you're doing more closely but if it's good, don't change it because someone else doesn't agree. Sounds good to me, I make smoothies too

Sp1tfire

Ignore your coworker. She probably just wants to feel more ~enlightened~ than you by ~knowing~ that your smoothie is unhealthy. It sounds well rounded, filling and delicious to me!

kimny72

Why does she say it's not healthy?

EllaGmember

She say's there's way too much fruit in it and too much sugar and I wouldn't lose weight even if I didn't have a few 'slip ups'. I got worried about it after that haha.

kimny72

EllaGmember wrote: »

She say's there's way too much fruit in it and too much sugar and I wouldn't lose weight even if I didn't have a few 'slip ups'. I got worried about it after that haha.

Weight loss is about calories. For me, health is about eating a balanced diet and getting all the macro and micro nutrients my body needs. If the fruit in your diet is crowding out other stuff you need, then you're eating too much fruit. If you aren't getting enough fiber or protein because sugar is taking up all of your cals, then you're eating too much sugar. Otherwise, have at it

If you go to a smoothie place, their smoothies can be loaded with calories (sugar and fat) that you wouldn't expect from something marketed as health food, so maybe that's where she got the idea. That would still be okay as long as you budgeted for it, but so many people think anything with a healthy label on it is like a free food. As long as you are keeping track, that wouldn't be you anyway! Don't let random people who just read a blog post linked on FB make you feel guilty about your food choices.

debtay123

I drink smoothies frequently for breakfast eps. when I am in a hurry- Your recipe sounds great to me- the sugar in fruit is natural sugar and unless you have a medical reason to HAVE to cut the sugar- I would ENJOY the smoothie and just tell your friend "Thanks, girl" - If you keep drinking it she will soon get the message.

seltzermint555

To me personally it sounds gross and would make me gag. BUT It definitely sounds healthy and your coworker sounds like she needs to go on the "Do Not Take Advice From" List.

cwolfman13

"healthy" cannot be discussed in the vacuum of a particular food item or meal..."healthy" needs to be discussed in the context of your overall diet.

Also, most people I work with and whatnot don't have a clue about actual nutrition...I'm pretty well versed. Anything someone I work with said in regards to fitness or nutrition would pretty much go in one ear and out the other because for the most part they are ignorant on such matters.

I personally wouldn't do the smoothie...but I'm not really on the smoothie band wagon...

lucerorojo

I also think your smoothie sounds gross, but it does have natural healthy things in it! If it tastes good to you, then eat it/drink it! I have a breakfast smoothie sometimes--mine is a banana, almond mik, cocoa powder and peanut butter or peanuts. Yours is much more nutritious!

th1nr

Is a breakfast smoothie healthy? When I make smoothies they have protein and calcium in them (both of which are usually lacking in my diet), or else I'll drink them instead of eating a pint of ice cream, so I find them to usually be a healthy choice for me. Whether they're good for you depends on what nutrition you need, but if you re-read the third paragraph of your post I think you have your answer.

Your smoothie recipe is interesting, I'll have to try freezing greens for smoothies; when I try to keep them fresh they always seem to go bad.

You know what's not healthy? Basing your choices on the snide comments of random people. Which I guess also applies to this forum...

JeromeBarry1

Does it fit your macros? I have a smoothie every other day for breakfast. The ingredients would surely make @lucerorojo gag but the blended taste is a delight and it gives me 30 grams of protein, boo ya!

Lleldiranne

It does fine calorie-wise. I wouldn't even necessarily call it higher sugar - half a banana and half an apple and a handful of berries isn't going to put you over on an otherwise balanced diet (and even the watermelon wedge). I would probably add a scoop of protein powder, personally, because I like a higher protein-to-sugar ratio, but that is preference.

The cheese in the afternoon is fine, too. It's a source of calcium, fats, and protein and sounds like it is controlled for portion (the sounds like a string cheese to me which is usually only 1 oz or less, right?) Maybe your coworker is still stuck on the low-fat idea of some years ago.

And, as a previous poster said, "healthy" needs the context of the overall diet. If you eat lots of fruit the rest of the day and are low on fats and proteins, then that would not be the most healthy habit - just as an example. But if, through most of your days, you are getting sufficient protein, fat, and micronutrients, while staying within your calorie goal, then your smoothie can fit in just fine.

h9dlb

OP - If you want to lose weight why eat so much sugar for breakfast. You would be better off just eating the oats

jgnatca

You have a nosy co-worker. Your meal choices are none of her business.

Unknown

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riffraff2112

Smoothies are kind of the bread and butter go to food for people trying to squeeze nutrients and protein in, especially in this busy world we live in.
As you learn from mfp, and this community. Foods aren't inheritably good or bad, make it fit in your target, and macros (if you wish) and its perfectly fine.

MelanieCN77

If it's enough calories to satiate you and gets you to lunch, it's all good. I do yoghurt and fruit before the gym and take something for after, sometimes it's been a smoothie.