Why are smoothies such high calories?

morganbuege

I make a smoothie every morning that is all good things for me but it takes up almost half of my daily calories but they’re good calories vs junk food or something anyone else feel like they don’t want to log healthy calories? Lol

quiksylver296

There are no "good" or "bad" calories, there are just calories. Smoothies can really be a diet-killer, depending on what you put in them. Just eat food, log it, and hit your calorie target.

You don't have to eat special foods to lose weight.

NovusDies

morganbuege wrote: »

I make a smoothie every morning that is all good things for me but it takes up almost half of my daily calories but they’re good calories vs junk food or something anyone else feel like they don’t want to log healthy calories? Lol

Smoothies are only high calorie if you make them that way. There are ways to lighten them up.

I rarely drink them now because I prefer to eat my calories not drink them. Smoothies only offer nutritional benefits for people who struggle to get fruits and vegetables in other ways.

Also, there is no "junk" food. It is just food that needs to be moderated. I still eat everything but I just eat less of it now. I firmly believe that eating more nutrients than you need just makes you have more nutritional pee. I eat around 80 percent nutrient dense food and 20 percent whatever I want food.

sijomial

Calories are just uniform units of energy so no I don't regard them as good or bad, healthy or unhealthy.

"Why are smoothies such high calories?" - Because of the ingredients and volume of the ingredients you put in them.

Personally I don't find drinking calories as satiating as eating calories, very easy to glug a lot of calories, no chewing, very short time to get down, no concentration on what you are consuming......

Drinking a lot of calories is often a technique suggested to people who need to gain weight and are struggling to eat enough to do so.

janejellyroll

I make super-low calorie smoothies when I want to by choosing low calorie ingredients. It's just a collection of ingredients -- the calorie count will be determined by what you choose to put in it (along with the quantity of each ingredient).

Not logging "healthy" calories is a road to failure for many people. Your body processes all calories, it's not disregarding calories from nutrient-dense foods.

NovusDies

Another way of looking at it is if what you think are healthy calories are getting in the way of losing weight they are not really that healthy. An excess of "healthy" calories can still lead to weight gain because your body does not show a preference when it comes to energy.

Alternatively I consider my relaxed eating style part of my success in losing weight. All the pizza, potato chips, fast food, etc. helped me stay on a sustainable course that have led to massive weight loss and health so improved I thought my doctor was going to do cartwheels.

DancingMoosie

Smoothies don't have to be high calorie...I usually do half a frozen banana, some protein powder, veggie or vitamin powder, cold coffee, and ice. Maybe 150-200 cals?

weatherking2019

I like to eat my calories too but in the warmer months, I do smoothies for breakfast.
Mine is about 300 cals. I add protein powder to almond milk and half a banana. Sometimes I will add peanut butter too which ups the calorie but I won't get hungry till lunch. It's my go to since I started to work from home. It's fast and easy.

It's just like what everyone is saying: whatever you add in your drink= calories. But to lose weight= deficit!

lemurcat2

I love smoothies, and mine are often (intentionally) higher cal, as I put avocado and nuts and/or seeds in them, depending, but they don't have to be. I like them to be around the same cals as my usual breakfast if they are intended as a meal, and to have sufficient fat and protein similar to my other meals, and so I aim for them to be 400-450 cals. (And I find those smoothies both high volume and very filling, as well as tasty.)

And no, I am not tempted not to log "healthy" cals any more than I would be tempted to not log a normal dinner with, say, salmon, potatoes, and asparagus, with a side salad of various veg, a bit of feta and olives, and a homemade vinaigrette. I think overall that dinner is nutrient-dense, but it still has cals and thus still counts.

cwolfman13

morganbuege wrote: »

I make a smoothie every morning that is all good things for me but it takes up almost half of my daily calories but they’re good calories vs junk food or something anyone else feel like they don’t want to log healthy calories? Lol

Calories are a unit of energy...regardless of whether they are "healthy" or "good" calories, excess calories beyond what your body requires results in weight gain. As to calorie content, you can make them as calorie dense as you like, or not...it just depends on what you're putting in them. The only thing I ever really used them for was back when I was doing a lot of cycling endurance events and training and I often wouldn't be hungry after a long training ride, but I needed the calories. I'd make a recovery smoothie that was right around 1,000 calories.

ridiculous59

I enjoyed smoothies most days when I had a desk job because it was a non-messy way to eat breakfast when I arrived at work. I used unsweetened almond milk, stevia, plain Greek yoghurt, and frozen berries of some kind. Sometimes I'd add cocoa powder. If I had some extra spinach I'd add that too. Maybe some tofu instead of the yoghurt. They were usually in the 250-300 calorie range. Its very easy to get carried away if you use pre-sweetened yoghurt, protein powders, peanut butter, or bananas. Like you say, now all of a sudden you've drank half your day's calories before 9 a.m!

kshama2001

My breakfast smoothie is less than 300 calories.

My fruit and veggie smoothie is about 400 calories.

My peanut butter and banana used to be more than 500 calories. Once I started weighing peanut butter, I virtually eliminated it from the rotation. I no longer use whole bananas, either.

missysippy930

Another one who prefers to chew my calories. My highest calorie drink is black coffee. Ice water is my beverage of choice year round.