Avoiding sugar crash? Workouts help?

Smoothies make me ravenous! Eat food instead of drink your calories.

I tend to have green smoothies in the evening, as dessert, as they don't get me through a workout. I work out fasted better than I do with a green smoothie.

That said, mine are also much more GREEN and much less fruit.
I only ever throw in a small handful of berries.
Otherwise, I add fats and proteins and a lot of greens.

Good luck finding what works for you!

Try and add some protein and fat to your breakfast with some optional whole grain toast. My go to breakfast is a slice of sprouted toast (80 cal) 20g Avocado and an egg fried in cooking spray. Keeps me full from 7 til noon when I eat lunch. I drink plenty of water to fill up the cracks. There are days when I add a second piece of toast, split the avocado (10g each) and add a few slices of campari tomatoes and a slice of turkey sausage. All that is under 300 calories (minus the sausage.) Just choose something to balance out the sugar content a little.

dragonairis wrote: »

I'm assuming it's a sugar crash from the fruit since I skipped a couple of days and felt fine. How can I avoid it? Less fruit, yeah, but that makes it taste good.

Well you answered your own question as well as made it clear that you're not *actually* wanting to make any changes. So good luck with that.

I'm with the others - eat food. And have some fat too.

The dynamics from a carb heavy low fiber smoothie is that it is digested very fast, insulin response roars in like a lion, and you end up with an empty stomach and no energy.

The real food comments mentioned above all have to do with slowing down the digestion, which will prevent this.

Protein and fat won't affect insulin the same way, so you will have sustained energy through your morning.

You could work out immediately after taking the smoothie which will reduce the insulin response, but you'll still be empty afterwards.

If you like sweet, you could replace most of the fruit with a little artificial sweetener. The smoothie will still digest super fast.

You could also compensate by having a mid-morning snack like cheese and crackers, but of course the calories all add up.

dragonairis wrote: »

So I was trying to replace my breakfast with a protein smoothie. Muscle Milk Vanilla Creme, a banana, frozen fruit (about 1 1/2c), Emergen C, and my ground up vitamins. Tastes great and keeps me full. Problem is, I was feeling like I was going to pass out from fatigue right around lunch time and I would eat desperately to try and keep my energy up (a nap is not an option and I eat when I'm tired). I'm assuming it's a sugar crash from the fruit since I skipped a couple of days and felt fine. How can I avoid it? Less fruit, yeah, but that makes it taste good. Could I workout after I have it to try and balance my sugar levels?

Try a different protein. Muscle Milk is high in sugar and the calorie to protein ratio isn't all that great. IsoPure Zero Carb is a good alternative. Tastes great. Also, try replacing fruit + banana with just berries which are lower in sugar than other alternatives. Try pre-packing snacks throughout the day that are protein filled, low in sugar and carbs, and then when you get the urge to snack you know you are eating stuff that fits within your log.

I have a protein shake every morning. In addition to the powder and 1% milk, I add in 2 tablespoons of powdered peanut butter. Adds great taste and protein for not too many calories! Keeps me full until lunch.