Do green smoothies actually work? Any tips appreciated :)

I drink green smoothies all the time. They are only going to be as good for you as the ingredients you put in them.

I personally prefer to drink my greens (not a salad lover) than eat them. I put chia seeds in my smoothies so one serving usually costs me about 350 calories.

Losing weight fast is a bad idea all around. Go for slow and steady. You are only going to hurt your body if you try to take off the weight fast.

I *love* smoothies for breakfast. I usually do a big bunch of kale, protein powder, frozen bananna, berries and sometimes coconut butter or peanut butter if I need extra calories. I can't really taste the kale, but it does add a nice kind of "freshness" to the smoothie, if that makes any sense at all? Enjoy

I love them. Cup of Kale or Spinach, add 1 banana, frozen fruit, flaxseed, water.

i have a green smoothie every morning. it's around 150cals and a pint serving.

i don't drink them because they promote weight loss, but i would say that they provide a wonderful balance of fiber and nutrients that help benefit weight loss.

the thing that has helped me the most has been to cut all simple carbohydrates to an absolute minimum. you may look at my diary, but i just got back from a camping trip, so look before june 8 (the days between the 8th & 13th are sketchy due to end of season parties).

by consuming a lot of fiber and drinking a lot of water, you can effectively stay hydrated, nutrient-rich and lose weight quickly. in the last month i lost almost 13lbs by eating lean & clean for 3 days at a time and allowing a natural path of the occasional bread or sweet fall where it did.

another thing i did was sort of plan for social occasions. if i knew there was to be a party or social situation, i would try to eat very clean & lean for the days following up to it. i also tried to be aware if i was actually hungry or just bored, uncomfortable, hot, or whatever.

i've also been tracking my sugar to fiber ratio, which has helped me recognize my end of day balance. since mfp doesn't separate simple sugars from complex sugars, this keeps me in check. the average whole food is less than 5:1 sugar to fiber, and the average american diet is 12:1 sugar to fiber.

so if i keep my ratio under 5:1, preferably 2:1 or lower, then - in my mind - i have had a good day.

i hope that helps!

I usually have a green smoothie for breakfast and it will send me to the bathroom within a few hours so it works in that respect

I have one every morning as my morning snack. I have orange, pineapple, and two big handfuls of whatever leafy greens look good at the market that week.

I don't know about for weight loss I see them as a super effective multivitamin. I don't replace meals with them, just snacks.

Some benefits I have noticed in the last 6-8 months... My skin is clearer, my hair is shinier, I have more energy to get out of bed (although I go to bed earlier these days too) also there have been several colds/flus around the office this winter and I haven't had so much as a sniffle yet. Most winters I get chest infections.

At first people around the office felt compelled to tell me daily how revolting my smoothies looked, and I would reply 'well, no one asked you to drink it!' and just turn away. Then i got sick of it and offered to pour ine down the shirt of the next person who felt the need to comment (in a joking way of course, but loudly and publicly at a morning tea :-) ) Now there are 2 others in the office drinking them also and people hassle them instead.

I drink green smoothies all the time. They are only going to be as good for you as the ingredients you put in them.

I personally prefer to drink my greens (not a salad lover) than eat them. I put chia seeds in my smoothies so one serving usually costs me about 350 calories.

Losing weight fast is a bad idea all around. Go for slow and steady. You are only going to hurt your body if you try to take off the weight fast.

I agree with you, I calculated everything I'll be putting in my smoothies, and it looks to be right around 305 calories per serving. That isn't too bad, all things considered, especially if replacing 2 meals a day with the smoothies, plus a healthy dinner, a snack in there somewhere, and exercise. I've heard plenty of water is good on these too, as the spinach is full of fiber, which needs water to get through your system. I'm hoping for the best!

You're really not necessarily replacing anything with anything... you could eat a 305 calorie meal or drink a 305 calorie smoothie... it's the same thing. And there is no short cut to weight loss...

Now there are 2 others in the office drinking them also and people hassle them instead.

hehe


i had a coworker refuse to try it because of the way it looked. i just shrugged and said, "more for me!"

Before I got pregnant (which turned me against anything green, thick, milky, etc) I drank them almost daily. I have them for breakfast with protein powder, a cup of spinach, banana, peanut butter and water. That's my favorite! It made me really full and felt better through out the day. I don't think they really did anything for weight loss as much as they did for feeling REALLY healthy since I was getting nutrients.

Once I get over my morning sickness, I plan on having them again for the extra nutrient boost. They are so, so healthy when made the right way

I use smoothies as an easy way to get my fruit and veggies quota for the day. Surprisingly, you really can't taste the spinach when you're adding in frozen banana, apple, strawberries, etc. I use almond milk (1 cup= 60 calories + it has more calcium than regular milk) so the smoothies usually come in well under 300 calories and low fat. I don't use yogurt myself. You'll probably need a little snack to get you through until lunch though.

My "go to" breakfast is 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 c frozen blueberries, 2 c baby spinach, 1/2 of a frozen banana, 39g (1 scoop) EAS vanilla protein powder, and 1 tsp of olive oil. It comes out to ~240 cal, is actually purple, and delicious. I struggle with the tendency to skip breakfast so this makes it easy to chug a glass of nutrients quickly and move on.

I've experimented w combos of other fruits (apples, frozen strawberries, grapes) and kale instead of spinach, but the above combo is my favorite. I can't handle kale. Yeccchhh! Good luck!!

I usually have a green smoothie for breakfast and it will send me to the bathroom within a few hours so it works in that respect

This ^^^^^^
A smoothie for constipation and all I can say it works.... carrots, 1 apple, 1 celery ,beet can be added also

Oh, I'll look for those Costco shakes.

I actually cut down my smoothie intake when dieting. I have trouble making them low calorie enough. I find it pretty easy to make a 400-500 calories smoothie, so then I have to drink half, and it doesn't always feel very meal-like. But I like them to get spinach in because I don't eat a ton of leafy greens sometimes.

I make green smoothies from my vitamix recipe book and they are delicious. I am currently doing the Ultimate Reset from Beachbody and have lost 10.4 pounds in 18 days. My daughter is 18, started at 139 to support me and lost 12 pounds! I wasn't really hungry on it but it is very difficult to do in that it is all fresh foods you buy and cook and the last two weeks are vegan and there are a ton of supplements. We have 4 days to go. It is an alkalizing cleanse/detox/reset that is designed to reset your metabolism. I basically signed up for it because I am a coach and I wanted to know what it was about if people asked me about it, and I have to say that I am very pleasantly surprised at the results. But it is quite difficult to do and the purpose is to improve you health by eating fresh whole foods and they are tasty and filling but this week it is tough getting enough calories. It really isn't a weight loss thing but we lost weight and we weren't hungry because whole foods don't have alot of calories and they are filling. Here is the site if you are interested. www.myultimatereset.com/diannejean. I hope I am allowed to post that. You just seemed to really need suggestions so I will take a chance. Good luck with whatever you choose. I do believe that it is a combo of diet and exercise. I also went cold turkey off a big coffee habit and that might have contributed to my weight loss because caffiene is supposed to hold on to fat.