Smoothies or juicing: which wins for weight loss?

July 19, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

Remember when liquid kale was all the rage?

For a long time, everyone thought juicing was the right answer to weight loss. And why wouldn’t it be? I mean, you suck the blood out’ve produce, trash the most filling part (the fiber), get a sugar high, and then crash an hour (if you’re lucky for it to even last that long) later, whereupon you’re ravenously ransacking the vending machine, eons before lunch.

(“Hashtag: health.
Hashtag: green drink.
Hashtag: I’m totes throwing this out the window after I Snap and ‘gram it”)

Alright, alright. In all, non-facetious seriousness, hopefully it’s pretty clear by now: juice isn’t the way to go. The truth’s that mama nature gave us exactly what we need in these perfect little packages of produce. We’ve got just the right amount of sugar for energy and just the right amount of fiber to help us feel filled up. Fuel and fullness. What more could we ask for? Nothing. But, when we juice up those perfect li’l packages, we up our sugar levels (meaning we’ll get hungry sooner than we should be, ingest more calories, and gain weight). Why? Well, partially because we’re taking in more sugar than we would usually to fill up on fruit (you need more of it to make juice) and also because we totally throw away the best bit. The fullness factor. The fiber. It’s like taking the sammich mama made us, eating its innards, and throwing away the healthy, tummy-stuffing Ezekiel bread bordering it. And that fullness facet is so underrated when it comes to weight loss, it’s ridiculous. See, when our tummies stretch out from something like fiber, an actual hormone gets released – telling our brains that we’re full. Something chemically alters within us. That’s why a high fiber morning meal leaves you feeling no need for supplemental snacking between breakfast ‘n lunch. With fiber, we’re getting an actual message to our brain to make weight loss easier.

Why would you give that up?

You wouldn’t. So a better question might be:

What else can you do – for the same low level of effort?

Hey, I’ll do you one better. For even less effort, you can bring sexy thickness back into your morning elixir – and enjoy a smoothie. Not Tropical Smoothie Café’s calorie-fest, mind you. I mean a legit, O.G., DIY smoothie you whip up in your own kitchen. Bonus: you can add whatever flaxmeal, chia seed-y goodness you like to liven it up. And, of course you’ll feel full til lunch. (Translation: no midmorning snacking that’s weight loss anathema.) But, beyond that, it’s even less effort – and less expensive – because you’re actually using everything you bought – plus you don’t have to clean out a pulpy compartment of wasted money afterward.

(“Don’t forget to chuck out a good chunk of your paycheck – along with your weight loss goals!”)

So, don’t exsanguinate your fruits ‘n veggies.

For optimal weight loss, junk the juice and do a smoothie in lieu!