The typical western diet consists of highly processed foods loaded with too much salt, sugar and fat. It’s not surprising that obesity is becoming widespread, no pun intended. To improve your metabolism and lose weight you need to eat more natural and non-processed foods. You can do this by making your own weight loss smoothie.
Smoothie recipes are really versatile. This is what makes them so useful when you are trying to manage your weight because you can control the ingredients you want to put in your smoothie. If your goal is to shed excess pounds, you can make a healthy low-calorie weight loss smoothie.
Commercial smoothies are everywhere but usually they are not the best way to lose weight. Many commercial smoothies can easily contain 400 to 700 calories, most of them from sugar or artificial sweeteners. They are often made with syrups and fruit flavors. Foods that are high in simple carbohydrates. There are exceptions of course, like the smoothies sold by the Dubai-based company https://lifesmoothies.ae, which are 100% natural and have no added sugars, but most commercial smoothies will cause blood-sugar levels to rise rapidly and then fall quickly to extremely low levels. This will leave you feeling tired and weak, and this is the reason why I always recommend homemade smoothies.
1. Healthy Homemade Smoothies
When you make your own smoothie, you can add whole fruits and minimize the sweetness. The extra fiber from fruits will make you feel full longer. In addition, fiber helps to control the release of sugar into the blood. This results in more stable blood sugar levels. You also have the option to add low fat milk, yogurt, protein powder, wheat germ, nuts and other healthy ingredients. You can get more ideas here.
2. Healthy Fruit Smoothie for Weight Loss
Health experts recommended a minimum of 2 cups of fruit (or 5-a-day) in the daily diet. Therefore, making a low-calorie fruit smoothie for your snack should be as easy as blending together 1/2 cup frozen strawberries and blueberries with 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/4 cup low fat yogurt and 2 teaspoons honey. Add some ice cubes for a thicker smoothie. One serving of this fruit smoothie contains less than 200 calories.
3. Whey Protein Smoothie
Proteins help with weight loss because they raise your metabolism and make you feel full. Whey protein powder is derived from milk and is lactose-free and fat-free. In addition, whey protein is very easily assimilated into the body, making it the protein of choice for bodybuilders and other people who want to build lean muscle mass. A single serving of whey protein provides 80 to 100 calories.
To make a whey protein smoothie for weight loss, blend a scoop of whey protein powder in 1 cup skim milk or fruit juice. Add a few ice cubes for a shake-like texture. You can use flavored whey protein powder for variety.
4. Low-calorie Dessert Smoothie
You don’t have to skip dessert just because you are trying to lose weight. Make an all-natural smoothie by blending 1 frozen banana, 1 tbsp almond butter and 1 cup almond milk. You’ll get a thick smoothie with about 225 calories and 7 grams of heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
Use a variety of fruits and vegetables for different flavors and better all-around health.
Good Diet: Is it Enough to Lose Weight Fast
Almost anyone who’s started a diet can talk about the frustrating feeling of doing everything they’re supposed to do and still not seeing the results on the scale. While the right diet and proper exercise are important, there are other factors to consider if you want to lose weight quickly.
Getting Enough Water Is Critical
While most people know that water can suppress your appetite and help curb over-eating, there’s another important reason to make sure you’re staying hydrated throughout the day. Dehydration causes the kidneys to not function properly. When this happens, the liver steps in to help. However, when the liver works overtime to help the kidneys any fat you consume gets stored instead of being burned off.
Ideally, you should drink around one-half your body weight in ounces of water every day. Keep in mind, if you’re eating a diet rich in fiber you’ll need even more water to keep everything running smoothly.
Your Body Still Needs Calories to Function
Simple math tells us that we need to burn more calories than we consume to lose weight. Unfortunately, many people believe this means they need a calorie deficient diet to drop the pounds. This simply isn’t the case and can actually do more harm than good. Instead, it’s important to make those calories count.
Diets that are high in protein can result in more weight loss because they help you feel full and prevent muscle loss. Additionally, your body burns more energy metabolizing protein than it does on fat or carbs. While everyone has a different metabolism, you should aim to consume around 40 to 80 grams of protein every day. Also, keep in mind that even healthy foods should be eaten in moderation.
Sleep Helps You Lose Weight
While sleep is necessary for a refreshed mind and body, it’s also important for helping you lose weight. A University of Chicago study found that people who suffered from sleep deprivation also had a 55 percent reduction in fat loss compared to people who were getting enough sleep. Additionally, sleep deprivation is also linked to higher levels of ghrelin, which is the hormone that triggers hunger, reduces energy, and promotes fat retention.
Sitting Too Much Hurts Your Progress
While many people try to get in one hour of exercise every day, they still spend an inordinate amount of time sitting when they go to work. One study by the University of Missouri-Columbia found that sitting for just a couple of hours can force your body to stop making the fat-inhibiting enzyme lipase.
If you have no choice but to sit at your desk during the workday, you need to consider other options like the It Works body wrap or advanced formula fat fighter from WrapItRockIt to help out. Or, try to get up and walk around for two minutes. This quick and easy movement is enough to help you burn an extra 59 calories every day.
If you’re trying to lose weight and get healthy, keep these ideas in mind to help you drop those pounds and feel great.
20 diet foods that actually make you gain weight
Many people can be seen going on a diet, but still they are unable to reduce their weight. It is a very common practice. Most of us are surprised to see that even after strictly following the diet plan, why we are not able to reduce our weight. The reason is very simple. There is a problem with our diet plan. Actually, food is for betterment of our body. It is the way we eat makes it good or bad. There are some food diets that may appear fat free to you, but these are actually containing rich content of fat. Some are like-
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Muffins-
These may look quite healthy but are having very high fat content. They are made with lots of oil, sugar and white flour. These all add to your weight. Even if you take little more breakfast cereals, then also it may lead to weight gain.
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Pasta-
Though 2 ounce pasta contains just 75 calories, but all other ingredients that are added with it make you gain weight. You should avoid adding unnecessary vegetables and other such things to it.
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Cheese-
Many people think it as a low fat diet. But again they are mistaken. It is actually a concentrated milk so its nutrition value is same. But this also means that it is high in proteins, calcium and fat too.
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Dressed salads-
We all know that salad is a low fat diet. But, some people add their favorite dressing on the salad dish. It leads to high fat content. It can pack 50-85 calories for each tablespoon adding.
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Nuts-
All nuts like almonds, cashews, pistachios etc are high in fat content. There serving should be restricted to a quarter of cup. Even this much quantity contains 15 grams of fat.
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Avoid burgers, fries and bread sticks in lunch-
These all lead to high calorie intake in your body. Just one fried burger will spoil all your day long diet.
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Avoid excessive olive oil-
Olive oil is very good for health. It is much healthier than other cooking oils. But excess of everything is bad. Even if you take excess of this oil in your diet, it may disturbs your diet plan.
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Never go for deep fried chips-
Many people prefer taking some vegetable chips in between their lunch and dinner. No one will call it healthy. Avoid intake of deep fried potato chips. They contain high saturated fat.
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Avocado-
Avocado are said to be containing very less saturated fat in them. One avocado has just 4 grams of saturated fat. But then also it does not mean you are free to take any number of avocado in your diet.
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Popcorn-
If you like to have snack, then popcorn can be the best option. They are having very less fat content. But all popcorn are not alike. Even if you skip butter than also they may be containing some little fat.
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Various shakes-
Many people are very busy in their day to day life. They prefer going for meal replacement shakes. They may taste very good. But these all are having rich content of fat in them.
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Licorice-
No one would add candy to his diet plan. But licorice is marketed such way that it contains zero fat. This means a candy with all sugar. This again is not good for health
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Berries-
They make a lot of weight loss food. But, it is only when you are counting on number of berries.
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Forget dunkin donuts-
These are not at all healthy. They are very high in calories and may result in high intake of fat in your food.
- Sweetened condensed milk-
Many of us have a habit to add condensed milk to our food. This is a rich source of fat. Try to avoid it. -
Baked beans-
Whether you make your beans yourself or buy it from the market, they are high in calories. If you add pork or hot dogs, the number shoots even higher.
- Dates-
They are also very high in calories. 100 grams of a Medjool date gives 277 calories, while the same amount of Deglet Noor dates have 282 calories. Further if you go for a cup of chopped dates, you are actually taking 415 calories. So be careful. -
Avoid dark chocolates-
Dark chocolates contain much more calories than simple ones. There are more than 501 calories in just 100 grams of dark chocolate.
- Mangoes-
The king of all fruits contains calories too in high content. There are more than 130 calories in just one medium size mango. -
Coconut milk-
Those who are big fans of Thai food should look at this point. There are more than 250 calories in just 100 grams of coconut milk.
This way it may be seen that there are various such foods that may appear very healthy but, actually they are also a big source of fat. You may go for any diet plan, just keep one thing in mind. Don’t go in excess of any thing.