The Ultimate Fat-loss Morning Smoothie

The Ultimate Fat-loss Morning Smoothie

Everyone loves a good smoothie to start off their day.  They’re easy, quick (ideal for rushing out the door). They’re portable, small, and best of all, they help you feel motivated to make “healthy decisions” the rest of the day, right?

That delicious morning smoothie seemed like a good idea, that is, until you see your coworker, who brings in something delicious at work- and now you’re starving! Or, that god awful mid-day crash arrives which has you ready to shove anything in your face to bring your blood sugar back up and satisfy you.

The good news, that doesn’t have to be the case when enjoying a morning smoothie! You should be rewarded for your good decision first thing in the morning, not punished for it with crashes and cravings.

In this post, I am going to explain WHY you’re experiencing those crashes and cravings, WHAT you’re doing incorrectly and a solution to fix it. Finally, I will provide you with a recipe to create your own ultimate morning fat-loss smoothie.

Why you’re experiencing crashes and cravings after your smoothie

You see, people think of fat loss like a mathematical equation (if I eat x amount of calories, I need to burn x amount of calories with exercise), but our bodies are much more complicated than that. And if it was that simple, everyone could lose weight with ease. But in reality, the key to fat loss and feeling great, actually relies heavily on balanced hormones. The specific hormones were talking about here is insulin. 

So, what is insulin? Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas that allows our bodies to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food we eat as energy. After you eat, the digestive tract breaks down the carbohydrate and changes them into their most simple form, sugar (glucose). The glucose is then absorbed into your bloodstream through the lining of your small intestine. Once the glucose is in your bloodstream, insulin causes cells throughout your body to absorb that sugar and use it as energy.

When you first wake up in the morning, you’ve been fasting for many hours (at least as long as you’ve been sleeping) and your blood sugar is low. As long as your blood sugar remains low and you don’t spike your insulin levels with carbohydrates and/ or sugar, your body will actually tap into your fuel stores and you burn fat for fuel instead of the glycogen from sugar. Yes, there is such thing as fat burning mode, and you can be in it every morning!

But, if you have a breakfast of high carbohydrates or sugars, you are also creating an energy crash in a couple hours and a surge of cravings. Why? We all know the rule, what goes up (blood sugar, due to spiked insulin from sugar), must come down. As quickly as that sugar gave you a high and a feeling of satisfaction, it is going to send you in the dumps scrounging for anything that will bring your energy back up. Wanting to again, raise your blood sugar because your body thinks it needs more energy (food). It’s a vicious cycle we go through all day! And I personally do not enjoy the “insulin rollercoaster”. It makes you feel out of control, and that your cravings run your life! When really, it’s just hormonal imbalance, so don’t send your insulin through the roof in the morning and you can control your ride all day.

The longer you can prolong your “fasting time”, the longer you will stay in fat burning mode. The good news is, you can still eat and remain in fat burning mode! This can be achieved by eating a diet in proteins, fat, and vegetables-while avoiding carbohydrates and sugars until later in the day.

I’m sure you’re thinking, “well, I don’t eat heavy carbohydrates like bagels or pastries for breakfast so I’m in the clear”. That’s great, but it might be time take a good look at what you put in your smoothie.

What you’re doing wrong…

Too Much Fruit

The biggest thing people are doing to set themselves up for failure, is loading their morning smoothies with all fruit. You should NOT be loading your smoothie with every type of fruit possible, that is a TON of sugar in one meal- especially when the goal is to limit the sugar and carbohydrates in the morning. I know, this is a tough pill to swallow, but fruit is a carbohydrate and in its most simple form, a sugar- causing these early morning insulin spikes.

Truthfully, you’re smoothie doesn’t HAVE to any fruit in it. Make it a goal to start with minimal fruit until your tastebuds can handle no fruit at all in your smoothie. If you must have fruit, it should be no more that around a 1/4 cup.

There are some more superior fruits than others! Fruits you want to put into your smoothie are fruits low on the glycemic index. Meaning they are lower in sugar and have less potential to spike your blood sugar levels.

Recommend fruits are Avocados, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or pears.

Not Including Fiber

Most people do not include enough fiber into their smoothie, which is so important! So much of our nourishment depends on the healthy passage of food through our digestive tract. Without fiber, it is impossible for digestion to take place in a healthy way. Not to mention, consumer more high fiber foods can help with stomach bloating.

You should include about 1 tablespoon of either chia seeds or flaxseeds for adequate fiber. Many vegetables and fruit are also high in fiber, which could be a substitution or replacement for the flax or chia seeds. Including raspberries, black berries, winter squash, spinach, and frozen mixed veggies.

Not Including Healthy Fats

This one is important! including healthy fats into your smoothie will actually be one of the main factors to create satiety throughout the rest of the day. This is due to fats and their affect on the hormone leptin, again fat loss is about balanced hormones! Leptin is known as the “satiety” hormone. It is produced by the bodies fat cells and is carried by the bloodstream to the brain, where it sends a signal to the hypothalamus, which controls when and how much we eat.

Get control over your hunger hormones by adding 1 tablespoon coconut oil,  half an avocado, or a handful of walnuts, or even almond butter.

Appropriate Liquid

I highly recommend not using any animal based liquid (like cows milk). Cows milk is highly processed with injected hormones and antibiotics. All of which will cause disruption of our own hormones and most likely bloating. Instead, go for an almond milk, coconut milk/water, or cashew milk.

The thing here, is even if you are already using one of those options, make sure you are using one that is unsweetened. We don’t want to add any unnecessary sugars. Coconut milk, and even water can be higher in sugar than you think. My favorite is an unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Then blend to desired consistency.

Clean Protein Powder

I highly recommend a vegetable protein powder, opposed to protein powder with animal products (whey & casein).  People who are allergic or at all sensitive to milk products will likely have a reaction to these animal based proteins as they are derived from cows milk. These animals used for the protein are typically pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, as well as fed genetically modified foods, and pesticide grains.

The best vegetarian protein powders consists of proteins derived from brown rice, hemp, and peas. Together, these ingredients form a complete protein source with all essential branched-chain amino acids. Vegetable protein is less toxic, and best for people with leaky gut syndrome.

I like to add an additional dose of protein in my smoothie by adding one teaspoon of spirulina. Spirulina is the highest concentration of protein by weight, consisting of 60% protein and only 2.9 calories per gram.

How I make my fat-loss morning smoothie

As for the ingredients for the perfect fat-loss smoothie, that’s up to you! You only need to know the basic foundation, then the rest is up to your preference. So feel free to get creative. The sample I will share below is something basic, great for every day, that can be easily varied to your tastebuds.

Fat-loss green smoothie recipe 

• • Large handful of fresh spinach
  • 1 scoop Veggie- Elite Vanilla protein powder
  • 1 teaspoon spirulina
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • 1/2 cup of ice
  • 1 cup (roughly) Unsweetened vanilla almond milk (depending on your desired consistency)
  • Blend, and Enjoy!