21 day Smoothie Diet for weight loss
21-Day Smoothie Diet: Will Ditching All Solid Foods Promote Pound-Shedding?
The 21-day smoothie diet plan is perfect if you are planning to lose weight. It is also perfect if you are trying to make healthy dietary changes. Based on this, you might be thinking of starting this diet plan. With that said, do you know of its risks? Do you know how long you are supposed to follow this diet plan? If not, then this article is for you.
Read on to determine how this smoothie diet plan works and what are the goals it can help you attain. You will also get insight into its health benefits and potential health risks.
What Is A Smoothie Diet?
When it comes to the smoothie diet, most people tend to confuse it with the liquid diet. These are actually two different concepts. To begin with, the smoothie diet contains smoothies that are prepared using healthy ingredients like veggies and fruits. In this diet plan, you do not stop consuming your meals. Instead of this, you only replace one or two meals a day with your smoothies.
However, in a liquid diet, you only consume liquid calories. Most liquid diets may replace all your meals and snacks, where only the consumption of vegetable or fruit juices and shakes is accepted . Understanding this difference is imperative as it helps you avoid mixing the two concepts while you start the smoothie diet plan.
There are numerous diet plans. Of course, most of them have been determined to work, depending on your goals. The question that bugs many people is why you should take on the 21-day smoothie diet plan over another meal plan? Here are some solid reasons why:
It Increases Your Nutrient Intake
Smoothies are prepared using healthy ingredients from all food groups. These include whole fruits, starchy vegetables, leafy greens, non-starchy veggies, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products . All these foods individually contain different nutrients. Fortunately, by combining all these food groups in one drink, your nutrients are amped up.
It Leads To Weight Loss
Weight loss is mainly dependent on the reduction of calorie intake . This is because your body burns more calories than you are consuming. Smoothies, especially protein shakes, promote weight loss by reducing the number of calories you consume in a day .
The smoothie diet aims at replacing one or two of your meals to help restrict your daily calorie consumption. This is the reason why each of your smoothie recipes restricts you to various servings. The reason for this is because each serving contains a certain number of calories. If you take more than the recommended servings, you risk having a calorie surplus, leading to weight gain.
It May Kick Start Your Healthy Eating Patterns
Healthy living calls for healthy dietary and lifestyle changes. Most people struggle with implementing healthy dietary practices as they try to incorporate them all at once.
This can be overwhelming, and as such most people tend to encounter so many challenges when it comes to healthy dietary practices.
The thing is, you only need to take baby steps and walk your way up the ladder. Start with simple changes such as the smoothie diet. It can help you increase your intake of nutritious foods that contain vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats . With time, you can embrace other healthy eating patterns like cutting down on sugar or refined carbs
Pros and Cons
Emphasis on fruits and vegetables
Less calorie-counting and food tracking
Shopping lists included
Restrictive
High in sugar
Preparation could be time-consuming
Not sustainable
Lacks scientific support
Potential Drawbacks Of A 21-Day Smoothie Diet Plan
Although we would like to assume this diet plan is perfect, it certainly is not. The 21-day smoothie diet plan also has several health risks. For the most part, you should be fine following this diet if you replace only one meal. However, if you replace all your meals with smoothies, then you may suffer from the following:
Increased Calorie Intake
Lest we forget, smoothies are prepared from food products, which also contain calories. For example, a green smoothie is prepared from spinach, and one cup of raw spinach contains at least 7 calories. This is minor, but other ingredients can contribute many more calories.
When blended all together, these ingredients increase the total calories in your drink. Drinking a smoothie may also not make you feel as full as eating a solid meal. If you, therefore, take more than the recommended servings of a smoothie, you may end up consuming too many calories. This may compromise your overall weight loss goals and results.
Higher Blood Sugar Levels
Some smoothie recipes will ask you to use sweeteners to make your drinks tastier. Most of these sweeteners contain added sugars, which of course can lead to weight gain and have other negative health impacts. They might increase your blood sugar levels and this can become potentially dangerous if you have type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance . The key is to sweeten without using added sugar.
Potential Nutritional Deficiencies
You are replacing meals with smoothies that may not be nutritionally complete.
How Many Smoothies Should You Have A Day?
Just because you follow the 21-day smoothie diet plan does not mean you will have six to seven smoothies a day. Remember that you are using this diet plan to attain a specific dietary or fitness goal. If it is for weight loss, you will have to watch the number of smoothies you consume.
Your dietitian may recommend you limit them to only two or three. This will depend on several factors. One of them is your daily calorie limit. The number of smoothies and other foods you have must give your body fewer calories so that your body maintains a calorie deficit for weight loss.
Again, the number of smoothies you have will depend on the number of meals replaced by these drinks. If you replace both breakfast and lunch, then it means that you will be having two smoothies a day.
Who Can Start A 21-Day Smoothie Diet?
Everyone can have a smoothie. However, not everyone can follow a smoothie diet plan. These diet plans are not safe long-term, especially if you have replaced all your meals with these shakes .
The only people who can start this diet plan are those who have acquired a go-ahead from their doctor and nutritionist. Usually, these professionals assess your health and medical history to determine if you are safe to follow such a diet plan. Despite this, they recommend a specific timeline during which you are supposed to follow this diet plan.
Is the Smoothie Diet a Healthy Choice for You?
In general, fruit smoothies tend to contain calories from carbohydrates and a small amount of fat. But to provide a well-rounded meal, they also need a good source of lean protein. Protein helps build muscle, which you need to maintain a healthy metabolism. A diet consisting of mostly smoothies would likely fall short of meeting your daily intake of protein.
Smoothie diets like the 21-Day Smoothie Diet are popular, but you'll also find similarities between this diet and other short-term, low-calorie, meal-replacement diets such as SlimFast. Be aware that these diets do not meet expert advice on healthy eating plans.
The Bottom Line:
The 21-day smoothie diet plan involves consuming smoothies in addition to your meals. You can replace either one or two meals a day with smoothies for a limited amount of time in this diet plan. It is not safe to replace all the meals with smoothies, as you may suffer from various nutritional deficiencies.
This diet plan can help you increase your nutrient, fruits, and vegetable servings. It can also promote weight loss only if you stick to the recommended smoothie servings. Please note that it may also lead to high blood sugar and a calorie surplus, and may not provide all the nutrients your body needs. Remember to only follow or start this diet plan after seeking medical advice.
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