Saturday 18 June 2022

Smoothie Diet, Take 2

Back in February I attempted a smoothie diet based on a PDF guide a colleague gave me. It included a small amount of spinach and kale, and a ton of fruit. Unsurprisingly, this destroyed my sleep, sent me hyper and left me utterly exhausted. It was supposed to be a 2 week challenge. I lasted 4 days. 

That said, spinach and kale are superfoods, packed with nutrients. Protein, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, potassium, folate, vitamins A, C, K, are all in abundance. So surely, if I was going to attempt another smoothie diet, those 2 vegetables should be the staple ingredients and the only other things added in should be orange juice, allowing the veg to mix better than water does, and a little grated ginger for flexibility and digestion. 

The problem with starting a diet challenge like this is that we always have existing food in our fridges that either gets eaten or goes to waste. I have milk, chicken stir fry ingredients, fat-free yoghurt, bananas, blueberries, bread, and other foods that need using up, along with some existing spinach and kale. Stuff that will keep – cereals, porridge etc.- can be stowed away for the moment. 

There’ll have to be a transitional period where I munch through as much of the fresh stuff as possible then return to the supermarket for more leafy veg. I’ve bought extra smoothie shakers for this. 

The plan is, 500mls of veg, 3 times a day. I’m currently 85.4kg. In a week, I’d like to be under 80. At the gym, I’ll focus on bodyweight exercises and cardio. Connection to psychology: as I am now off antidepressants, my metabolism is accelerating. Weight loss should be easier, and hunger pangs have largely subsided. Considering how much shit I’ve eaten over the last week or so, mid 80s isn’t too bad. It should be a lot easier now to cut weight further.

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