Patients often tell me they are eating “healthy” because they make smoothies every morning or juice every day.
Not all smoothies and shakes are created equal.
Tasty smoothies often contain a lot of fruit, dairy, and additional sugar. For example, an all natural homemade smoothie consisting of a banana, honey, yogurt, and fresh fruit might set you back a whopping 400 or more calories in one sitting!
Unless you have done intense aerobic or anaerobic activity for an hour or two, you do not need 400 calories of sugar and carbohydrate in one sitting. The body can only metabolize small portion of those calories to make up for the immediate calorie “deficit” while the rest get stored as….FAT.
What’s more, the blender has already done the work that your metabolism should be doing. By chewing and digesting whole foods, you body kicks into metabolic gear by simply breaking down the food. The more protein and fat, the more work the metabolism must do (see my notes on Thermogenesis) and thus the more calories you burn!!
Unless you are using a physician directed protein shake supplement or need a smoothie for convenience sake, my opinion is to EAT food, not drink it, in order to burn more calories and rev your metabolic rate.