The Best Smoothie Habits for Abdominal Fat, Says Dietitian
Smoothies can pack a delicious and balanced breakfast all in one cup—especially if you focus on including a few essential ingredients for weight loss.
When trying to lose weight, most people focus on calories alone. While it's true that you must eat less than you burn to lose weight, this advice can be oversimplified.
For example, the composition of meals, aside from just the calories, has a huge impact on your appetite cues, cravings, and satisfaction level after the meal.
Losing abdominal fat can be classified in two ways: visceral and subcutaneous fat loss. Subcutaneous fat lives between our skin and the muscle in our abdomen. Visceral fat lives underneath our stomach muscles, in and around our organs. Visceral fat is known to be significantly more harmful to our health than subcutaneous fat.
Let's take a look at the exact smoothie habits to incorporate for visceral fat loss. Then, be sure to check out our list of 22 Meals to Melt Belly Fat in 2022.
Protein is king
Most smoothies are usually lacking in protein as they tend to focus primarily on fruits and vegetables. Getting fresh produce in is a huge feat, but without protein, you might find yourself starving again in a couple hours.
Add a cup of Greek yogurt, kefir, or a scoop of your favorite protein powder to quickly add a protein and stay full for longer!
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Fiber full
Smoothies often are filled with juice, milks, and sweeteners. While these ingredients make your breakfast taste super sweet, they tend to cause blood sugar swings without fiber to balance them out.
Focusing on high-fiber fruits and veggies and decreasing the sweet additives can rebalance your smoothie and your blood sugar for your waistline!
Options like berries, apples, avocado, and even zucchini can make your smoothie extra creamy and lightly sweetened.
Post-workout drink
Smoothies are a natural fit for a post-workout drink as they are quickly digested and can get to work replenishing your muscles fast.
As long as you focus on adding a protein source from above and not overdoing the sweeteners, you have yourself a super quick, balanced post-workout option!
Cut the sweet stuff
Smoothies have the potential to be a source of hidden sugar if you're not conscious of the ingredients.
If you're purchasing a smoothie out, you might inquire about the sweeteners they use and ask them to just use fruit only.
If you'e making it at home, consider leaving out any juice, sweetened milk alternatives, honey, or syrups, and measuring your fruit before adding it.
Don't fear the fat
It might be tempting to cut out hearty ingredients like fat if you're trying to lose weight.
However, these foods can actually reduce hunger and cravings later in the day. Instead of forgoing them completely, measure them out to get a good idea of serving size.
Focus on heart-healthy fats that are also chock-full of fiber like avocado, chia seeds, nut butters, and flax!
