[parari]

I'm trying an experiment (as of yesterday) with drinking green smoothies the entire day. What are green smoothies? Well, there's lots of information on the Internet on them, but they're primarily 60% fruit and 40% vegetable/greens. The difference between green smoothies and vegetable/fruit juices is that you're getting the dietary fiber in green smoothies, which helps digestion, and won't release the sugars as quickly as juices would. I started doing this because it sounded interesting, I have lots of vegetables in my refrigerator, and I want to lose weight and be more healthy.

So I've been doing this for a day and a half, and there's already changes.
1. The first day, I went to the bathroom often. Because of all the fiber you're eating, your colon gets cleansed.
2. I also had more energy. I usually am very lethargic in the morning after breakfast with my usual meal of steel-cut oatmeal, but I felt totally awake yesterday morning, and was even more so this morning. This lasted throughout the day (except when I took my usual nap an hour or so after lunch), and I had lots of energy to exercise.
3. I ate a lot more vegetables than I usually would with fewer calories. I only ate around 1200 calories, but I ended each meal feeling totally full.
4. I lost my cravings for sweets.
5. I drank more water and craved water. I'm more aware of when I'm thirsty now.
6. My hair was literally glowing when I woke up today.
7. I had trouble with bloating, but most of it went away already.

I don't know if I lost weight, but it looks like I lost weight, especially with most of the bloating gone. I feel lots better too, and I'm much more productive in all areas. I've had 5 smoothies since I started this experiment. I do eat outside of the smoothies, but not very much. I have an egg in the morning, half a cup of chicken at lunch, a tiiiiny bit of yogurt mid-afternoon with honey, and 1 serving of almonds. You do get enough protein from the smoothies if you balance them right, but in general, I need protein so I won't feel cold.

Some smoothies I've tried already:
Collard, banana, and orange green smoothie- fantastic!
Berry yogurt smoothie (Not technically a green smoothie, but I wanted my yogurt)
Pear and parsley green smoothie- tasted like grass. This was a recipe online, but they added a banana. I should've added the banana... by the way, banana makes a big difference in how smooth and creamy the smoothie is. The parsley flavor was overwhelming.
Grape, red cabbage, and lime green smoothie- I made this one up. It's the best one I've had so far. Gorgeous color, too. I added half of my last banana.
Romaine lettuce, banana, and blueberry green smoothie- I just didn't have enough banana to make this wonderful. It was really ugly and a tad bitter, so I added a plum and a little bit honey. It wasn't wonderful, but it wasn't inedible either.

In general, I use 4-5 cups of greens in each smoothie.
My next smoothie is apple, beet, celery, carrot, and ginger smoothie. Uh, the recipe online called for it to be juiced, but I'd rather have a smoothie. We'll see how it goes.
EDIT: It was good (it was my first experience with raw beets), but too much fiber! I couldn't drink 200 mL of my 1000+ mL because it was ALL FIBER. I think an essential point to make is that part of drinking green smoothies is chewing and sipping on them slowly and thoroughly. Or your body will cry out, "TOO MUCH FIBER!!" XP

Who wants to try this with me?

[cushinoid]

my sister just started a green smoothie kick and she has one everyday for breakfast with kale, apples, ginger and stone cut oatmeal (for extra fiber) she has been having it for breakfast for about three weeks and has lost a few pounds. She is eating veggies and tofu at other meals but she is totoally doing the green juice/smoothie things and swears by it. She also says her energy has been great, she teaches high school and usually drinks ALOT of tea but now she has been able to cut caffine out of her diet and she only has one cup of tea a week as a treat:) She also says her disgestion is better and her colon cleansed.


sadly I have health issues that make it hard for me to keep down raw veggies, but it I wasn't sick I would do it too:)

[azn_sweetumz]

This sounds really healthy, I want to try it now. Where do you find your recipes for the smoothies?

[leelee.]

Sounds good, I wanna start doing this right after I hit the grocery store to buy some fruits and veggies.

[`faded]

hahaha I don't k now if you'll do this..but my mom makes "GREEN JUICE" all the time..literally..tastes bad but it's good for you @_@

it's celery, green apples, green bell peppers, bitter melon, and cucumbers all juiced

depending on how sweet the apples are and how bitter the melon is..hahaha sometimes it tastes ok and sometimes it tastes gross..but it helps with alot of things like cleansing your body and boosting your immune system

[parari]

This sounds really healthy, I want to try it now. Where do you find your recipes for the smoothies?

I just search google for them. I generally type in "green smoothies" and then whatever vegetable I want to use. I also try out my own recipes, such as the cabbage, grape, and lime smoothie (which was really great!)
Warning: if you're doing it too, you're going to be consuming A LOT of vegetables. It might even seem expensive, but think about the health costs you're saving in the long run... when you can, buy organic, because you really don't want to be drinking liquified pesticide-covered vegetables or fruit.

leelee: I've been planning out my smoothies the day before so I don't run out and I use what's in my fridge. You might want to do something similar, or look at some recipes to see what might suit you.

'faded: The secondary reason why you add fruits (other than for nutrition) is so that the smoothies aren't bitter.

my sister just started a green smoothie kick and she has one everyday for breakfast with kale, apples, ginger and stone cut oatmeal (for extra fiber) she has been having it for breakfast for about three weeks and has lost a few pounds. She is eating veggies and tofu at other meals but she is totoally doing the green juice/smoothie things and swears by it. She also says her energy has been great, she teaches high school and usually drinks ALOT of tea but now she has been able to cut caffine out of her diet and she only has one cup of tea a week as a treat:) She also says her disgestion is better and her colon cleansed.


sadly I have health issues that make it hard for me to keep down raw veggies, but it I wasn't sick I would do it too:)

Wow! Thanks, that's really good encouragement! I totally used to be a tea junkie too. Am still, but less so.
For extra fiber, you can also use ground flaxseed, which has omega-3s, I think, according to greensmoothiegirl (who's on youtube and has her own website).

[auroralbutterfly]

Sounds really yummy and healthy~
I would try it if I lived on my own so I can do whatever I want without my family watching or staring..

`faded: My mom used to do something similar when she first bought her juicer >_____> She just threw in random portions carrots, celery, and apples. Sometimes it was alright but sometimes ehh...

[parari]

Sounds really yummy and healthy~
I would try it if I lived on my own so I can do whatever I want without my family watching or staring..

`faded: My mom used to do something similar when she first bought her juicer >_____> She just threw in random portions carrots, celery, and apples. Sometimes it was alright but sometimes ehh...

lol. I know what you mean. I don't live at home, but in an apartment with a roommate. But the main problem for me is that my mom would say, "You're not eating enough! Eat more!" and then I'd get fat XP because if you have food all around the house, it's hard to resist. Here in my apartment, I control what I have and see (though, admittedly, my mom still does most of the shopping for me)

[1S0ULL]

hahaha I don't k now if you'll do this..but my mom makes "GREEN JUICE" all the time..literally..tastes bad but it's good for you @_@

it's celery, green apples, green bell peppers, bitter melon, and cucumbers all juiced

depending on how sweet the apples are and how bitter the melon is..hahaha sometimes it tastes ok and sometimes it tastes gross..but it helps with alot of things like cleansing your body and boosting your immune system

OMG. my parents make that for me too V_V .
It's really gross but it's supposingly good for me O_o

[woei]

sounds really yummy..i love smoothies too...normally i will use apples,carrots,bananas n some milk....

[beckii]

soudns awesome, im going to try it!!!=]

[parari]

I've had a sore throat since yesterday, and usually I get sick really fast, but it's going away already today.
If anyone has any smoothies that they really liked, post the recipe up!

[dl00lb]

hahaha I don't k now if you'll do this..but my mom makes "GREEN JUICE" all the time..literally..tastes bad but it's good for you @_@

it's celery, green apples, green bell peppers, bitter melon, and cucumbers all juiced

depending on how sweet the apples are and how bitter the melon is..hahaha sometimes it tastes ok and sometimes it tastes gross..but it helps with alot of things like cleansing your body and boosting your immune system

my mom did this too. i'm not sure why exactly she started doing this, but if i remember correctly it was because of my dad's high cholesterol. the doctor recommended it or something. it worked i guess, because his cholesterol isn't as bad anymore, but high cholesterol runs in my family, so who knows when it'll come back. she made us kids drink it a few times too. i hated it, but i guess you get used to it.

[Joisushi]

Ohh~~ I want to try this...seems interesting xDDD And Smoothies are gooooooood ^____^ I think...O_o;;; Hope the ones I make are good....lol.

Wait~~ Can you eat other stuff in addition to these smoothies? Or do you just drink smoothies for <insert period of time>?
Can I PM you later?

I want to be healthy!!!!

[parari]

Ohh~~ I want to try this...seems interesting xDDD And Smoothies are gooooooood ^____^ I think...O_o;;; Hope the ones I make are good....lol.

Wait~~ Can you eat other stuff in addition to these smoothies? Or do you just drink smoothies for <insert period of time>?
Can I PM you later?

I want to be healthy!!!!

I've just been going with how I feel. I've been drinking smoothies so far for six days, and at first, I couldn't get enough. But now, I'm starting to crave a bit of really chewable food, so I've been grabbing stuff. However, I've found that I can't eat that much-- I feel a lot better when I eat less. I have more energy, and my digestive system is a lot better when I do that. It's not to say that I don't eat; I just eat until I'm satisfied (which is different than eating until fullness). A lot of my health experiments have just been based on how my body feels, and that's what really works. A resolution to commit to a routine is commendable, but unless you learn to listen to your body's reactions, you're not going to get very far, in my opinion. I am keeping a blog, just to keep track of what I drink and what I think of my recipes, but I don't really want to post it here, so if anyone's interested, PM me. And yes, you can PM me XP

[A Beautiful Struggle]

wait.. when you say "ginger".. do you mean ??


Do you just.. blend it along with.. the other ingredients? o___o How much of it do you use?

[beckii]

yeah please put up recipes ppl! im a bit nervous to blend things incase they taste crap.....ginger + apple juice is AWESOME though=]=]

[x. suki]

i'd love to try this with you~! =D
haha~ please give us recipes ^~^

[parari]

wait.. when you say "ginger".. do you mean ??


Do you just.. blend it along with.. the other ingredients? o___o How much of it do you use?

Yes, I mean that ginger, except I haven't used it yet. I keep backing out of my plans for ginger... ^^;;
Mixing random things together is part of the fun! lol, I'm kinda kidding. Unless you have a strong stomach or a strong will (like me), you'll probably just end up pouring stuff down the drain.

My blog is proj-tea-cake.blogspot.com, and I write down what I eat and drink each day. I don't put the amounts up there, but if you comment to ask me for the exact amounts, I can give them to you.

[parari]

So I'm past the two week mark! I've had at least one green smoothie a day, and I feel awesome. What I've noticed:
1. My endurance is up a lot. I can exercise for two hours a day and not become fatigued. I feel like the Energizer Bunny
2. I crave exercise.
3. I crave greens. It feels like I'm nourished a lot by them when I eat them.
4. Green smoothies and salads just keep tasting better. My taste buds are changing!
5. I'm more focused.
6. I have fun creating my smoothies and look forward to them.
7. I can eat a lot more with lots less calories when drinking green smoothies.
8. I don't have cravings (though if I'm given something with sugar, it's hard for me to stop eating. Luckily, I have a roommate that is more than willing to take my sweets away )
9. I crave more water.
10. The day after workouts, I don't get sore, whereas I did before. It means that I'm getting enough protein.