[3FCer344892]

This is probably a dumb question, but is it possible to only consume veggie/fruit smoothies that you make yourself by blending an array of fresh veggies/fruits together?

[MIMI 193]

you would be missing a whole load of protein and carbs that your body needs if you only ate fruit and veg smoothies ..they are great for you , but they don't have all the nutrition you need to be healthy .Maybe a smoothie for breakfast with a slice of wholewheat toast and a smearing of peanut butter , and a smoothie for lunch with a pitta bread with low fat houmous, and then a normal low fat dinner with a smoothie for afters , thats an example of getting all your vits , fats carbs protein and veg portion in one day....hope this helps xx

[3FCer344892]

Thanks, MIMI, that actually sounds like a pretty healthy (and expensive) diet.

[ncuneo]

You could with the right ingredients, but why would you want to?

I'm sure you've heard this before, but the weight loss journey is one of a lifestyle change if you want it to be permanent. At some point you have to start learning how to eat appropriately, permanently. What that means for you may be different than what that means for me. So the journey is one of finding a healthy lifestyle that promotes weight loss, but is one that you can stick to forever to insure weight maintenance.

Sorry I know that's not what you asked, but I always worry when someone is looking at things that can only be temporary.

[kaplods]

You could in theory make a smoothie with all the nutrition you need, but it wouldn't be easy or cheap. And it sounds like "easy and cheap" is what you are looking for.

If you're dieting on a tight budget, check out the Shoestring Meals forum. There are tons of great tips there on where to shop to find really great deals, and also shopping tips and great cheap recipes.

I'd also recommend exchange plan dieting. It's awesome, because you can choose your carb level (if that's important to you, for me it is because carbs, especially processed and quickly digesting ones tend to increase my hunger and appetite levels). It also makes grocery shopping a snap (I know exactly how much fruit to buy, for example - because I know exactly how much I'm going ot eat).

Hillbillyhousewife.com is where I found exchange plans of differing carb levels (they call them the high-carb, middle-of-the-road, and high-protein plans).

[MeganTheMushroom]

I think it's possible, but I think you should add things like avocados, nuts, seeds, nut/seed butters, different oils like flaxseed, spirulina, cholorella, and other herbs to them.
Some veggies, like spinach, kale, and frozen broccoli are okay in smoothies, but a lot aren't. I think if you want to live off of smoothies, you should look into a raw food diet. Many raw foodists eat green smoothies for breakfast, and then meals based around raw produce! You'd be amazed at how tasty this can be!

Many people DO live off of juice, but I've never heard of any living off of smoothies. I'm sure it's possible, but I just don't think it's preferable....I like crunchy things :3

[Nola Celeste]

Depending on what you put into them, sure...but we have teeth for a reason.

There's nothing magical about pureeing food. Smoothies can taste terrific and have plenty of health benefits, but as others have noted, so does eating the foods contained in the smoothie. They're nice for variety, but there's no reason to live off of them unless you're having a broken jaw re-set or just got wisdom teeth removed or something (and even then, you wouldn't want to drink them with a straw).

Teeth are good things; use 'em.

[AnnieDrews]

It's "possible" to do anything you want to. Even live off of smoothies. I personally enjoy food too much. I also think our bodies burn calories and work better when they are digesting foods we eat. I think a smoothie-only diet would get boring after a while, so doesn't make much sense to me.

[darway]

Smoothies can cause glycemic spikes. They hold a compression of calories that would be distributed more sparsely in the original bulk food. (Plus store-bought smoothies tend to have sugar-laden additives in them.)

Like yogourt, and trail mix bars, smoothies have this "veneer" of healthiness from marketing publicity which doesn't necessarily pan out.

[Uggla]

Of course you can live off of smoothies, and be extremely healthy as well, many people in the world eat soft diets for many reasons.

What is important is what you consider to be a "smoothie" should actually be a blend of nutritionally dense foods, making sure you get the fiber, vitamins, fats, protein, etc.. that the body requires. This is completely obtainable with the right knowledge. You need to add healthy protein, fiber, and fats like for example flax seeds, grass-fed whey protein or vegetarian/vegan whey protein, and virgin unrefined coconut oil to slow down the food process and allow you to adsorb the nutrients slowly. Don't just go for whey though you can use other sources of protein and same goes for fiber, variety is the key.

Now could you live off of fruit smoothies alone? Some actually do, many Fruitarians do but I personally do not recommend it.

Rather food is solid or blended it contains the nutrients your body needs and if you choose what your body needs make sure you get a variety of different nutrient dense foods then you are good to go. .