Failing on the green smoothie diet, help?
 

Hi,
I’m very luck and blessed that I never had to try lose weight before. My weight has always averaged at 126-130lbs but due to considerable stress and personal problems over the last couple of years my diet and daily exercise has suffered. According to my weight and height I should be eating 1800 calories daily to maintain and 1300 calories to lose weight. I’ve been averaging at 1000-1200 calories for a while now but I’ve only managed to lose 6lbs.

To kick start my weight lose I’ve started a green smoothie detox diet. Three days in and I’m constantly ravenous! Maybe I’m not drinking enough of it. Could someone who’s tried this diet before give me some tips? I’ve read online that I shouldn’t add protein powder, is this wrong?

I'm probably going to sound like a jerk here, but of COURSE you're ravenouse. Eat FOOD! I have never understood the advantage of smoothie/detox stuff. Basically you lose weight because you are starving. Losing weight by only drinking green tea smoothies all but guaruntees you will have a rebound gain. Do yourself a huge favor and lose weight in a sensible and healthy way!

You've lost 6 pounds, that's nothing to sneeze at! You're doing a great job so far!

I can't advise you on that specific diet - I'd be starving on it too! Not to mention the carbohydrate load of green smoothies would give my blood sugar major spikes and precipitous drops, making it even worse.

Might I recommend eating whole food, not juiced, instead? Protein in a shake is a good meal replacement occasionally, but I don't think it is a wise cornerstone of your diet (even temporarily). Cleanses work dubiously, at best. Now eating a fresh piece of fruit or salad will give you the same nutrients, more fiber, and more satiety, too. It would be a wiser use of all those fruits and veggies than a smoothie :)

Might I also recommend that you eat a more sensible amount of calories for your weight? Closer to 14–1500 should still net you steady losses without so much hunger :)

If I were you I'd just count calories and forget the detox smoothies. You'll still lose weight and you shouldn't be as hungry.

Congrats on losing the six pounds already!:carrot:

Thanks for the replies. I’ve never had to diet before and I’m not a patient person so this slow progress is very frustrating. It is something that I’m still going to stick with, but perhaps continue to eat porridge in the morning and afternoon.

If anyone who’s tried this diet has any advice I’d be very grateful.

If you still want to do a detoxy thing, I've heard of one by Dr. Oz that's only two days & involves actual food. Could be worth a try?

The people responding really haven't made this crystal clear.

No one can help you feel less hungry while you're on the green smoothie diet.

That isn't how our bodies work. In a healthy body, hormones control hunger. Leptin is a big driver of hunger and the less body fat you have the less Leptin you have. You don't have much to lose so it is not shocking in the slightest that you're very hungry.

Speaking of not much to lose, the fewer lbs you have the slower you're going to lose it. I don't know over what time frame you have lost 6 lbs but at your size I would say losing 1 lb a week is probably about as much as you can expect.

Bottom line - resume your "slow" dieting and forget any type of fad diets, especially liquid diets.

Goodluck

Agree with this times 1000

Ok thanks for the advice everyone

Truly, we aren't trying to be mean - as folks who have lost fairly significant amounts of weight and taken multiple months (or years, in my case) to do it, if there was a quicker or more effective dieting method than the following we'd tell you:

1. Controlling calories
2. Logging food (portion control of some sort is needed, whether it is an exchange plan, using MyFitnessPal, counting carbs, intermittent fasting, etc etc)
3. Managing specific macros (as needed, most folks don't require this to lose very well)

There are dozens of sensible, workable diets out there, and dozens more less sensible, less effective methods. The one you picked isn't a great idea on multiple levels - calories and nutritional composition being high on that list. As John mentioned, weight loss when you're already on the lower side is a slower endeavor, and the body is far more resistant to shedding weight than someone with much more to lose. MANY of us are impatient to get to goal, but it's just something you have to acknowledge and deal with. You can't force your body to shed fat quicker than it is able - and trying to do so is a recipe for hunger and weight rebound when your hormones inevitably beat your will into submission. This is often seen in spectacularly bad binges (ugh!).

You CAN take off half a pound or maybe even a pound per week of fat, but that will take a few months. What's a few months in the grand scheme of things? Nothing at all :)

I agree with all these things. Even with protien powder, shakes/smoothies never fill me for long. The only time a shake will fill me for a while is if I add smooth tofu. A lot of people that believe in the green smoothies also say, "you'll have tons of energy." I never do. Detoxes are unneccesary.

I’m really not taking any of the advice as negative feedback or as people being mean, I really appreciate everyone’s honesty. I’ve been reading a lot of online info and watching lots of (so called) healthy advice documentaries. In so many of them “experts” advice juice or smoothie diets to people trying to lose weight. And in these documentaries the people involved hum and haw about how delicious and filling the drinks are.

In my teens I had an eating disorder, it’s a way of life that’s all too tempting to fall back into. But knowing the damage it causes I think a green smoothie diet would probably send me down that road again. Up until a few days ago I was doing well and losing weight slowly I’m going to continue that but perhaps include green smoothies because to be honest I really don’t like greens, and it is a quick way to get them. :lol:

Thanks for the advice everyone. :)

I will sometimes incorporate a smoothie a few times a week cause i don't really like fruit.but i don't try to live my life on them.i'm actually on a very shake based diet right now and these ready to drink shakes don't fill me up for "four hours." i usually have to have a fruit/ veggies to help me feel fullish. I sure don't know how people live on them!

I know one healthy documentary swears chia seeds
Not sold on them yet but i figure if it might make it more filling,i should go with it! A few sprinkles won't hurt.

Whew, I was a bit worried that we seemed harsh!

I do like veggies but I don't always have time to actually eat or make meals out of it, you know? Just seems easier sometimes to throw it all in the blender then drink. My smoothies tend to have 1.5 to 2 servings of veggies and 1 to 2 of fruit, 1/2 cup greek yogurt. Veggies- spinach, carrots, or pumpkin puree. Fruits- frozen bananas, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, pears, kiwis and apples. Sometimes I will add a 1/2 serving of unsweetened dried dates or figs instead of sugar if my smoothie isn't that "sweet."

I really wish you the best of luck, you have done great so far! :)