*** A Liquid Diet to Lose Weight

One of the easiest ways of getting tons of nutrition while helping your chances of losing weight is through a liquid diet. Now I’m not talking about packaged protein shakes or low calorie drinks but rather whole food smoothies and juices that pack tons of fruits and vegetables into a single glass. The recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables is 5-10 servings yet less than 20% of North Americans meet that requirement. The reasons are many but a very simple way to remedy this issue is to get a number of those servings by way of a single smoothie or juice. This way not only will you get an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants but you also lessen the burden on your digestive system. I’m sure you can understand that anything liquid takes far less time to digest than a solid food. It just makes sense since the ingredients have already been “predigested” by the blending or juicing process. This applies to weight loss in the following manner. When you eat foods, they are digested, broken down, and absorbed into the blood to go to their final destination. Much of the time, though, the meals many people eat are so heavy that it takes them hours to digest. As a result, the body is required to divert huge amounts of energy to the digestion process. Fatigue and lethargy are usually the first signs that this is taking place. I’m sure you’ve experienced this after a big Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Since most people have underactive digestive systems many of these solid meals don’t get properly digested. They place heavy demands on the stomach and digestive organs and ultimately don’t nourish the body as it needs to be. If foods come into your body and are not properly broken down they are more easily stored as fat (since they can’t be utilized) and have a tendency to clog up the intestinal tract, impeding proper elimination. More foods being stored as fat (especially if they’re cooked foods) and an impaired ability to eliminate them can only mean that weight is being added (not lost) to your body. Food comes in but doesn’t go out – it’s got to go somewhere. THE LIQUID SOLUTION So if you want to lose weight and you can identify with the above scenarios, why not try a different approach? Try incorporating more smoothies and fresh-pressed juices into your diet. Most of the smoothies and juices I make take no more than 5 minutes to prepare yet pack in about 4-8 servings of fruits and vegetables, and other superfoods! This means that with just 2 smoothies or juices per day I can get more than my needed intake of fruits and vegetables. This has pretty obvious health benefits. It is also immensely beneficial for weight loss seekers. Liquid meals reduce the load on your digestive system. It’s almost as if the nutrients bypass the entire process of digestion and get absorbed right to where they need to be. The benefits to juicing and making your own smoothies are numerous, but needless to say you have to give them a shot to truly feel their full power. Here are 2 recipes from Eating for Energy to get you started: Spinach Pear Smoothie Serves 1 to 2 3 cups spinach 1 pearn¼ cup parsley 1 cup celery juice Juice of half a lemonnn* Blend all ingredients into a blender until smooth. Grape-Celery Cooler Serves 1 to 2 1 cup sweet red grapes 3-4 celery stalks Mint for garnish (optional)nn* In a juicer, juice all ingredients and garnish with mint if desired.nn