The way you lose weight matters… Mind you ‘weight release’ has become more popular, and I concur that words matter and we do try to find things we lose!
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Let’s release weight and NOT go and find it again. Semantics aside, working towards a healthy body weight does need to be a top priority in our recovery.
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Extra weight increases the risk of ALL our lifestyle diseases – and yes cancer is, for the most part, a lifestyle disease.
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However, I don’t suggest you jump on any old weight loss protocol, in fact I am seriously concerned about many of them as you may have read about in
Part 1 of this blog.
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Today I want to address ‘protein shakes’ and give you a healthy alternative. The supplement industry is largely unregulated, from the quality of ingredients in the shake to the ‘health’ claims they make on the packet.
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Quite often the marketing messages hook us in to thinking we have found the solution to all our weight loss woes or our nutritional deficiencies.
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So firstly don’t believe the clever words because if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
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Secondly, we seem to think that because we need protein that more is good, when in fact too much protein is as harmful as too little. You can read more about that
here. .
Lastly, shakes are a processed product…END of story.
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We don’t even know if your body recognises those substances as real food. Are these protein powders causing more harm than good?
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One of the more infamous ingredient found in shakes is soy protein isolates.
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Soy is a subsided grain in the US, and the majority of it is GMO.
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The unsavoury aspect of GMO is the chemical residues that can be found in the majority of processed food, as I explain
here.
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Recent studies have shown that when people remove GMO foods from their diet their health improves, in some cases reversing diseases that were thought to be auto-immune in origin.
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Would an organic shake be safe?
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Although an organic shake would NOT contain any GMO foods, it’s still not a whole food.
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HOWEVER, there may be a season where this type of product is necessary and I would recommend an organic shake, with pea protein as it’s base.
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So what are the equivalent ‘whole foods’ that you could use as a shake substitute?
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My guide to a smoothie is:
- 2-3 handfuls of greens – spinach, kale, celery, beetroot greens, mint, parsley
- Healthy fats – 1/2 avocado, 1/4 cup nuts or seeds
- 1-2 pieces of fruit – blueberries (1/2 cup), banana, mango etc.
- About 1/2 cup of water or nut milk
I always like to use water and a handful of almonds to create my own almond milk. Not that I’m against nut milks, but this way you benefit from all the nutrients and fibre from the almonds.
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You can then add whole grains to the smoothie if you desire. I would typically add 1/3 cup rolled oats (no need to soak or cook), or 1/4 cup of steel-cut oats or buckwheat that I have soaked overnight and drained before adding to my smoothie. I add the whole grains after I’ve made the smoothie because I like to chew my breakfast.
