Week-long Green Smoothie Challenge Synopsis

So the moment of truth…….. Drum roll please…….. I lost my own bet! Girls, we are going to Cafe Rio! I’m down 4.2 lbs instead of the 5 lbs I hoped to lose. But am I disappointed? Not one bit. Let me explain:

Losing 4.2 lbs in one week is more than I lost in the last 3 weeks combined, so the Green Smoothie Challenge is super-turbo charged weight loss! I also missed 2 workouts in the last week and probably didn’t reach my goal because of that. I wish I would have done my measurements in inches before and after because I know it’s a considerable loss, especially around my waist, hips and thighs. My body fat went from 22.5% down to 20%. My jeans that fit great last week are a bit baggy and I tried on several pairs of my “skinny” jeans and to my delight, most of them fit.

I am also all ready fairly slim at this point after being on a plant-based diet for more than 3 months. So losing that amount of weight for my current size is a pretty big deal. I would expect that people who are doing this that have more to lose will have even more success then I did.

If you know my story, you know that weight loss has been something I’ve had to become a bit of an expert about while losing nearly 100 lbs several years ago. But in the past I always had to meticulously count calories and watch portion size like a hawk. I always felt starving and deprived. Not this time!

With the Green Smoothie Challenge I tracked calorie and nutrient intake for the purpose of proving stats on the blog, but it is not something others need to do. Most days I could not possibly have consumed more food while on the challenge. Others can consume as many approved foods as they like on the plan without tracking it and will be sure to still lose weight.

If you are doing the challenge, I would love to hear from you and hear about your success, how you stuck with it, how much weight you lost, things that were the hardest for you and more. I will be sending a natural product  give-away at the end of the month to 3 people with the most interesting green smoothie challenge story. Note: not necessarily those who lose the most weight! Please post your stories in the comments section of this blog post.

Here are some thoughts I had for myself and others while doing the challenge:

I read somewhere that on the very popular HCG diet that you can only consume 400 calories a day consisting of lean meat and very limited veggies. Not really a very nutrient dense choice for weight loss if you ask me. Those who wish to continue to turbo-charge their weight loss can safely do the green smoothie challenge for as long as they like, or even do it in phases like adding small servings of whole grains like brown rice, millet, or quinoa to a stir fry. Then adding back in healthy fats like nuts, seeds and avocado. Because you are providing your body with tons of nutrients instead of starving it, you will not do any damage to your body, this is very unlike the HCG diet or many “fad” diets which are dangerous to your heart, your bowels, and your overall health.

I wish I had eaten more salads, the days I consumed them I was less tired and more full than the days I ate soups or steamed veggies instead. I also noticed that my iron and calcium stats were closer to what they needed to be because leafy greens provide large amounts of both nutrients.

Your food input will generally be the same color as your food output (as in #2), if it’s green that’s because you are eating copious amounts of green foods!

If the above statement is true for you and you are spending too much time in the bathroom with your food output (the opposite of constipation), I suggest you take a good probiotic to help slow things down!

Hydrate! Even though there is plenty of liquid in your green smoothies, you need to add at least an additional 4 glasses of  water a day. This will also help to flush any toxins out of your body that you are eliminating while on the diet.

If you find the Green Smoothie Challenge just too hard to stick with, still try to eliminate as many animal products, refined products and oils from your diet as you can. Drink green smoothies, incorporate more vegetables, fruits and whole grains into your diet. If you do that you will lose more weight naturally then if you had stuck with your previous eating habits. Eating a whole-foods plant-based diet is proven to reduce cholesterol, improve or eliminate diabetes and reduce your risk of almost all types of cancer. Through eating a whole-foods plant-based diet I have cured myself of my autoimmune diseases and disorders. I believe you can too.

Another truth: if you go back to your previous eating habits, you will eventually regain any weight you lose. Eating healthy is a lifestyle change, not a diet and this challenge should help you to make some of those necessary changes.

And finally since today is the first day post green smoothie challenge, guess what I ate to celebrate? A bowl of oatmeal with almond milk, sprinkled with some cinnamon………Followed by? You guessed it! A green smoothie. Best of luck-

Somer