Reasons To Drink Smoothies if You Follow an Intermittent Fasting Schedule

Smoothies and intermittent fasting have both gained popularity for their positive impacts on health and well-being. When you combine the two , you’re going to create a dynamic duo that will help boost fat loss, and improve your fasting goals (autography, etc…).

In this article I am going to discuss the synergy between smoothies and intermittent fasting. We’ll discuss the benefits of having a smoothie as your first meal of the day, and what type of things you should put into your smoothie.

Table of Contents

The Basics of Intermittent Fasting:

I’m not going to assume that you know what Intermittent fasting is. While some people might know, it’s also helpful to review this as a refresher.

Intermittent fasting (IF is often used as the short hand term) is a schedule of eating that flips between fasting and mealtime. Here’s a more detaile write up on the John’s Hopkins medicine website.

Most people follow an Intermittent Fasting program in order to get their body to enter a state of ketosis. This is a state where the body burns fat for energy, instead of carbs (or glucose, more specifically).

While you can follow an IF schedule of your own design, it’s easier to simply use one of the more common set methods: 16/8 is the most popular one. You can even use an app on your phone like Noom or Life to keep track of everything.

Hitting Nutrient Goals: Reason Number 1 To Include Smoothies

One of the hard things about doing an Intermittent Fast is that it can be hard to get enough nutrients.

This is where smoothies help you so much. Smoothies are very nutrient dense. As long as you plan your smoothies carefully, you are going to get as much (or more) nutrients as if you had a whole meal.

Here are some good options for people searching for a good nutrient dense smoothie.

Nutrient-Packed Smoothie Ingredients for Intermittent Fasting:

Leafy Greens: Make sure to add nutrient-rich leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or Swiss chard into your smoothie. Besides lutein and zeaxanthin, leafy greens are high in vitamins A, C, and K, and minerals such as iron and calcium.
Berries: Berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, are low in calories but rich in antioxidants. Berries will add sweetness to your smoothie without causing a significant spike in blood sugar levels or hit your waistline.
Protein: You need to have protein during fasting you want to have a good body composition. In order to avoid the skinny fat curse, make sure to add healthy protein such as Whey, Vegan Protein Powder, or Greek Yogurt. Of course, you’re also going to need to excercise –specifically with weights– if you want to avoid being skinny fat.
Healthy Fats: Fats are not all bad, that’s basically propaganda. You need fat to regular healthy hormone production and also in order to feel “full”. Without fat, you’re going to be continually hungry because of carb based sugar spikes. Some fats you can use include nuts (walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts) avocados and full fat Greek yogurt.
Liquid? You have free roam here. You can use water, ice (which will foam, so you need more than just ice) nut milks like almond milk, coconut milk, or even regular milk. I’m a big fan of using coconut water or almond milk if I’m using fruits and vegetables. If I am going to use protein powder, then I might just use filtered water. If I want a really creamy smoothie—I might make it with cashew milk.

How Smoothies Help During Intermittent Fasting:

Smoothies Keep You Full The combination of fiber from leafy greens and berries, along with protein (if you add this to your smoothie) keep you from getting hungry. Basically this helps to fight off hunger pangs.

Nutrient Density Smoothies are rich in vitamins and antioxidants. This helps make sure you get all of the necessary vitamins and other nutrients even if you’re skipping meals or eating very light.

Easy On Your Digestion Smoothies are easier to digest than big meals. So, instead of eating a kale salad, which might be rough on your stomach, you can just blend some kale into a delicious green smoothie.

If you’re interestd in more information, you can check out this video. This is by Thomas DeLauer (he’s a very popular YouTube health and fittness guy).