A little experiment...on myself

A few months ago I wrote a blog post extolling the virtues of green smoothies.  I am a big believer in getting the nutrition your body needs from the foods you consume rather than from supplements you buy in a bottle.  While I recognize that there are times when supplementation is important and necessary, it is not a substitute for good, whole foods. This is why I drink smoothies. In July I decided to forgo my morning smoothies and see if I noticed any difference in how I felt. I went without for about 5 weeks.

The biggest change I noticed after a while was a serious decrease in energy.  Every afternoon I would get sooooo tired and unmotivated.  Added to the lack of energy was a craving for sugar and other "bad for me" foods.  I found myself opening the fridge to find something to eat, even when I wasn't hungry.  This brought on another rather obvious problem...5 extra pounds.  Yep, I gained 5 pounds in those 5 weeks!  Let me tell you, when you are 5'2" tall (or short :), 5 added pounds is glaringly obvious!!!  Not good.

There were a few other changes I noticed as well, including a skin break out, flagging moods, and just general grumpiness. Workouts and runs were a drudgery.  I didn't seem to handle stress well at all, which was not a good thing with everything that was going on in the Pierson world.  All in all, quite interesting.

I am back to my usual routine now.  The extra 5 pounds are gone (thank goodness!!!) and I can actually run without feeling like I want to stop and lie down in the middle of the road.  I don't have the dip in energy in the afternoons and my cravings are gone. My skin has cleared up and seems less dry.

My conclusion?  Nothing is a substitute for good nutrition and smoothies are a great way to get it.  My plan is to keep on drinking the green stuff.  It is worth every penny.