Fitness treats

Hi!

Thanks for your message! I’m not a huge fan of green smoothies. Here’s why: I’ve noticed I feel more satisfied when I have to chew my food. Chewing food takes more time, so it feels like I have more food to eat instead of just one big glass of smoothie that contains it all. Using my jaws also allows my brain to receive signals of satisfaction and reminds me that I did eat something.

If you take a quick look at websites about digestion, they all say “digestion starts in the mouth”. Saliva contains enzymes that helps breaking down the food. The more the food is chewed and coated with saliva, the easiest it is to digest.

When you overlook that process or you chew badly, it put more stress on the rest of the digestion: meaning it can cause gas and other little problems :) The longer your food stays in touch with your saliva, the better it is, and the lesser the stress on the rest of your digestive organs.

However, I do think smoothies can be great for people who don’t enjoy the texture of certain vegetables. They’re also great for people with type A-personalities, very busy, always in motion, always have to rush somewhere etc.

But for me, the more time it takes me to eat something, the better. I have a juicer, but I only use it to make celery juice (the only vegetable I don’t enjoy chewing). Otherwise I always prefer eating my food rather than drinking it.

About the question “Should they be used as a meal replacement or are they okay to eat with a meal?” It all depends on the kinds of foods and the quantities you put in it, so it’s kind of hard to say.

I personnally don’t like the word “meal replacement”. Maybe because I’m European, but I was raised with the idea that nothing can replace a real meal. It’s a cultural thing, but in my view if you’re so busy that you don’t have the time to sit down to have a real meal, you may want to reevaluate your priorities. (But that’s another debate…).

Hi! Running doesn’t really build muscle like weight training does. I’d say that gaining 3.5 kg of muscle because of running sounds unrealistic, even if you had very little muscle mass when you first started.

Showjumping is actually closer to weight training than running. Have you been doing more showjumping and eating a bit more to ‘compensate’ your runs? That could be an explanation. 

But besides the scale, how do your clothes fit? Do you still fit in your favorite pair of jeans? Here are a few tips to gauge where you’re at: 

Hi! I’ve written a blogpost about cravings, listing all the tips and strategies I’ve read in various fitness magazines: www.fitnesstreats.com/2013/04/usual-and-unusual-strategies-for-controlling-sweet-cravings
It’s kind of a long post but you may find some new ideas to control your sweet tooth.