Do you know how much calories and sugar are in that protein drink or green smoothie you are consuming?  Well, I was not exactly sure either but had a guestimate.  Yesterday I put together all the numbers for calories, fat, carbohydrates (CHO), sugar, fat and fiber for my daily protein shake.  To my surprise my CHOs and protein content were about even, with CHOs slightly exceeding protein.  Bonus is that the sugar content is not too bad and comes almost all from the fruit of a medium to lower glycemic variety (won’t spike insulin).  The surprise was the amount of fiber and that it came in under 300 calories.  Here are my ingredients and the results:

½ c. water

½ c. Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 c. Kale

½ Frozen Organic Blueberries (highest in anti-oxidants)

½ Banana (medium)

1 TBSP Flax Seeds (7x more lignans by weight than sesame seeds but must be ground to be of benefit)

1 heaping scoop vanilla Protein powder (whey/casein blend)

1 ¼ c. Ice cubes (to give thickness)

Calories: 289.5

Fat:  5g

CHO:  35g

Sugar:  16g

Fiber:  5.5g

Protein:  29g

Why did I do this?  I drink this almost every single day after the gym.  There are a lot of places like Whole foods, Trader Joes, and sometimes your gym that pedal green, fruit and/or protein smoothies.  You want to know how many calories you’re getting and how much sugar because this could be the culprit as to why you are struggling with those few extra pounds or maybe getting rid of that stubborn mid-section.  I have been saying this for almost three decades now, it’s not the fat that is killing us, it is the sugar.

Yours in health,

Samantha L. Madsen, MS, CSCS

“Train Smart. Eat Healthy. Rest Well. Supplement Wisely.”

 

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