smoothie goodness

One issue that I have with half-marathon training is that so much running means I find myself always hungry. Blame it on homeostasis ~ my body is burning more calories, so it revs up my hunger drive in hopes of replenishing those calories. Annoying, if you'd like to see some net weight loss :)

I am not the best at dealing with that hunger, and use training as an excuse to have less than healthy snacks. But I can get away with it because of all the running, and maybe even still lose a few pounds. Now that I've stopped training, though, I'm trying to break the bad habits that I formed by all those post-long run snacks.

My current weapon: smoothies! I love the abundance of fresh fruit that's available in the summer. I find that blending them up into a smoothie is a refreshing treat after dinner ~ and keeps me from munching on less healthy foods. Plus, they actually keep me feeling full and energized!

image from here

My smoothie making tips:
1. use frozen bananas! I cut some up, stick in a ziplock bag, and keep in the freezer. They give smoothies a thick creamy consistency similar to adding ice cream ~ but much healthier!
2. Try a green smoothie, to cut down on sugar. By this, I mean, start off by blending some spinach, and then add in your fruit. May sound unappetizing, and might look a bit scary too ~ but the sugar in the fruit masks the spinach so you don't even taste it! Play around with the amounts, to see what tastes best for you.