Smoothies seem to be everywhere nowadays. You can find them on the breakfast menu at your local breakfast place, in a juice bar or on several other restaurant menus. I had breakfast with friends of mine a few days ago and I noticed several other customers ordered a regular breakfast plus on top of it a smoothie. There is nothing wrong with smoothies – I love them a lot and have one at least every day – my point is I guess a lot of people are not aware how many calories they might consume with one smoothie or that in some cases a smoothie is a whole meal.

It really depends on the ingredients you choose but some smoothies can easily add additional 500 calories into your diet and if you don’t keep an eye on that don’t be surprised if you gain unwanted weight. I hear this all the time and some clients simply underestimate their total calorie intake, therefore I highly recommend using a smoothie as a snack or choose it as a whole meal. Keep in mind if you are in a calorie deficit (which you have to be in if your goal is to loose weight) most people prefer eating their calories instead of drinking, so if you are struggling with that try to remove smoothies from your diet during this time. Smoothies aren’t same-size-fits-all, so please keep a closer look on the ingredients and the amount of total calories.

If you are someone who struggles with eating enough on a daily basis this might be a great help for you! Just because most people try to loose weight doesn’t mean you have to be one of them. If you are the complete opposite and trying to gain weight or are just exhausted from eating your daily amount of food, try to create smoothies which work best for you. Add a good source of protein, carbohydrates and fats into your smoothie and enjoy drinking it.

You can find a whole meal breakfast idea for a smoothie here and for a lighter version which should make a great snack or a post-workout drink give this one a go.