The other day this lady walked into the play place I take my kids with a refreshing fruit smoothie from #Nekter. I couldn’t tell whether it was made with beets or berries so I mustered the courage to ask her. Before I could get up, her friend came up to her and said “You know those smoothies have like 400 calories right? And lots of sugar too.”
Slowly she set the drink down on a nearby table, discouraged by what she thought had been a healthy choice. She offered the drink to her kid who only took two sips. After that the fruit smoothie just sat there the remainder of the hour, untouched, forgotten, and left to fend for itself.
I sat there trying to understand what had just happened. Aren’t those drinks like 6 bucks or something? Was she going to trash it after that comment? I wonder if they would notice if I took it? Would that be weird?
The truth is she was making an amazing decision but her friend just couldn’t see it. I don’t blame her either. The health (and fitness) industry is a confusing contradicting mess. It’s super easy to miss the forest for the trees.
If I could’ve said something this is what I would’ve said:
“Yes, your friend is right. Your Nekter drink is about 400 calories and it does have lot of sugar. But if you chose this drink over the Frappuccino you’re winning already. Not only will this drink give your body so many micronutrients like vitamins and minerals but the fiber will help regulate the absorption of all the sugar in it. This means your blood sugar levels won’t spike and drop like they would with the Frappuccino.”
“When you keep blood sugar stable you get consistent energy instead of the caffeine high and the eventual slump. You’ll also crave less crap because your body will be happy you gave it something nutritious and filling. So if you want to lose weight (body fat) this drink will help you achieve that goal as long as you also know how many calories your body needs too. Which if you’d like to find out, I could help you figure that out right now.”
I think after that information she might of walked away confidently with a smile instead.
*disclaimer: I happen to know that Nekter creates their fruit smoothies from real fruit. Real fruit has fiber. Unfortunately, not all smoothies are made with real fruit. Some are made from fruit puree’s that are mostly sugar. So with that being said, NOT all fruit smoothies have fiber. Make sure that you’re drinking a real fruit smoothie for all the benefits I mentioned.
