The 14 Day Green Smoothie Plan: The Beginner's Guide To Losing 15 Pounds and Increasing Energy (2016)

Chapter 2. Starting the Smoothie Plan

Helpful tips

Here are a few helpful tips that may help you along your way if you begin to struggle with the smoothie plan.

Making mistakes

Sometimes a new eating plan can be hard to stick to. We humans make mistakes, and we occasionally eat something that we later wish we hadn't. The way to deal with making a mistake, is not to beat yourself up over it, but to rectify it as soon as you can.

Let's say for example that you accidentally eat a bowl of chocolate covered sugary cereal for breakfast. You may start to feel guilty for not drinking that smoothie you prepared last night. Don't worry, just enjoy the smoothie for lunch, and have your regular meal in the evening.

Try to eat a healthy diet

In addition to having a smoothie for breakfast, or whenever you can fit it into your day, you may want to take a look at your current diet. When you eat a meal, try to make sure that it's a reasonably healthy one. Not only will the nutrients do you the world of good, but if you eat a healthy diet, you'll be more likely to lose weight.

You will see that I've added a few meal suggestions in the diet plan. You don't have to stick with eating these meals if you would prefer something else. Please make sure that you only consume nutritious meals in the evenings, regardless of whether you're eating the meals I've suggested, or something else.

Find out where you can source your ingredients

Before you decide to go all-out and make a weeks' worth of smoothies, you will need to think about where you'll source your ingredients. A lot of people buy their fruit and vegetables from a supermarket, but I try to avoid doing this if I can. I recommend that you buy your ingredients from a local market or a greengrocers. This is because the fruit and vegetables are not only fresher, but they're likely to be cheaper too. What's more is you'll also be supporting a local business, and that's never a bad thing.

Avoid shop-bought smoothies

Although some shop-bought smoothies are very tasty, they can often be high in sugar. You may be able to find some smoothies that don't contain a lot of sugar, but they are usually expensive. Save money, and cut down on your consumption of sugar by consuming smoothies that you have made from scratch. Trust me, they'll taste better.

Start the plan with a friend

One of the best ways for you to enjoy the 14 day smoothie plan, is to bring a friend along for the ride. You may also want to ask someone in your family to join you too. The reason I'm suggesting you do this, is because when you start a new plan with someone else, you can compare notes, make recommendations to each other, and provide motivation when times are tough.

Reward yourself

Each time I've been on the smoothie plan, I've rewarded myself when I've reached a specialist goal. Once a week, I treat myself to a meal of my choosing, regardless of how unhealthy it is, whereas other have a night out on the town. Rewarding yourself is a great way for you to stay motivated, which means your smoothie plan is more likely to work. If you've put in a lot of hard work, you need to make sure there's some sort of reward, don't you?

Key foods/Ingredients

In addition to losing weight, you may want to improve your health. You can do this by eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables that contain a wide range of vitamins.

Below you will find a list of vitamins, with the some of the names of the fruits and vegetables that contain them:

Vitamin A:

Fruit– Grapefruit, Mango, Passion Fruit, Tomatoes

Vegetables– Broccoli, Carrots, Leeks, Pumpkins, Spinach, Sweet Potato

Vitamin B1– Thiamine:

Fruit– Dates, Grapes, Mango, Oranges, Pineapples, Pomegranates,

Vegetables– Asparagus, Okra, Parsnips, Sweet Potatoes,

Vitamin B2– Riboflavin:

Fruit– Bananas, Grapes, Passion Fruit, Pomegranates

Vegetables– Brussels Sprouts, Mushrooms, Pumpkins, Swiss Chard

Vitamin B3– Niacin:

Fruit– Avocados, Dates, Mango's, Nectarines, Peaches

Vegetables– Butternut Squashes, Parsnips, Pumpkins, Sweet Potatoes

Vitamin B5– Pantothenic acid:

Fruit– Avocados, Gooseberries, Grapefruit, Pomegranates, Raspberries

Vegetables– Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Parsnips, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes

Vitamin B6– Pryidoxine:

Fruit– Bananas, Dates, Grapes, Mangoes, Pineapples, Watermelons

Vegetables– Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Sweet Potatoes

Vitamin B9– Folic acid:

Fruit– Blackberries, Guava, Mangoes, Passion Fruits, Strawberries

Vegetables– Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Okra, Parsnip, Sweet Potatoes

Vitamin C:

Fruit– Black currants, Kiwi, Mangoes, Oranges, Pineapples, Strawberries

Vegetables– Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Swiss Chard

Vitamin D:

Fruit– N/A

Vegetables - Mushrooms

Vitamin E:

Fruit– Avocados, Blueberries, Cranberries, Kiwi, Mangoes, Pomegranates, Raspberries

Vegetables– Butternut squash, Parsnips, Pumpkins, Swiss Chard

Vitamin K:

Fruit– Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Grapes, Mangoes, Pomegranates, Tomatoes

Vegetables– Asparagus, Broccoli, Cucumber, Kale, Leeks, Spinach, Swiss Chard