Spring is just around the corner and the days are getting longer, at last. The dark, cold weather is behind us and warm summer days are only a few weeks away. It’s time to banish the bulky winter sweaters to the back of the closet and to start going through the lighter, brighter items that were stored away in the Fall.
But, for many people, the transition from baggy, comfy winter clothing to the lighter weight linens and cotton of the spring and summer is not an easy one. Holiday food excesses, Meal replacement shakes, and less exercise when it gets too cold to spend much time outdoors invariably leads to a few unwanted pounds.
As the focus turns to summer vacations and getting beach body ready, out come the diet books and up to the gym memberships. Vanity and health concerns usual fuel the rush to find ‘get thin’, and ‘get fit quick’ options.
But this annual rush to lose weight and tone up often leads people to follow plans that aren’t really good for their health and wellbeing. Instead of adopting the boom or bust approach, an all year-round weight management and exercise regime would be much better. It is possible to join in the fun at holiday times and to celebrate events with family and friends and still stay slim and healthy. It just takes knowledge and willpower.
We all know the worryingly high obesity level in the USA, and in most of the Western world for that matter, is due to consuming too much, and exercising too little. And in particular, from eating too much of the wrong things. Previous generations didn’t gorge themselves on snacks and sugary drinks to the same extent as the past two generations have done. There is little nutritional value in much of what is on the supermarket shelves. But we are drawn in by the marketing hype until it becomes a habit. Everyone else is doing it too. There is no longer the same stigma to being fat. And yet that’s exactly what a high percentage of the population is these days. Whether they like to hear it or not.
The latest movement to reduce the sugar content in drinks, and to make people more aware of the health risks of being overweight, has seen a rise in the range of new products.
People are now actively seeking out products that contain more natural ingredients, that are less processed, lower in fat and processed sugar, as they become more educated about their eating habits.
Just as smoking has dropped in popularity as people realize the health risks attached to this habit, the same will happen to sugary drinks and high-calorie fast foods such as burgers, fries, cake, and shakes.
So, what are the alternatives? Is it possible to find a healthy and nutritious option to the foods that have now become the ‘enemy’ to those who want to lose weight and get fit?
There are a number of options gaining in popularity in the marketplace right now. So, what are the best diet shakes to help with weight loss? There are a number of excellent recipes worth trying, if you Google the phrase: best diet shake reviews.
Foodbabe, Vani Hari, is an advocate of eating healthily and in a recent blog, she suggested that the best diet shakes are nutrient-rich and made from scratch using natural ingredients.
Some of the most mouth-wateringly tasty recipes, available online, include: a banana and ginger shake; a green tea, blueberry and banana shake; a very berry breakfast shake using almond or rice milk; a pineapple passion shake; an exotically named tropical papaya perfection; a tutti-frutti smoothie, and a slim down smoothie, to name but a few. These can be whipped in a matter of minutes with a good blender.
But, if time is short, then the alternative she recommends is Nutiva’s organic plant protein superfood shake with 30 superfood ingredients for optimum health and nutrition.
The best diet shakes for long-term health and wellbeing, as well as for weight loss, should not contain soy, sugar, sugar alternatives, or artificial flavorings, according to Vani, and other proponents of organic and natural foods.
By following a more natural diet, low in processed carbohydrates and sugar; and by reducing the amount of food eaten in relation to exercise taken, the population would become much fitter and healthier, reducing the need for yo-yo dieting. Obesity levels could be reduced dramatically and the nation’s health would be massively improved. And the best diet shakes will ensure that no one feels deprived of flavor and enjoyment.
