If you want to lose weight, carbohydrate shakes are one of the best methods for quickly, low-calorie hunger satisfaction. You can choose the ingredients according to your taste to create smoothies rich in complex carbohydrates, fiber and other healthy elements, depending on your desire and mood. Such drinks will be a good alternative to high-calorie desserts and can replace a full afternoon snack.
Cocktail properties
To get the maximum benefit from the shake, you should drink it in the morning as breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast kickstarts your metabolism and helps your body burn more calories throughout the day. Many people make the mistake of eating breakfast with foods high in simple (fast) carbohydrates. This leads to feelings of hunger and snacking early in the day.
A carbohydrate cocktail for breakfast will allow you not to feel hungry for a long time, by providing the body with a sufficient amount of fats, proteins, fiber and carbohydrates.
Fiber from fruits and long-term carbohydrates form the basis of a proper breakfast. Fiber, increasing in size when it enters the stomach, promotes a prolonged feeling of fullness and limits the consumption of excess calories. Long-lasting carbohydrates, in turn, due to slow breakdown (about 4 hours), feed the body with energy throughout the first half of the day.
Following the same principle, unhealthy snacks during the day can be replaced with a carbohydrate cocktail and thereby provide the body with enough energy due to fewer calories.
Effect on the body
How does a protein-carbohydrate shake help muscles become stronger and stronger? Classes, of course, are the main incentive. You force your muscles to work harder, and they respond with increased growth. But for the muscle building process to begin, they must have a mixture of protein and carbohydrates to create the right hormonal climate for muscle growth.
That's what's happening. Protein and carbohydrates stimulate the body's release of insulin and growth hormone. Insulin is a significant factor for building muscles. It helps deliver glucose and amino acids into cells, returns these amino acids to body tissue, and prevents muscle and tissue loss. Growth hormone increases the rate of protein production, speeding up the muscle building process, and also ensures fat burning. Both hormones are directly involved in muscle growth. Your body is primed for growth with this simple formula.
How to cook
The first rule of making a carbohydrate shake is that it must be thick. If you want to lose weight, the main goal of your diet will be to consume fewer calories. But although you will have to eat less, this does not mean that you should constantly feel hungry, in which case sooner or later your willpower will give way and you will resort to unhealthy snacks in a hurry.
Cocktails with a thicker consistency satisfy hunger much better than liquid cocktails with the same number of calories.
The scientists who conducted this study found that the experiment participants who drank cocktails with a thicker consistency remained full twice as long as those who drank liquid ones, even though their calorie content was exactly the same.
Main ingredients:
- Liquid Base: Skim or 1% milk as a liquid base is a great option as it is rich in vitamin D and calcium. Other good options are soy or almond milk, coconut water, or, as a last resort, the most common one, but always cold, or better yet ice-cold.
- Foods high in fiber and complex carbohydrates: Any fruit is great, but raspberries and blue berries are preferable and contain the least amount of sugar. When it comes to vegetables, spinach and cucumber are the most common options. This also includes legumes and other food groups high in starch, glycogen, and other complex carbohydrates.
- Healthy fats: The fats in this shake are essential for energy, absorption of a number of vitamins, and control of appetite throughout the day. Add up to two tablespoons of a product that has healthy monounsaturated fats - such as avocados, various seeds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, etc.
Try not to overuse sweeteners; if possible, use only fruits, but in exceptional cases you can add a small amount of honey or natural syrups. You can experiment with the taste of cocktails without increasing calorie content with the help of spices and herbs.
It may be helpful to add natural ingredients that stimulate weight loss, such as green tea, cinnamon and ginger.
Easy-to-prepare drinks will help you not only lose weight, but also feel a surge of strength and energy for a long time. These cocktails are perfect for breakfast, lunch or a snack.
- We recommend reading about: protein shakes and the best shakes for weight loss
Greek
Ingredients:
- Low-fat Greek yogurt – 170 grams;
- Spinach leaves – 2 cups;
- Ripe pears (chopped, peeled) – 1 piece;
- Green or red grapes - 1/2 tbsp;
- Ripe avocado – 2 tablespoons;
- Freshly squeezed lime juice – 1-2 tablespoons.
Shake Nutrition Facts: 316 calories, 21 g protein, 52 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat (0.9 g saturated), 9 g fiber, 115 mg. sodium
Oatmeal with cinnamon
Ingredients:
- Ripe banana – 1 piece;
- Oatmeal – 50 g;
- Low-fat kefir – 300 g;
- Cinnamon (for decoration).
Mix kefir, oatmeal and banana in a blender until smooth, pour into a tall glass, sprinkle with cinnamon. Nutritional value: 16 g protein, 70 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat.
Fruit
Ingredients:
- Mango (pieces) – 1/4 cup;
- Mashed ripe avocado (monounsaturated fatty acids) – 1 piece;
- Low-fat vanilla yogurt - 1/4 cup;
- Mango juice (natural) – 1/2 cup;
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 2 tbsp. l;
- Honey – 1 teaspoon (optional: thanks to the mango, the cocktail will be quite sweet).
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Nutritional Information: 298 calories, 5 g protein, 55 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 9 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 54 mg. sodium
More energy
If you take a protein-carbohydrate shake after exercise, you will probably notice another significant thing - increased energy levels. This combination of nutrients not only stimulates hormonal activity, but also begins to replenish muscle glycogen stores, thereby providing additional muscle energy. The harder you work, the more energy your muscles receive.
When protein is present in the supplement, the process of glycogen production goes faster than if you only consumed carbohydrates.
Some interesting studies only confirm this idea. In one experiment, nine men rode an exercise bike for two full hours over three separate sessions to deplete muscle glycogen stores. Immediately after each bout and two hours later, the men drank a pure carbohydrate supplement, a pure protein supplement, or a protein-carbohydrate shake.
After studying muscle tissue biopsies from athletes, experts noticed that the rate of accumulation of muscle glycogen was significantly higher when participants drank a protein-carbohydrate shake.
Why did this process go so quickly? It is well known that ingesting carbohydrates after prolonged endurance exercise promotes the accumulation of muscle glycogen. When you consume protein along with carbohydrates, your insulin levels spike. In a biochemical sense, insulin acts as a gas pedal. It activates the mechanism of glycogen formation, working in two directions. Firstly, it accelerates the movement of glucose and amino acids to cells and, secondly, it activates a special enzyme necessary for the synthesis of glycogen.
In another scientific study, a group of athletes performed a fairly intense set of exercises to burn up glycogen stores. After this, part of the group took a protein-carbohydrate cocktail, while others took a 6% glucose-electrolyte solution. Then both groups resumed their activities. Having greater endurance potential, the group taking the carbohydrate-protein supplement worked 66% longer than the second group.
In a similar experiment, eight trained endurance cyclists performed two two-hour bouts designed to deplete glycogen stores. At the end of the work and two hours later, they took either a carbohydrate-protein supplement or a pure carbohydrate supplement. the protein-carbohydrate shake included 53 g of carbohydrates and 14 g of protein, while the carbohydrate formula consisted of 20 g of carbohydrates.
After an intense strength session, taking a carbohydrate-protein liquid supplement will replenish muscle glycogen stores and help you build lean muscle mass faster.
The effect of taking a protein-carbohydrate cocktail was absolutely remarkable: glucose levels increased by 17%, and insulin by 92%. Moreover, the athletes who took it had 128% higher muscle glycogen stores than when they took the pure carbohydrate supplement.
How to drink a cocktail
First, you need to decide what exactly you want to achieve. If it is important for you to lose a couple of extra pounds as soon as possible, arrange fasting days and a minimum of calories, drink several cocktails during the day and avoid acute feelings of hunger.
If your weight loss program is designed for a longer period, then drink a cocktail for breakfast and dinner, but lunch should consist mainly of protein (meat or steamed fish); a salad of fresh vegetables is also allowed. Finally, if you just want to maintain a healthy, balanced diet, drink the shake 30 minutes before meals and in between as a healthy snack.
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Protein shake and gainer at home
You will read a lot if you enter the query “protein shake at home” into a search engine. I especially love recipes that start with “One scoop of protein isolate...”! Hey! Yes, if I had protein powder, would I look for a protein shake recipe on the Internet!? Everything is written on the packaging. Therefore, here we will look at protein drink recipes WITHOUT using commercial concentrated protein.
You can often find recipes based on eggs or milk . But just to bring such a cocktail closer to a store-bought one, we will have to drink 6-7 eggs or a liter of milk! In this case, the yolks need to be separated - they contain fats. I'm not even talking about the risk of salmonellosis. And milk contains more carbohydrates than proteins. But if we need carbohydrates, we would like to be able to adjust their ratio in the cocktail. will not use eggs, milk, or other ice cream as the basis for a protein shake at home .
We will use... meat as the basis for our drink! I was joking.
The basis of a protein shake at home is cottage cheese.
Learning to properly close the protein-carbohydrate window after training
To achieve the desired effect from training, you need to constantly progress and recover well.
And for this, athletes need to provide their body with the right carbohydrates at a certain time. The period after a highly effective training process is considered to be the carbohydrate window; it is during this time that all substances are absorbed and processed at high speed. It is for this reason that the question of filling out this window is most often asked by people who want to build muscle or lose weight quickly.
Advantages and disadvantages
Most diets are aimed at sharply reducing body weight. Many who want to lose weight cannot resist the temptation to get rid of the hated “layers” quickly, easily and for a long time. But, as a rule, such express diets are associated with stress for the body. Excluding the necessary components, minerals and vitamins from the diet has a bad effect on the well-being and condition of the skin and hair. The most aggressive weight loss methods often result in the return of lost pounds.
A carbohydrate diet is accompanied by constant replenishment of the body with the necessary energy. Does not completely exclude proteins, which allows you to maintain muscle tone. At the same time, playing sports is not difficult. Unlike many other modes, fatigue does not appear and loss of strength is not observed. The stomach and intestines remain in order due to the constant supply of food in small portions. The prescribed products contain everything necessary for the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system.
Among the disadvantages, the main one, according to reviews of those losing weight, are fasting days. In the case of a strict carbohydrate diet, it is very difficult to control yourself and not eat something tasty. The first three to four days are a difficult period; the body will rebuild and adapt. But from the fourth, everything will become much easier.
At the end of the second week, some of the lost weight may return. However, if proper nutrition becomes part of life, they will undoubtedly disappear. The main thing to remember is that it is not a diet that is taken as a basis, but proper nutrition. Quitting alcohol, nicotine, sugar and fat has never harmed anyone.
Eliminating sugar from the diet becomes a problem for most people with a sweet tooth. In this case, you should be guided by the rule: “Everything is good in moderation.” An hour's walk in the park will cover one slice of cake. And, if you go for a run, you can sweeten the tea.
Carbohydrate and carbohydrate-mineral drinks and mixtures
These drinks and mixtures contain easily digestible carbohydrates (sucrose, glucose, fructose), which are very quickly absorbed into the blood and replenish the body's energy reserves. In addition, many of them contain mineral salts that help maintain water-salt balance and the occurrence of various biochemical processes in the body.
Recommended during competitions (marathons, skiing and cycling races), as well as after them - as a means of restoring energy potential and water-salt metabolism. They are also used during intense training and immediately after it. Single dose - 1/2-1 glass.
This group includes the following home-cooked products:
1. Carbohydrate-mineral mixture N° 1
Compound
:
- sugar - 50 g;
- glucose - 50 g;
- cherry or other fruit and berry juice - 40 g;
- ascorbic acid - 0.5 g;
- sodium phosphate - 1 g; water - up to 200 ml.
Recommended after physical activity, during breaks between competitions, during the distance, and also as additional nutrition.
2. Nutrient mixture No. 2
Compound
:
- sugar - 50 g;
- glucose - 25 g;
- cranberry jam - 5 g;
- ascorbic acid - 0.3 g;
- citric acid - 0.5 g;
- sodium phosphate - 3 g.
Cooking method
: prepare a rosehip decoction (20 g per 200 ml of water), add all ingredients to it and mix.
Recommended for runners, skiers, cyclists, etc. before heavy loads, during competitions and at a distance.
3. Nutrient mixture No. 3
Compound
:
- glucose - 25 g;
- sugar - 25 g;
- citric acid - 0.5 g;
- berry extract - 2.5 g;
- sodium chloride - 0.2 g;
- water - 200 ml;
- glutamic acid - 0.06 g;
- ascorbic acid - 0.1-0.5 g;
- monosubstituted sodium phosphate - 0.4 g (up to 1.0 g).
Recommended before the start (1.5-2 hours before) and immediately after training loads and competitions. Single dose - 1/2-1 glass.
4. Nutrient mixture No. 4
Compound
:
- glucose -25 g;
- sugar - 25 g;
- citric acid - 1 g;
- fruit juice - 200 ml;
- ascorbic acid - 0.25 g;
- monosubstituted sodium phosphate - 1 g;
- sodium chloride - 0.5 g.
Recommended for nutrition during the race and between competitions. Single dose - 1/2-1 glass.
5. "Glucomax"
Compound
:
- glucose - 100 g;
- oat flakes - 30 g;
- egg yolk - 1 pc.; water - 200 ml; juice of 1 lemon;
- ascorbic acid - 0.5 g;
- potassium-magnesium aspartate (panangin) - 2.0 g;
Cooking method
: Add all other ingredients to 200 g of oatmeal decoction and mix.
Recommended during competitions, for recovery after training and as additional nutrition before exercise.
6. “Ergovit” is a nutritional mixture close to “Glucomax”.
Compound
:
- glucose - 60 g;
- oat flakes - 30 g;
- egg yolk - 1 pc.;
- caffeine - 0.3 g;
- ascorbic acid - 0.5 g;
- vitamin B1 - 0.1 g;
- panangin - 2.0 g.
Cooking method
the same as Glucomax. Recommended during long exercise.
7. Invert sugar
Compound
:
- sugar -100 g;
- water - 200 ml.
Cooking method
: Dissolve sugar in water, add 10 drops of Hse and boil for 10 minutes, then set aside. It is advisable to add 1 g of vitamin C to 1 liter of water.
Recommended immediately after finishing physical activity during intense training and competitions.
