Before I blow the lid off smoothies, let me just say that I
love everything about them...the tartness of berry smoothies,
the icy refreshment, the sweet taste...mmm.

Those of you that have read my book "Real People Don't Diet"
know that I used to think I was doing myself a favor by
whipping one up at home.  I would blend frozen wild blueberries,
low-fat vanilla yogurt, strawberries, bananas, skim milk and
ice together in a blender, then drink away. 

Funny, though--I didn't lose weight.  I gained weight.  So I
stopped drinking them.

I hadn't given smoothies a second thought until I was in a
Dunkin' Donuts store last night picking up some coffee
to get through another dance class.  (Yes, my kids really do
think the world runs on Dunkin'.)

I noticed an ad for a "reduced sugar" berry smoothie.  20% less
sugar! the ad stated.

So today I went to the company's website to find out just how
many calories, carbs and grams of sugar were in a regular
smoothies versus the reduced-sugar version.

Wow.  Was I in for a shock.

The small wildberry smoothie has a whopping 41g of carbs and
70g of sugar!  On top of that, the ingredients include high
fructose corn syrup, definitely not something you want to
eat or drink if you're even remotely trying to lose weight,
let alone maintain.

I guess that explains why I gained weight with my homemade
smoothies.  :-)

Just for fun, I checked on their Coolattas, my favorite icy
drink of all time.  I used to drink a 16 oz. French Vanilla
with cream, which has 350 calories, 40g of carbs and 35g
of sugar.

Then I switched to the skim milk version, which has only 170
calories but surprisingly 40g of carbs and 40g of sugar--more
than the version with cream! 

Sadly, I don't often drink Coolattas any more, either.

So what's the moral of the story?  Well, before any Dunkin'
Donuts lawyers decide to contact me, it certainly isn't that
you should avoid DD and drink nothing but water.

Not at all.  I still highly recommend their coffee (especially
decaf Coconut black).  Any of their coffee, for that matter.

The moral of the story is that just because something is
touted as "healthy" or low in sugar or a great diet food
doesn't mean you'll lose weight if you eat or drink it. 
It always pays to read labels.

If there aren't labels, visit websites!

And just as an aside, I'm not a huge fan of yogurt.  It's loaded
with sugar and carbs, and you can get the same benefits of live
cultures by taking acidophilus supplements.  You can also get
calcium from calcium supplements or leafy green veggies, like
broccoli and spinach.  My own opinion, of course--it doesn't
fit into my personal eating strategy.

If I'm going to eat something that full of sugar and carbs, it'd
better be a cheesecake!

If you haven't read "Real People Don't Diet" and are curious as
to how my husband and I lost weight without dieting or depriving
ourselves, and/or how I can be happy after giving up smoothies,
you can grab your own copy at:

http://www.RealPeopleDontDiet.com

Hope you have a great weekend and Mother's Day (if you're a mom).
If you're a guy with a mom or living with a mom or related to a mom,
hope you got a gift and made dinner reservations!  :-)

That's all for this week. 

Keep it real, and see you next week!

Warmly,



http://www.RealPeopleDontDiet.com

P.S.  Speaking of debt, you've heard me talk about my childhood
friend Leo Quinn's "get out of debt" ebook/program.  Well, he
updated it last month, so it's new and fresh and DEFINITELY what
a lot of folks need with food and gas prices rising and the
economy struggling.  Check it out here:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=341299

P.P.S.  There's a new website address for archived issues of this
newsletter:

http://dontdietdigest.com

Easy to find, easy to catch up!
Keep it real, and see you next week!

---

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Copyright (c) 2008 www.RealPeopleDontDiet.com and Cate Brizzell