Cutting back on carbohydrates is a popular diet technique, but it’s not a good idea to eliminate them completely, because your body needs good carbs to function properly throughout the day.
If you enjoy smoothies and shakes, replacing fruit with other ingredients is an easy way to lower your carb intake. These recipes are a great alternative to traditional fruit smoothies””they have a low carbohydrate content, but still taste great.
My top two choices for protein powder when I’m watching my carbs are Professional Supplements Diamond Whey Isolate (in Vanilla Frost flavor), which has zero grams of carbs per scoop; and Dymatize Elite Whey Protein Isolate, which has only two grams of carbs per scoop.
Remember to add a scoop of Vitacost BCAAs. It supplies four grams of branched chain amino acids per serving, with added glutamine and vitamin C!
Mocha Coffee Protein Smoothie (a good afternoon pick-me-up!)
1- ½ cups ice
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 scoop BCAA powder
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. instant coffee crystals
Place all ingredients in blender and blend on high about 1 minute.
Nutty Protein Smoothie
6 oz. unsweetened almond milk
¼ cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 scoop protein powder
1 scoop BCAA powder
1 tbsp. natural peanut butter or almond butter
Ice cubes
Place all ingredients in blender and blend on high for about 1 minute.
Southern States Championships top contender Melissa Transou, a figure competitor, wife and mother, blogs about the unique sports nutrition needs of female athletes exclusively for Vitacost.com.