I get so many great comments about how easy and efficient breakfast becomes with The Virgin Diet Shake. It’s fast, filling, delicious, and takes all the guesswork out of your day’s first meal.
Next month we launch The Virgin Diet All-in-One Shake. Until then, I recommend either Mediclear SGS Chocolate or VegaLite vanilla or chocolate, both from Thorne Research.
Regardless whether you choose Mediclear or VegaLite, you have the perfect protein for The Virgin Diet Shake. I load mine with So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk, organic berries, and flax or chia seeds. Feel free to elaborate here: a spoonful of almond butter, for instance, or some unsweetened cocoa powder.
You can blend this up in minutes. Protein smoothies travel well too, especially with my favorite accessory, the Magic Bullet. (And talk about saving money over those continental breakfasts!) Even if you’re on the go or stranded at your office, you can whip one of these smoothies up to balance your blood sugar and give you steady energy for hours. Here are five reasons I recommend protein smoothies for all my clients for fast fat loss and steady, sustained energy all morning:
- Easy. Manufacturers know reaching for a box of cereal with skim milk takes less effort than fixing a mixed-vegetable omelet. They also know among the franticness of looking for your keys and getting the kids ready for school, you’re most likely to take the path of least resistance at breakfast. A protein shake offers you the same convenience without cereal’s empty carbs that spike and crash your blood sugar.
- Lasting energy. That low-fat muffin and latte raises your insulin levels, which means you’re due for a mid-morning crash that will leave you running for the nearest bagel cart. A protein smoothie, on the other hand, gives you sustained energy for hours. That means no 11 a.m. Krispy Kreme cravings and no snapping at your coworkers once your blood sugar levels crash.
- Inexpensive. Tally up how much you spend on breakfast biscuits, muffins, or whatever else counts for breakfast. Surprised? A protein shake provides a cost-effective alternative. For the price of a large coffee, you get high-quality, fat-burning protein that keeps you full and focused for hours.
- Fast. You know that time excuse for not having breakfast? It doesn’t work with a protein shake. In about the time it takes to pour cereal and milk, you can toss all your ingredients in a blender for a filling, delicious breakfast.
- Healthy. Sure, they’re convenient and offer a little protein and nutrients, but those so-called healthy breakfast bars and canned shakes come loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners and flavors, and other things that don’t constitute a smart breakfast. On the other hand, you can custom-load a protein shake with good fat, fiber, antioxidants, and of course high-quality protein that boosts your metabolism and helps burn fat. A study in the International Journal of Obesity showed that protein shakes “can safely and effectively produce significant sustainable weight loss and improve weight-related risk factors of disease.”
So if what’s for breakfast? is your day’s first big stressor, make it easy on yourself with The Virgin Diet Shake. For more great tips for fast fat loss and eliminating food intolerances, be sure to get my FREE The Virgin Diet Quick Start Guide!
References:
Mierlo CA, et al. Weight management using a meal replacement strategy: meta and pooling analysis from six studies. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 May;27(5):537-49.
© 2012 JJ Virgin & Associates, Inc. Celebrity Nutrition & Fitness Expert JJ Virgin helps clients lose weight fast by breaking free from food allergies. She is the bestselling author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy, a Huffington Post blogger, creator of the 4X4 Burst Training Workout & co-star of TLC’s Freaky Eaters. Watch for The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days in Dec. 2012. Visit JJ at http://www.jjvirgin.com to get her 3 free training videos on the secrets to achieving fast & lasting fat loss.
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In looking over the ingredients for the Mediclear SGS by Thorne I found the following (copied from the product information page on their site):
Other Ingredients: Cocoa, Natural Flavors, Slim Sweet® (Lo Han fruit extract), Rice Bran, Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar, Glucose, Stevia (Stevia Extract), Silicon Dioxide.
Contains ingredients derived from soy (phytosomes).
I note several things that you say to completely avoid in your Virgin Diet, namely SUGARS:
Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar
Glucose
Stevia
and Slim Sweet® ??
and of course: SOY!
If we are to completely avoid all this, then why are you suggesting it?
Wendy
Thorne Research uses trivial amounts of sugar in some of their protein powders for taste and texture. The amounts used do not affect blood sugar levels.
Soy phytosomes and soy lecithin are ingredients commonly used in high-quality supplements. They are the non-protein components of soy and therefore don’t cause the problems soy protein does.
My Thorne Research vanilla protein powder arrived today. It tastes horrid!
I like my blueberry/spinach morning breakfast drink but the protein powder
completely ruins my favorite healthy drink. J.J., can you add hemp seed to
reach the 24 grams of protein recommended? Thank you.
You can add hemp, chia or flax seeds, but these don’t count as protein. They are mainly fat and fiber. YOu still need to get about 25 g of high-quality protein. Add frozen berries and spinach and see if that doesn’t improve the taste.
Hi JJ, saw you on PBS this wekend and have ordered your book.
Some comments say you suggest avoiding Stevia, I am shocked I sue Stevia everywhere instead of sugar.
It is a plant…maybe your book will explain why.
Read my recent article about natural alternative sweeteners: http://jjvirgin.com/3474/making-sense-bewildering-array-natural-alternative-sweeteners/
would you recommend this shake for kids to get more protein in their diet? I’m not looking for a shake to help my son lose weight, I’m looking for a shake that gives him protein and added vitamins.
Absolutely! Check out the Mediclear SGS Chocolate. Kids love it! http://www.jjvirginstore.com/mediclear-sgs—chocolate
I just got your book. I’m confused about the frozen berries I’m putting in my shakes. In the ingredients it says sugar. Does that mean the sugar naturally contained in the berries or do I need to find different frozen berries?
I know you are going to change my life, so for that I say thank you ahead of time.
Patty
You want to look for frozen berries that have no added sugar. All fruit has some naturally occurring sugar.
I have a question. According to the book, the smoothie recipe serves 4. How much is a serving?
You can individualize the smoothies with MediClear (2 scoops) or VegaLite (1 scoop), 8 – 10 oz. coconut milk, 1/2 cup berries, and a tablespoon or two of flax or chia seeds.
I so don’t want to screw this up!!! So if you are using the Virgin Diet shake in place of a meal…how much would be one serving? 1-2 scoops of the mix with 8 to 10 of liquid and the fruit and fiber?
Hello. I have a question about peanuts. I saw you on TV, saying that peanuts are a legume and they are bad. But peas are a legume also, and you use pea protein in your shake. So I suppose being a legume is not the problem. I am not finding peanut information on your web site. Please explain what is the problem with peanuts. Thanks.
I am not anti-legumes. I don’t like peanuts because they are a highly reactive food and accumulate mold and a fungus called aflatoxin.
I ordered your book on my Kindle and am in the process of reading. However, I followed your reference to the website and it says you need my receipt for information offered. I have no receipt since it was ordered on the Kindle. How do you handle Kindle orders?
Tip: I have a friend who freezes her protein shakes and brings them to the golf course for lunch. They are thawed enough to eat about lunch time. I cannot see why this would not work for work places where refrigeration or a place for a blender is a problem.
You should get a receipt with your Amazon purchase. Please check your email for a confirmation that you purchased the book, then forward it to books@thevirgindiet.com
Hello JJ, I just bought your book and I’m starting your diet, but I’m confused as to portion size. The recipe in the book says that 1 recipe makes 4 servings, but your description is that the recipe for “a shake”. So how much of a recipe should I drink for breakfast? Thanks in advance for clarifying!
Typo. See my FAQ page: http://thevirgindiet.com/tvd-faq/
are you allowed coffee on this diet, its my one have too, also is there any creamer or half and half i could use
Yes. Coconut creamer is ok.
Can you comment on hemp protein powder? Rice powder is a little gritty for my tastes
Thx
Hemp is ok, but it’s higher in fiber & lower in protein. Try my new All in One Shake. No grittiness: http://www.jjvirginstore.com/virgin-diet-all-in-one-shake
My doctor is recommending a food sensitivity test. If I have it and it says (as an example) that I have no sensitivy to eggs, must I eliminate them from my diet in order to reduce the inflammation in my body? What if it turns out that I have “slight” sensitivity to eggs? I am just trying to understand if I should have that test before I start your program. If I need to eliminate the 7 foods regardless of my sensitivity to them, then I am wasting my time and money by having the test.
Thank you for responding.
Vivian
At $67.95 for 20 servings, which means that a month would cost over $112, Mediclear SGS Chocolate by Thorne Research is very expensive for people of modest incomes. What other protein product can you recommend?
The All in One Shakes are less than $2 per serving: http://www.jjvirginstore.com/virgin-diet-all-in-one-shake
Ms. Virgin, .. I recently watched you on our local PBS (WEIU) television station,here in town and ordered your book.I should be receiving it any time now. I became a vegan about 25 years ago. With the exception of soy products and an occasional egg white, I have left all the other foods you have mentioned alone. Because of your program and the recent research I have done on soy and eggs, I will now add that to my healthy living diet! All this time, I thought soy and egg whites were healthy for me and that it took the place of the protein that I thought I wasn’t getting in my diet. I should have researched it more. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. Now I will leave out all 7 of those not- so- healthy foods (might have to leave the word “soy” in my e-mail tho! ! Anyways, I would also like to tell you about a disease that I have, called Pachyonychia Congenita. You can go to pachyonychia.org or google PC project to read up about it. this is a very, very rare dibilitating disease that affects the keratin genes that are responsible for how our nails, our hair, and our skin grow. When I became a vegan 25 years ago, and stopped eating ( most ) of the foods you mentioned, exception was eggs and soy… , I found that this had a positive effect on my PC. Referring to some of the photos on their website (which looked just like me back then) – , I no longer have the thick nails, my feet are free of calluses and blisters, etc. and my skin is for the most part clear. I still suffer with some tiny cysts but am now thinking that it may be the soy products and the egg that I was still eating. I will now leave them alone altogether to see if that helps. I plan on going to a PC meeting in California this upcoming June/2013 summer and can’t wait to share my findings on how certain foods, especially the 7 foods you mentioned, can really have a dire effct on PC. I have experimented with certain foods throughout my lifetime; and noticed; for instance in drinking milk, I found it to cause me to have the blisters (associated with PC). No milk – no blisters! Same with cheese, and any kind of yeast, which causes me to have blisters! I really hope to get through to these people this summer that we really ARE what we eat, that food plays a big rold on how your body works or doesn’t work! No matter if we are born with a rare disease like mine, or not! There might not be a cure yet for PC, but there are ways of keeping it under control. I have found by leaving certain foods alone, that I can cope much better with PC.this disease left me almost crippled before I changed my eating habits! Now I can run, I wear all kinds of neat shoes, and sandals, I don’t hide my hands, etc… We truly are what we eat!!!! Thank you for all you do in the health field and for people like me!
Dear Ms. Virgin, I suffer from a very rare disease called Pachyonychia Congenita. Please go to website pachyonychia.org or can google PC Project. I was born with a mutation in the keratin gene that is responsible for the normal growth of skin, hair and nails. I grew up with very deformed looking nails on my hands and feet, I had calluses and blisters all over my feet and hands, and also suffered from infected cysts! I know this sounds gross but I mention this because it is the 7 foods that you have mentioned that tended to irritate my PC the most! About 25 years ago I became a vegan and by leaving these 7 foods alone, I manage to cope with my PC sooooo much better. Matter of fact, most of the symptoms associated with this debilitating disease have almost completely gone away! I now run, wear all types of shoes,and sandals, and I no longer have to hide my hands, etc. I will be going to a PC meeting this summer in California and can’t wait to show them (seeing is believing) and that PC, although not curable yet, that it can be manageable just by making certain changes in your diet. I am that proof!!! Thank you for all you do in the health field.
I just bought your book and I love it and I’ve learned so much! I’m a bit confused because on page 170 (smoothie) recipe, it states it serves 4. Is this a typo? Because in the recipe section of the book it does not say this. I’m confused. I don’t want to be drinking a smoothie that’s for 4 servings. Also, is your diet safe while breast feeding? Thanks!
Yes. See here for more info: http://thevirgindiet.com/tvd-faq/
I just got the Thorne Research vanilla protein powder. I cannot deal with the taste and the texture of the shake. Is there a way to dissolve the gritty texture? How can I mask the taste? Not sure if I can drink this.
Load w/ berries, kale, flax or chia seeds & unsweetened coconut milk.
I seen that we can have green tea. I only have black tea in my pantry. What is the difference. Otherwise is water my only choice?
Green or black tea are both good, though green has more health benefits. Water is best.
My husband and I are on day 6 of cycle 1 and have been experiencing a lot of gas and bloating. Is this normal?
This is totally normal! Please visit JJ’s FAQ page where this issue is addressed: http://thevirgindiet.com/tvd-faq/
I recently saw your program advertised on PBS. I decided to make a contribution to the station and ordered
your total package (cds, book, recipe books, etc). The host said it would be 6 weeks. We have not received this package yet and my husband and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival. Any idea when we can
expect to get this?
Thank you.
Ordered from Buffalo, New York
Do you have a recipe book for your shakes and meals?
I just bought your book and went to my local healthfood store to get the protein powder for the virgin shake. All they had was Garden of Life Raw Protein. It is gluten free and dairy free. It is made from a raw sprout blend of brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, garbanzo bean, lentil, adzuki bean, flax seed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, chia seed, and sesame seed (all organic). The “other ingredients are brewers yeast, lactobacillus bulgaricus, Natto, and also contains (fermented) soy. Is this okay to use this protein powder?
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What may you suggest in regards to your put up that you made some days ago?
Any certain?
Hi JJ,
I have been following your diet religiously. One shake for breakfast, one for lunch and a healthy jj plate dinner. I was eating lots of fiber before I started, but many high FI foods. I have IBS and have found that since starting the diet it is WORSE. Could it be something in the shakes? I was using pea protein before your shakes arrived, which were so gross. I love your protein shakes, but they seem to exacerbate my problem. I feel more energetic, but my stomach is not liking the diet. I am only on day 6, but am worried about my stomach. Please help!
Thanks,
Beth
Hi JJ,
I have been following your diet religiously. One shake for breakfast, one for lunch and a healthy jj plate dinner. I was eating lots of fiber before I started, but many high FI foods. I have IBS and have found that since starting the diet it is WORSE. Could it be something in the shakes? I was using pea protein before your shakes arrived, which were so gross. I love your protein shakes, but they seem to exacerbate my problem. I feel more energetic, but my stomach is not liking the diet. I am only on day 6, but am worried about my stomach. Please help!
We are starting your diet tomorrow and the 4×4 workout.
I wonder if whey protein powder is ok? i was told whey isn’t considered dairy.
Is this right or wrong?
Excited to get started…
Steve
Whey is dairy. You will want to save it for cycle 2 when you challenge dairy.