My post-workout smoothie / health food trends

This is everything that goes into my smoothie after a resistance workout.  

1. Frozen berries (strawberries and blueberries)

2. A whole banana

3. A full serving of Greek yogurt

4. A splash of Acai Juice

5. 1 cup of almond milk

6. Scoop of protein powder

7. A tsp of creatine 

So, with all of that fruit, this thing is loaded with sugar. But with many natural sources of sugar like fruit, that sugar comes with lots of vitamins and antioxidants and fiber attached, so I'm ambivalent on the threat there...if I was eating a ton of sugar exclusively from unhealthy, unnatural sources like soda...that'd be different. 

This thing is also loaded with protein, which lanky dudes like myself need right after a workout. 

The Acai is kind of a trendy food right now, as berries or a yogurt frosty type goo. I'm just using the juice to try it out. Lots of folks are dismissive of foods that are health-trendy, or even suspicious, like it might end up being really bad for you. My thought is that as long as I'm eating what is generally considered healthy, and I'm not eating it at every meal, my chances are better than if I'm eating what is generally considered junk, like fast food, chips, burgers, sodas etc. 

I do have creatine in this photo. I'm not a regular on this anymore, but a little does seem to help ease soreness. It's main purpose is to help keep muscles hydrated, and is found naturally in meats. 

Exercise has been going well the last few weeks. We are storing a friend's treadmill in our garage and I've been able to get some miles in, but I've shifted my focus a little to resistance training, it being summer and all. 

the dairy thing

Several posts ago, in my little diet manifesto I mentioned that I try not to take in any dairy.  Here's the deal on that:  I don't (can't) have anything high-lactose, without immediate - uh - unsettling results.  So this rules out cow's milk, and lots of cheeses (which I love), and absolutely no ice cream, etc.  There are dairy products with lower lactose, like Greek Yogurt, which I eat all the time.  I also eat some cheese "like a spice", in salads, as long as there isn't too much of it.  I do think there have been some benefits to this apart from eliminating the "unsettling results", namely in terms of sinus allergies and getting colds.  But here's the problem with not having milk:  It is extremely hard for me to gain weight/maintain mass without it.
Gaining weight is not what a great many people spend time strategizing.  I  have a higher than average metabolism, so losing weight is super easy, while keeping healthy weight on is very difficult.  Truth be told, trying to gain enough weight to not be in the "skinny" category has been a life-long endeavor/struggle for me, but not only because of my metabolism -- I'm also a very picky eater who tended to pick the most unhealthy options earlier in life.  So these things combined, left me the way I was: pretty unhealthy and bony.  As I got older, my metabolism slowed down, and my poor eating/drinking habits caught up really quickly...my weight stayed low but my body fat % increased.  But, of course, after healthy diet and exercise changed me, things resolved, and at one point I was able to reach 183 lbs with a low body fat% (when I graduated highschool, I was 6'2", and around 130lbs!  not good).  So here's where milk figures in...in order to gain that healthy weight, I drank a lot of whole milk.  A LOT.  Without it, I find it really difficult to get back to that weight.  I currently weigh about 170, with a low (healthy) body fat %, but would like those extra muscle-pounds back.  I've been doing my best, but cardio is too effective... it just pulls everything off of me.  So.  I'm taking a break from the cardio-focused exercise (i.e. running, T25, etc.) that has been my last 8 months, and going back to moderate resistance training.  Nothing crazy -- I don't want another hernia.