Hi, Has anyone tried juice fasting?

Hiya, I'm fairly new here. Just wondering if anyone here has tried juice  fasting? Using fresh and homemade juice from fruits and vegetables only.
  How did it go? Any tips?  Or favorite blends?

I am trying it now...me and my hubby. We watched a film on netflix with a guy that did it and thought..hey we can try that. We both have about a 100 lbs to lose still.  I have lost about 25 lbs in the last year with just counting calories. and thought it might be a way to get back on track.

I tried this juice this morning..they call it mean green..and surprisingly it had over 400 calories in it...but not sure if the pulp being juiced out would make that amount lower.

anyhow

4 stalks of celery

1/2 lemon

a bunch of kale (I grabbed a big big handfull or 2)

about an ounce of ginger root

4 granny smith apples

popped it into my juicer..which sounds like a jet plane by the way...sigh..and its bright green and actually pretty good.

Not sure if I will be able to only eat juice for a week or however long but I do think I can use it as a supplement.  Also it shouldnt be too hard to keep the calorie intake up...I dont want to go too low!

Would you both please post about how this works for you? I have always been interested in it especially since seeing Montel Williams commercial for his juicer. It would really help me make a decision on this.  Thanks, Betty

I haven't done a juice fast, but have recently dusted off my juicer and been playing with recipes.  I have a book called The Big Book of Juices that I have been using for some recipes.  I have considered a 7 day juice fast, but haven't screwed up the courage to give it a try.  I also wonder about the calorie count for some of the juices.

The question to ask is "How will this help, long-term?".

Many things are marketed as a way to jump start your weight loss.  They typically combine a drastic reduction in calories along with some sort of snake oil.  The snake oil being something that you intuit must be the secret.

Some examples are:

• The HCG diet- It's not the <500-calorie-a-day diet, it's the drops!  It's Science(tm)!
• Master Cleanse - It's not the <500-calorie-a-day diet, it's the cayenne and maple syrup!  It's got the essential nutrients we need!
• Juice Fasting - It's not the <500-calorie-a-day diet, it's the juice!  It's healthy!

All of these may allow you to lose a chunk of weight immediately as you essentially cut your intake down to 0 (if you're not eating 10lbs of food a day, that means there will be 10lbs less of waste/water in your body).  However, none of these cause a true weight loss.

Detox, jump-starts, fasts, etc are all gimmicks. 

I don't think its an end all..but I do believe that if the only way you will eat more vegetables is by juicing them..then by all means do it.  I have had more veggies than ever when I only have to drink them.

I will also mention I didnt last more than a couple days...and I have gone back to counting calories in vs..juice only. I use the juicing as a suplement now, its tasty and its easier to drink a glass of veggies (for me) than it is to eat several plates full of greens...I get tired of chewing lol!

A well rounded diet is best in my opinion.

The theory behind juice fasting is that you can use it to reset some your eating patterns and find out what foods you may be reacting poorly to.  There are a lot of foods that can be potential allergens.  Some diseases are aggrievated by particular foods.

If anyone would think about a juice fast, they should do it under a doctor's supervision.  Perhaps it is a gimmick, but I do think there are some reasons for trying it.  If you don't plan to change your diet after the juicing, it is pointless.  Like beezwings, I use juice as a suppliment. 

Original Post by nekko_cat:

The theory behind juice fasting is that you can use it to reset some your eating patterns and find out what foods you may be reacting poorly to.  There are a lot of foods that can be potential allergens.  Some diseases are aggrievated by particular foods.

Yeah, but the thing is that you're not going to truly "reset" anything in a week of crash dieting - your bad habits are still there, which is why weight lost during short crash diets always returns.

I'd also venture that foods you ate on Sunday would still have a residual effect on you the following Saturday (assuming you've made a lifetime of eating those "bad" foods), so a week isn't going to get a true picture.

My friend who has celiac continued to have flare-ups for weeks and even months after totally eliminating gluten.

I asked my doctors (both my liver specialist and GP) and both gave me very firm "Absolutely Not"s. My liver specialist explained that these crash diets are very, very bad for the liver because the body goes into shock mode and begins to shift fat into the liver for use later. She told me under no circumstances (as a liver transplant survivor) to try these types of "cleanse" and "starvation" diets. My GP concurred.

People sell these things on the hopes of people who want to lose weight yesterday. The reality is they do more harm than good for the body.

nooo

i like food to much.

I guess that if I ever tried it that I would still consume the appropriate number of calories.  I don't believe in very low calorie diets.  Perhaps many folks do go low cal, thus the moniker "fast".  I think that you could potentially consume 1800 calories of juice per day, which would not be considered very low calorie.  I've heard that a calorie is a calorie, whether it comes from juice, junk food, or whole foods.  Obviously, the nutrition value varies.

I really don't think that I could ever go not eating reqular food.  I need to have enough fiber in my diet, plus just the satisfaction of eating.  I do like fruit and/or vegetable juices as snacks.

There were some very interesting comments and good points made in this thread.  Thanks to all for sharing.

My doc prohibits freshly squeezed juices as they are carb loaded. It takes about 4 apples to make a cup of juice (4 apples = 100g of carbs). She believes it to be a very fast trek to diabetes.

Thanks everyone for your input.  I only just got on to check this.
I did a four day juice fast because I was new. I lost four kilos, which have stayed off in the month that's followed.  I'll be doing another four days starting tomorrow. 
It seems to be effective, and the weight hasn't come back. So there's something to this gimmick for me haha.
But I need new juice recipes, because it  gets dull fast when you don't know what to blend together. The Big book of juices sounds like it might be just the thing, does it have a lot of just fruit and veggie juice or does it add sugar and what not in the recipes? 

Scoutleadero1, It's basically replacing meals with veggies and fruit that you've juiced. I watched 'Fat, Sick and nearly dead' and thought, Why not, I'll give it a go. I recommend watching it if your unsure/curious. 

thanks woai, im on a low calorie low carb diet and while I can't do fruit juices I am interested in "juicing" vegetables. I can only eat so much, my stomach is too small now to eat the right amount of veggie carbs that I need every day. considering purchasing Montel Williams emulsion blender..Betty

yes...it will make you drop pounds but it really drains you because you dont get the good carbs you need and it makes you poop. so it depends on if your really active it isnt a good idea

re-posted below

Original Post by beezwings:

I don't think its an end all..but I do believe that if the only way you will eat more vegetables is by juicing them..then by all means do it.  I have had more veggies than ever when I only have to drink them.

I will also mention I didnt last more than a couple days...and I have gone back to counting calories in vs..juice only. I use the juicing as a suplement now, its tasty and its easier to drink a glass of veggies (for me) than it is to eat several plates full of greens...I get tired of chewing lol!

A well rounded diet is best in my opinion.

I agree with you...I have started blending greens and fruits for a daily GREEN smoothie and now eat plenty of vegetables...I just bought the Ninja and it blends it all smooth and I don't lose any of the food in the process.  I have been looking for a vegetable smoothie that I could warm up with the winter months coming?

My ex-landlord and her husband would do a 2 week juice fast a couple times a year for religious reasons. They would lose a couple pounds from it then gain it back really fast by eating out after the fast was over, they were in good shape so it didn't make a difference to them. I think there is a lot of great nutrition by juice fasting but I think after fasting it is easy to get off track and binge. I went on the Ann Gittleman fat flush diet years ago and went from 190 to 160 in 1 month, but when I went from the fat flush to the slightly higher calorie diet that it says to do in her book all the weight came back and I was so ravenous and felt so crummy I was back up past 190 the next month. Problem with these diets for me is my energy gets so low which lowers metabolism and that is terrible because then I have to eat less to keep from gaining weight. That's why now I'm trying to keep my calories around 1800 and exercise to burn more calories than what I'm eating. This week I have felt better than I have in months, even better than when I was on a sugar free diet.