Fat sick and nearly dead

angelexperiment

What are your thoughts? I am considering a change to a more veggie fruit based diet for health reasons. This movie inspired me to look at my food issues and to try to eat healthy. Maybe even try a small fast again one day.
Not for weight loss but health reasons .

janejellyroll

Many people could benefit from eating more fruits and vegetables. But my understanding is that the results shown in the documentary were temporary and over-stated. Fasting is completely unnecessary to get the benefits of more fruits and vegetables.

angelexperiment

Yes I understand that. I have juice fasted before and it is really more of a tool to get back on track and reduce cravings for me personally anyway

vivmom2014

Drinking nothing but juice for 60 days wouldn't be sustainable for me at all. I wouldn't even want to try it.

The guy in the first "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" (the truck driver) who achieved such great weight loss put all his weight back on. That was so disappointing to read about.

ninerbuff

Weight is still the number one predictor of health. If you're overweight, start there first. Nothing wrong with adding more fruits and vegetables in your diet though.
If health is your focus, look at the overall picture since food is just one component of it.

Weight
Genetics
Rest
Excercise
Stress
Environment
Risk Behavior
Mental state

are all other factors that help to determine you health status. One could eat great, but not sleep well and have a lot of stress in their life.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Sued0nim

My thoughts are this thread isn't going to go well

But a good balanced nutritional diet (plan of eating) focusing on a widespread of vegetables, lean proteins, dairy and hitting your macro and micro nutrient requirements is the best you can do for yourself

juicing should be shelved unless you particularly like juice

brianpperkins

My thoughts are that unsustainable, fad approaches such as highlighted in that mocumentary are foolish.

Serah87

My thoughts......Just another fear mongering show.

nvmomketo

I enjoyed that show. It seemed like a liquified Pritkin (sp?) diet, which has been shown to help the health of many.

It motivated me to get a really powerful blender so I could drink my veggies, and make healthful drinks for my kids. I like the idea of smoothies more than juice.

Fasting can be good for you too. I do it once in a while too.

Sabine_Stroehm

I think smoothies (with the fiber) are healthier than juicing. But yes: eating more nutrient dense plants is good.

brianpperkins

Healthy eating does not omit two out of three macronutrients.

orchidbutterflies

I watched the documentary and it was the catalyst for me to give up drinking pop and incorporate water. I went from 5-6 cans a day and it's been almost two years since I have had any pop at all. I just personally feel better not drinking sugary drinks. That alone didn't make me lose weight (before anyone jumps in to tell me that you can still have pop & lose weight; I know).

Watching it didn't change my eating habits & I quickly realized that strictly juicing wasn't a very good option.

So even though I don't personally agree with the approach to weight loss promoted in the film, it did inspire me to make better choices for my health (and also made me realize that kale and beets are two of the most disgusting things on earth :P)

MommyL2015

angelexperiment wrote: »

Yes I understand that. I have juice fasted before and it is really more of a tool to get back on track and reduce cravings for me personally anyway

This isn't a knock on anyone, it's just a curiosity I have. I have never done any kind of juice fast or whatever before, but knowing me and the way I am, I fail to see how fasting for any length of time by just drinking juice can reduce cravings? I know I've been in positions before in the past where I did not have a lot of food and was endlessly hungry. I just think it would have the opposite effect?

When I'm really hungry, I want anything and everything, especially if it's a donut or cake or is fried in some way. I could only imagine that when I came off of a fast, the first thing I would do is find a whale and eat it raw, then stumble my way into to a bakery.

I don't understand how such heavy calorie and nutrient restriction would do anything but cause me to turn into a ravaged, hungry zombie.

I do kind of adhere to a intermittent fasting situation, where I don't eat anything usually until around noon, 1:00 and I'm generally done eating by about 6 or 7, but that's a natural situation for me and I've never been a big breakfast eater. I'm not insanely hungry by lunch either. However, if I tried to do this for an entire 24 hours or more, having nothing but a glass of juice or three, someone would have to quickly call the men in the white coats to come and take me away. And bring cake.

vivmom2014

I also didn't understand the cost of all the juicing. Fruits and vegetables aren't cheap. When you juice them, you need TONS to work with (that's how it came across to me.) It seems like a complicated, expensive way to lose weight you will likely regain.

lemurcat12

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I think smoothies (with the fiber) are healthier than juicing. But yes: eating more nutrient dense plants is good.

I agree with this. I also see no benefits to blending it up vs. eating it whole (and even eating some or many vegetables cooked), unless for some reason someone won't eat them otherwise.

But I'm in favor of eating lots of nutrient dense plants as part of an overall balanced diet with adequate protein.

strong_curves

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

lemurcat12

MommyL2015 wrote: »

This isn't a knock on anyone, it's just a curiosity I have. I have never done any kind of juice fast or whatever before, but knowing me and the way I am, I fail to see how fasting for any length of time by just drinking juice can reduce cravings? I know I've been in positions before in the past where I did not have a lot of food and was endlessly hungry. I just think it would have the opposite effect?

I always think there are a couple of different things going on. Some people find it easier to do something really dramatic and simple (like a juice fast or cutting out all but a small number of foods) rather than figure out how to change their diet to a more calorie-appropriate one or a more nutrient-rich one (which might involve learning about nutrition some too). Others imagine that if you did something extreme it would change their tastes and desires (which sometimes does happen when they are really enthusiastic about the new thing just as new dieters often can cut really low and not be hungry, but I think it wears off).

AND, there is an effect of going really low cal where your body responses by cutting the hunger response -- probably developed to help in times of famine. The problem is that people seem to be hungrier when they start eating again, so it's not really part of a solution for obesity IMO (except for those medically indicated for a dr supervised VLCD).

IILikeToMoveItMoveIt

I think eating your veggies is healthier. Before learning about CICO, I saw this show and tried juicing. Lasted 2 days. It was expensive and wasted so much of the fruits and vegetables. It gave me something to think about, but I found something better for myself. Juice is good, not exclusively for months on end... Moderation in all things.
@MommyL2015 - that was funny.

robs_ready

Marketing.

MorganMoreaux

angelexperiment wrote: »

What are your thoughts? I am considering a change to a more veggie fruit based diet for health reasons. This movie inspired me to look at my food issues and to try to eat healthy. Maybe even try a small fast again one day.
Not for weight loss but health reasons .

I think it's great to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your diet. A fast is not necessary to jump start a lifestyle change. Just a recommendation, start small as there is no need to make a lot of large changes at once, and may actually discourage you if you completely overhaul your eating habits at one time.

stevencloser

nvmomketo wrote: »

I enjoyed that show. It seemed like a liquified Pritkin (sp?) diet, which has been shown to help the health of many.

It motivated me to get a really powerful blender so I could drink my veggies, and make healthful drinks for my kids. I like the idea of smoothies more than juice.

Fasting can be good for you too. I do it once in a while too.

Pritikin diet. The German wikipedia article lists some extra disadvantages the english one doesn't.
*Small and possibly boring amount of choices
*Long term supply of important nutrients is not guaranteed, especially iron, iodine and calcium
*possible low energy and protein intake (ad lib I guess)
*bloating and diarrhea from the high fiber contents
*worse concentration, tiredness and anxiety symptoms

Oh, also it apparently suggests eating no more than 650 kcal per day.

tomatoey

strong_curves wrote: »

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

I think a 60 day juice fast (is that what someone did???) is kind of out there and probably not great, but I know I've read stuff here and there about occasional fasting somehow promoting longevity (heads up, haven't looked much into this! but e.g. https://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-to-slow-aging/ )

And people do sometimes fast for religious reasons to no ill effect.

I wouldn't do it just to lose weight. I wouldn't do it at all, actually - I can fast for about four hours, max, before I start feeling crappy.

stevencloser

tomatoey wrote: »

strong_curves wrote: »

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

I think a 60 day juice fast (is that what someone did???) is kind of out there and probably not great, but I know I've read stuff here and there about occasional fasting somehow promoting longevity (heads up, haven't looked much into this! but e.g. https://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-to-slow-aging/ )

And people do sometimes fast for religious reasons to no ill effect.

I wouldn't do it just to lose weight. I wouldn't do it at all, actually - I can fast for about four hours, max, before I start feeling crappy.

Yeah, it's what the guy in Fat, Sick and nearly Dead did.

strong_curves

tomatoey wrote: »

strong_curves wrote: »

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

I think a 60 day juice fast (is that what someone did???) is kind of out there and probably not great, but I know I've read stuff here and there about occasional fasting somehow promoting longevity (heads up, haven't looked much into this! but e.g. https://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-to-slow-aging/ )

And people do sometimes fast for religious reasons to no ill effect.

I wouldn't do it just to lose weight. I wouldn't do it at all, actually - I can fast for about four hours, max, before I start feeling crappy.

I know.

tomatoey

strong_curves wrote: »

tomatoey wrote: »

strong_curves wrote: »

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

I think a 60 day juice fast (is that what someone did???) is kind of out there and probably not great, but I know I've read stuff here and there about occasional fasting somehow promoting longevity (heads up, haven't looked much into this! but e.g. https://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-to-slow-aging/ )

And people do sometimes fast for religious reasons to no ill effect.

I wouldn't do it just to lose weight. I wouldn't do it at all, actually - I can fast for about four hours, max, before I start feeling crappy.

I know.

Yeah, that's not health-related, just saying fasting's not necessarily the worst thing in the world.

tomatoey

stevencloser wrote: »

tomatoey wrote: »

strong_curves wrote: »

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

I think a 60 day juice fast (is that what someone did???) is kind of out there and probably not great, but I know I've read stuff here and there about occasional fasting somehow promoting longevity (heads up, haven't looked much into this! but e.g. https://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-to-slow-aging/ )

And people do sometimes fast for religious reasons to no ill effect.

I wouldn't do it just to lose weight. I wouldn't do it at all, actually - I can fast for about four hours, max, before I start feeling crappy.

Yeah, it's what the guy in Fat, Sick and nearly Dead did.

I gathered, was just in slight shock. So extreme!

ki4eld

In an effort to remain a vegetarian and still lose, juicing was one of the diets I tried with my previous dietitian. I lasted 2 weeks. I gained 2lbs and starved the entire time. I absolutely could not sustain it. It also felt so incredibly wasteful. Even if I had lost and it had been sustainable, ethically I couldn't continue wasting so much food. If someone can sustain themselves on it long-term, that's awesome. Personally, I could not.

I watched the movie and sort of got a lady boner over the Joe guy, but it was all the accent. And he had some nice shoes in a couple of shots, but really, the accent.

nvmomketo

stevencloser wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

I enjoyed that show. It seemed like a liquified Pritkin (sp?) diet, which has been shown to help the health of many.

It motivated me to get a really powerful blender so I could drink my veggies, and make healthful drinks for my kids. I like the idea of smoothies more than juice.

Fasting can be good for you too. I do it once in a while too.

Pritikin diet. The German wikipedia article lists some extra disadvantages the english one doesn't.
*Small and possibly boring amount of choices
*Long term supply of important nutrients is not guaranteed, especially iron, iodine and calcium
*possible low energy and protein intake (ad lib I guess)
*bloating and diarrhea from the high fiber contents
*worse concentration, tiredness and anxiety symptoms

Oh, also it apparently suggests eating no more than 650 kcal per day.

I doubt many Pritikin dieters subsist at 650 kcal per day. It's a bad business plan to kill off your customers.

I never said I did it. I said it reminded my of a liquified Pritikin diet.

KETOGENICGURL

Most people, especially Americans, will do anything except buy, prep, cook and eat healthy REAL foods.

During the pushy MLM days of "whole foods" in capsule form I had numerous people approach and try to sell me on the idea ( because I was overweight) the "FACT" that I needed 12 serving of fruits and veggies a day. yada yada..then they tried to sell me JARS of DRIED up foods in capsule form to "make it easy" ( because we know fat people are too lazy to cook, or think, right?)

So I would look at these nut jobs and ask them "Why on earth, if real food was best that they were selling me desiccated foods in pill form"? they never had any other answer than "easy" and so the same old marketing/sales tricks from the beginning of time continue every decade, slightly altered.

just look at moms pushing ONLY soy milk on children from birth and see the damage being done, especially to boys with too many hormones… and the HCG ( pregnant woman's urine) sold as "Drops" when it is the 500 calories a day that actually causes weight loss..

Common Sense and real food seems an expired concept.

Juicing IS totally wasteful..and the fiber, normally eaten with the fruit is lost ( I doubt many save it and make fibrous carrot/zucchini bread, etc)

DancesWithDogz

strong_curves wrote: »

How does fasting help for "health reasons"?

following... I want to hear the answer to this one too. Fasting in general, is not healthy...

PeachyCarol

vivmom2014 wrote: »

I also didn't understand the cost of all the juicing. Fruits and vegetables aren't cheap. When you juice them, you need TONS to work with (that's how it came across to me.) It seems like a complicated, expensive way to lose weight you will likely regain.

^This. I was a raw vegan for a while and I drank a lot of veggie/fruit smoothies during that time. This was right around the time gas prices went through the roof and grocery costs rose as a result. We were spending a ridiculous amount of money on food to support my WOE.

I had to give it up because we could no longer afford it.

I'm not a big fan of juicing on principle. I think that if you're going to go that route, you should at least keep the fiber and do smoothies. But I'm not a fan of going that route.