Juice Cleanses

danaeenglund2015

Hey all!

I just wanted to reach out and see if any of you had done a juice cleanse or something similar to help get through a plateau? I'm not for anything too crazy, but if there was a cleanse for a relatively short amount of time that worked well for you? I would love any input on this! thanks!

janejellyroll

I tried a juice cleanse once. It made me weak (I wound up graying out at work, which was awkward because my co-workers assumed I was pregnant). I quickly regained all the weight I lost once I went back to solid food.

The best way to get through a plateau is to ensure your logging is tight, that your estimate of calories out isn't off, and to adjust as necessary.

cerise_noir

^ This.
Juice cleanses won't work. They're not nutritionally balanced.
How long have you been in a plateau? Usually, when someone has been in a plateau for a couple of months, it means that they're eating their maintenance calories, or logging issues.

Can you open your diary for us?

Ready2Rock206

When I start stalling on my weight loss the thing I usually notice is my logging has gotten sloppy. I'm not using my scale as much, I'm not logging every bite, etc... The solution is never a juice cleanse or any other woo.

auddii

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159755/looking-for-a-detox-cleanse/p1

malibu927

I asked you in the other thread you started today about a plateau how you're measuring your calorie intake/exercise calories. If it's been 4-6 weeks with no change, that's where you should start. Cleanses won't do anything that your liver and kidneys aren't already doing.

JennAngel001

I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

kshama2001

JennAngel001 wrote: »

I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

How much did that cost?

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

When I start stalling on my weight loss the thing I usually notice is my logging has gotten sloppy. I'm not using my scale as much, I'm not logging every bite, etc... The solution is never a juice cleanse or any other woo.

This^^

Cleansing is unnecessary. Tighten up your logging.

Goatsmith

Anything with "cleanse" in the name is a waste of time. They don't do what they claim to (if you had "toxins" you'd need /dialysis/), and they make you miserable because it's a tight diet of all sugar, so you're going to feel hungry more often.

diannethegeek

These are my really general tips for a plateau:



1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so since you last saw a drop on the scale, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

^^You'll notice the words "cleanse," "detox," or "restart" don't appear up there. There's a reason for that. What quick fixes like juice cleansing tend to do is get your body to dump some water weight and waste early on. That gives you that satisfying drop on the scale, but when you get off the cleanse and you start eating normally again your body replenishes the water weight it was forced to drop. Whatever issue was causing the plateau in the first place will still be there. I always think it's more important to assess what's going wrong in your current routine rather than trying a quick fix that's not really going to fix anything. It's important for long-term success and maintenance once you reach your goal that you understand why you've plateau'd.

singingflutelady

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

kshama2001 wrote: »

JennAngel001 wrote: »

I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

How much did that cost?

Bit the bullet and found their website.

Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day??



It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

Lovee_Dove7

danaeenglund2015 wrote: »

Hey all!

I just wanted to reach out and see if any of you had done a juice cleanse or something similar to help get through a plateau? I'm not for anything too crazy, but if there was a cleanse for a relatively short amount of time that worked well for you? I would love any input on this! thanks!

I agree with janejellyroll.

kshama2001

janejellyroll wrote: »

I tried a juice cleanse once. It made me weak (I wound up graying out at work, which was awkward because my co-workers assumed I was pregnant). I quickly regained all the weight I lost once I went back to solid food.

The best way to get through a plateau is to ensure your logging is tight, that your estimate of calories out isn't off, and to adjust as necessary.

I was weak during a week long juice fast as well, but did this at a yoga retreat center and had no responsibilities, so it was ok that I was weak. I too regained all the weight once I went back to solid food.

I was inspired by "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" but know that juicing isn't for me, so have green smoothies for breakfast and am eating more leafy greens at other meals. Bring on the kale!

janejellyroll

kshama2001 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

I tried a juice cleanse once. It made me weak (I wound up graying out at work, which was awkward because my co-workers assumed I was pregnant). I quickly regained all the weight I lost once I went back to solid food.

The best way to get through a plateau is to ensure your logging is tight, that your estimate of calories out isn't off, and to adjust as necessary.

I was weak during a week long juice fast as well, but did this at a yoga retreat center and had no responsibilities, so it was ok that I was weak. I too regained all the weight once I went back to solid food.

I was inspired by "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" but know that juicing isn't for me, so have green smoothies for breakfast and am eating more leafy greens at other meals. Bring on the kale!

I love green smoothies. I will often have them as part of breakfast or lunch. Fantastic way to get more greens in the diet.

peachyfuzzle

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

JennAngel001 wrote: »

I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

How much did that cost?

Bit the bullet and found their website.

Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day??



It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

Holy bajeebus... I am in the wrong racket.

misskarne

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

JennAngel001 wrote: »

I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

How much did that cost?

Bit the bullet and found their website.

Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day??



It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

Holy bajeebus... I am in the wrong racket.

This is the sort of thing that makes me constantly wonder how rich I would be, if only I didn't have this darned moral compass.

AnvilHead

misskarne wrote: »

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

JennAngel001 wrote: »

I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

How much did that cost?

Bit the bullet and found their website.

Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day??



It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

Holy bajeebus... I am in the wrong racket.

This is the sort of thing that makes me constantly wonder how rich I would be, if only I didn't have this darned moral compass.

Look no further than Dr. Oz for the answer to your question. Perfect example of how rich you can get by selling out and having no moral compass.

tomteboda

Let's be honest. If it cost $40 and 1 day of misery to get a magically skinny body, and it REALLY worked, most of us would say "screw this" to logging calories. And be glad.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work. So we're tediously counting calories for months and years on end.

Stacey2916

I started with a juice cleanse for one week and lost 13 lbs! After that I went onto a healthy balanced diet with exercise and lost 4lbs the following week.
The week after I lost nothing.
At the end of the month I tried the cleanse again for another week because I was disheartened after losing nothing.
I lost 2lbs that week, expected more but a loss is a loss.
I think it's a good kick start but not sustainable. You get major headaches and I had a couple mood swings

paperpudding

Interesting observation I have made, not just on this thread but after 3 years of being on this forum - those who have large post count and have been members for long time - very very rarely endorse cleanses or detoxes.

Those who do recomend or endorse cleanses and detoxes - small post counts and much newer members.

Draw your own conclusions from that.

brianpperkins

Stacey2916 wrote: »

I started with a juice cleanse for one week and lost 13 lbs! After that I went onto a healthy balanced diet with exercise and lost 4lbs the following week.
The week after I lost nothing.
At the end of the month I tried the cleanse again for another week because I was disheartened after losing nothing.
I lost 2lbs that week, expected more but a loss is a loss.
I think it's a good kick start but not sustainable. You get major headaches and I had a couple mood swings

You also deprive your body of two out of three macronutrients while providing far too few calories for healthy loss. There are logical reasons why people don't advise "cleanses", "detoxes", etc. I've yet to come across a logical reason for a short term VLCD that is nutritionally deficient.

AnvilHead

paperpudding wrote: »

Interesting observation I have made, not just on this thread but after 3 years of being on this forum - those who have large post count and have been members for long time - very very rarely endorse cleanses or detoxes.

Those who do recomend or endorse cleanses and detoxes - small post counts and much newer members.

Draw your own conclusions from that.

Very true. Another observation - if you go into the 'Success Stories' forum, you will find almost zero members who attribute their long-term weight loss success to cleanses, detoxes, magic pills/MLM scams or any other woo.