Juicing- to do or not to do... that is the question????

horseloverdawn

I love juicing! It tastes so good and I have so much more energy when I am drinking the fresh juice. The down side is you do miss the fiber and you will need to increase your water intake. I juice two meals a day five days a week and honestly miss it on the weekend. There is no way I could eat all the food I turn into juice. I tried! Everyone is different. Everything in moderation. It never hurts to try but be smart about it.:drinker: :drinker:

mytabouly

I'm not sure I'd ever be able to have a liquid only diet, no matter how short term it is.

Love a nice cold fruity smoothie every now and then though! Nommy

bimpski

there are much better digestive enzymes available than beano! maybe a better quality product would be a good place to start?

jkowula

I enjoy juicing, I have one in the morning with some chia seeds and flax mixed in. I don't get this "juicing is bad just eat the fruits". In one sitting there is no way I will eat carrots, apples, oranges, lime, celery, cucumber, lettuce, strawberries, etc. So I figure I must be getting some micro nutrients, it can't be "bad" for me. You can get fiber in other ways throughout the day. I would rather have that then a glass of Sunny D. Seems to work quite nicely for me.

dlkingsbury

Juicing is great for adding extra vitamins when you need them. Whenever someone around me is sick, I break out the juicer to make a daily juice and have never caught their illness. But, its not good for permanent weight loss and shouldn't be used as such. I've done juice cleanses, etc. - you gain the weight back immediately.

CrazyCatLadylovescats

Use a blender so that you get all the good fiber from the plants/fruit that you do. Juicing machines remove a lot of the fiber and leaves you with the sugary part of the fruit. Our bodies are designed to eat the whole fruit (minus seeds.)

DirtyTrickster

Steroids are bad

ukaryote

Juicing sounds terrible. My co-worker did it, said she was doing it for 2 weeks (lol) and quit after 1 day because she couldn't stop vomiting.

Just eat less than you used to eat and log it.

Edited for clarity. She wasn't just juicing, she was on a juice fast.

Another unexciting, ordinary, sensible approach to maintaining one's self. That works. That's why I like this site.

I mean, just juice is not terrible. It is kinda fun to throw unusual fruits and vegetables in there. Just juice to maintain your entire body is not so great.

cwolfman13

Juice fasting? Stupid and pointless. Replacing meals with Juice and/or smoothies? Meh...there are some decent meal replacement smoothies out there, but for the same calories I'd prefer an actual meal.

Juicing to supplement your vegetable intake? Sure...just make sure you're also eating vegetables for the fiber and whatnot. I also use smoothies for recovery after my long rides...I never feel like eating but I need the calories, carbs, protein, and fat and I need those things to be easily accessible for my body and I've found my particular homemade (Berry Banana) recovery smoothie to be just the ticket.

Basically I use juicing and smoothies as a supplement, not as an alternative or replacement for actual meals and stuff.

catinohio

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ukaryote

{clip} Juice fasting is great way to make a sudden break from bad habits that are hard to break.

Wrong a good way to break bad habits is to have some self control and not look for or make excuses. You should try that instead of juicing.

Just toughing it out does not work for some. If it works for you, great!

People are built differently, both physically and mentally. If juice or just greens or other odd diet for a brief while (say, a week) helps break a cycle and gets a person started on self control, then it is good.

I_Will_End_You

I got a juicer for my birthday, used it once, and now it's collecting dust in a closet. It was a pain to clean, and that ended up being the most expensive damn juice I've ever drank. You need an insane amount of fruit.

Rocbola

If your goal is to "kick start" or "cleanse", and you're thinking about doing an all-juice diet, that's a bad idea.

Disagree entirely. Juice fasting is great way to make a sudden break from bad habits that are hard to break.

Only if you plan on juicing the rest of your life.

Once you start eating solids again ... wouldnt you just go back to your old habits? I would.

The act of eating and drinking are completely different things.

The thing is, after a juice fast, high fat foods are very unappealing. Your taste buds adapt. I used to hate things like celery and kale, and i thought some fruits were bland. I was so used to the strong salt, sweet, greasy and spice tastes in my SAD that fruit and vegetables were just not appealing to me. After the fast, they were.

I only did it for 4 days, i don't actively recommend juice fasting to people, and i don't think it is necessary. But, from someone who has done it before, it does help accelerate the process of switching your taste buds to where natural unsalted food tastes great.

So, in the rare case where someone is interested in eating more fruits and veggies, AND they just can't seem to start, or they dislike the taste, than i do recommend a very short fast. A water only fast can serve the same purpose.

Noogynoogs

Juicing and pressing veggies in a shredding machine that extracts the juice. Tastes horrible but so healthy.

TeriaShae

I saw no, and here's why:
I watched a Dr. Oz. episode once over juicing and there was this woman on there who lost over a 100 pounds by strictly juicing. Nevertheless, gained back MORE weight than she lost after a year. She was talking about how she thought she was doing the right thing by juicing but now she can't stop eating and gaining.

By no means though am I saying this would happen to you! But watch the video on Dr.Oz's website and you may have a different view like I did.

Also, it extracts most of the nutrients in the fruits and veggies rather than just eating them.

Grumpellina

If you like. Just don't expect it to be some "miracle cure", as juicing still has calories and if you overdo it with some items, you can still go over your caloric intake.

You will also be hungrier. You need solid food.

Unknown

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kgeyser

Thanks for all the input :smile

Here is why I even looked into juicing, I have a very senative gut. Seems when I eat too much fiber, fresh fruits and veggies it actually makes my stomach "bowels" painful. I have been drinking smoothies for several months, along with eating regular food, but I noticed that upset my stomach as well. I tried adding beno type enzymes and didn't notice much change. I love my green smoothing as a morning snack. I was doing some research and was curious as to the benefits of the actually taking the fiber out, maybe it would be easier on my digestive trach while getting all the nutrients still. What I am considering would be to add the fresh juices rather than smoothies to my current plan.

Plus was curious as to what MFP though of all this

If you are having intestinal issues after eating a lot of fiber, you need to see a doctor, not start juicing. It could be sensitivity, or you could have polyps that are being irritated as the insoluble fiber passes through your intestines. Go get checked out, you don't want to mess around with that.

dramallamaduck

I supplement, but I don't use it as an entire meal... I like to chew my fiber

carpe_vinum

I often juice for lunches and add chia seeds. My favorite: 3 beets, 2 carrots, 2 oranges, 1/2 lemon - this will last me for three days' worth of lunches.

I like it for the nutrients and it helps me get my veggies in. I have a masticating juicer and would highly recommend it over a blender, smoothie maker, or regular juicer.

tapirfrog

I have tried what I guess is a "green smoothie" or "green juice" at one of those Costco demonstrations. I could not get it past my tonsils. It hit the back of my throat and GUCK. I couldn't swallow it. I had to spit it back into the cup. Not sure whether it was the taste or the foamy, somewhat slimy texture, but ... no. No, no, no.

That might have been a bad example, a terrible demonstrator, or just not the ingredients for me, but it was so embarrassing nearly throwing up in Costco that I will not experiment ever again. Go whole or go home, that's my motto now.

ShannonMpls

If nature intended us to eat 3-5 pounds of fruits and vegetables in one sitting, we would be able to consume 3-5 pounds of fruits and vegetables in one sitting (without serious side effects! ha).

I'm no-go on juicing, though I will have a smoothie occasionally.

yarwell

Oh! And fiber... It is my understanding that juicing removes the INSOLUBLE fiber. You juice will still have SOLUBLE fiber in it. (You do need both, but I am just saying the juice will not be totally without fiber.)

yup, there's a fair bit of insoluble fibre too as the juices are far from crystal clear.

pattyproulx

I don't think it's unhealthy. It's better to eat the whole fruit or vegetable, but if you can't eat enough for whatever reason, I think you're fine juicing.

I made a juice this morning (first time in months). I had a bunch of veggies and herbs that were starting to go bad so I figure I'd juice it up with some apples that were starting to go bad. It was a great shot of nutrients this morning and relatively low calorie.

yolohunter

I wouldn't recommend a juice fast or replacing whole meals with juice, but I love my green veggie juice every morning! Since I started having a veggie juice almost every day, I have noticed considerable improvements in my energy level and my skin, and have reduced the amount of coffee I drink by 75%. I usually make a batch and drink it over 3-4 days, but when you drink it fresh it is literally like shooting amazing nutrients right into your veins...you can feel the power!

I usually make mine with: collard greens, kale, celery, spinach, tons of ginger root, cucumber, and a couple carrots and an apple for sweetness.

Lisacare

Thanks for all the input :smile

Here is why I even looked into juicing, I have a very senative gut. Seems when I eat too much fiber, fresh fruits and veggies it actually makes my stomach "bowels" painful. I have been drinking smoothies for several months, along with eating regular food, but I noticed that upset my stomach as well. I tried adding beno type enzymes and didn't notice much change. I love my green smoothing as a morning snack. I was doing some research and was curious as to the benefits of the actually taking the fiber out, maybe it would be easier on my digestive trach while getting all the nutrients still. What I am considering would be to add the fresh juices rather than smoothies to my current plan.

Plus was curious as to what MFP though of all this

If you are having intestinal issues after eating a lot of fiber, you need to see a doctor, not start juicing. It could be sensitivity, or you could have polyps that are being irritated as the insoluble fiber passes through your intestines. Go get checked out, you don't want to mess around with that.

Thank you so much for the concern. I have seen a doctor and the issue is abdominal adehesions, caused by radation therapy as a small child and multiple abdominal surgeries. The reccomendation is to eat a low fiber diet. Any idea what that does to your diet? The actually said eat mainly canned or very well cooked veggies and No whole gains. This goes against everything I believe to be true and also it will kill me in other ways. So I am just searching for a way to get as many neutrients in, in the least invase way

geebusuk

Have you got a specific figure for fibre that's been given to you?

After reading up on what fibre does, I decided that in reality I wasn't that bothered about it and often don't get that much.