My husband is doing a juice fast. Help Needed!

laurenk182004

Hey everyone

So this is what is going on. My husband decided he wanted to try and do a 30 day juice fast...now I am aware of the dangers, and the fact that this is not the best way to lose weight, but talking him out of it is not an option. So here we are on day 5. So far he lost in 4 days, 12pounds, and he is encouraged by this and more strong in his resolve than ever.

Some background on him: He's 46 years old, started at 330lbs, ate horrible every single day, lots of fast food, very little movement. He did not ease into this at all, just went from eating junk to juice.

Ok, so he's consuming 64oz of juice a day, that I am pressing in the juicer for him, making sure he gets a variety of colors, vegetables and fruits. Also at least another 64 oz of water, sometimes with lemon wedges. His morning juice I blend a banana with to help curb hunger and his nighttime juice I blend with about a 2/3 cup of frozen unsweetened strawberries. He's doing great and feels ok.

Now for the ISSUE...he has not had a bowell movement since the day before he started! This seems so unfathomable, considering all the apple juice I'm pressing! I just need to know if I need to get him an enema, or what. I don't want him getting sick from backed up toxins or whatever.

Also, anyone else ever done an extreme fast like this? He is still STARVING constantly, and we had read that the hunger was supposed to subside by now.

Please, if you have any information for me, I would very much appreciate it, and again, I am not advocating his decision, so no juice fast bashing necessary lol

Thankyou!

Lauren

mallory3411

He's not consuming any fibre which is what is causing his issue.

whoiskat23

I sent you a message regarding where to get some information on the raw eating, but in addition, i'd say that his body may just be adjusting to the shock of going from excess calories to next to nothing. I'd bet it's holding on to what little is coming in.

Di3012

Hey everyone

So this is what is going on. My husband decided he wanted to try and do a 30 day juice fast...now I am aware of the dangers, and the fact that this is not the best way to lose weight, but talking him out of it is not an option. So here we are on day 5. So far he lost in 4 days, 12pounds, and he is encouraged by this and more strong in his resolve than ever.

Some background on him: He's 46 years old, started at 330lbs, ate horrible every single day, lots of fast food, very little movement. He did not ease into this at all, just went from eating junk to juice.

Ok, so he's consuming 64oz of juice a day, that I am pressing in the juicer for him, making sure he gets a variety of colors, vegetables and fruits. Also at least another 64 oz of water, sometimes with lemon wedges. His morning juice I blend a banana with to help curb hunger and his nighttime juice I blend with about a 2/3 cup of frozen unsweetened strawberries. He's doing great and feels ok.

Now for the ISSUE...he has not had a bowell movement since the day before he started! This seems so unfathomable, considering all the apple juice I'm pressing! I just need to know if I need to get him an enema, or what. I don't want him getting sick from backed up toxins or whatever.

Also, anyone else ever done an extreme fast like this? He is still STARVING constantly, and we had read that the hunger was supposed to subside by now.

Please, if you have any information for me, I would very much appreciate it, and again, I am not advocating his decision, so no juice fast bashing necessary lol

Thankyou!

Lauren

He is not consuming any food - no food, no bowel movements as there is nothing there to move the bowel.

ChickenTuna

Prune Juice will do the trick if he has anything in there!!!

laurenk182004

I assumed he would at least have something "in there" left from before he started? Idk lol

abutterflyemerges

My question is, if he isn't having a bowl movement how is losing weight then? I know if I haven't had a bowl movement in days my scale goes up until I do.

laurenk182004

I sent you a message regarding where to get some information on the raw eating, but in addition, i'd say that his body may just be adjusting to the shock of going from excess calories to next to nothing. I'd bet it's holding on to what little is coming in.

Thankyou I'll check that out!

mallory3411

Our bodies do a wonderful job of getting rid of the toxins without juice fasts, cleanses etc. He isn't eating anything solid. He is getting next to no fibre if any at all.

laurenk182004

My question is, if he isn't having a bowl movement how is losing weight then? I know if I haven't had a bowl movement in days my scale goes up until I do.

I have no idea! I guess he's peeing out the waste?

taso42

Have him track body fat percent.

RemDogzMa

I'm not sure if this helps but when I went on a four day fast, I EXPECTED many bowel movements. I had even planned my fast around a slow weekend for that exact purpose. The only reason I stopped from continuing it longer was I had to fly out on business unexpectedly. I

I was very similar to your husband - I mostly urinated a lot. I lost a lot of water retention from inflammation and bloating and felt amazing. As long as you are putting a decent amount of greens in (kale, spinach, etc), then he should be getting enough nutrition, so no worries. Of course, if anything changes.....call your doctor.

Good luck to your husband on his healthful journey!!

laurenk182004

Our bodies do a wonderful job of getting rid of the toxins without juice fasts, cleanses etc. He isn't eating anything solid. He is getting next to no fibre if any at all.

I know this. He wanted to try it for a jumpstart on losing weight. Like I said above, I in no way, think this is the healthiest way to go, but he wants to do it anyways.

laurenk182004

I'm not sure if this helps but when I went on a four day fast, I EXPECTED many bowel movements. I had even planned my fast around a slow weekend for that exact purpose. The only reason I stopped from continuing it longer was I had to fly out on business unexpectedly. I

I was very similar to your husband - I mostly urinated a lot. I lost a lot of water retention from inflammation and bloating and felt amazing. As long as you are putting a decent amount of greens in (kale, spinach, etc), then he should be getting enough nutrition, so no worries. Of course, if anything changes.....call your doctor.

Good luck to your husband on his healthful journey!!

Thankyou Good to know this is to be expected. I read something last night about toxins backing up into the blood stream and it freaked me out. The article basically said enemas are a must. Guess it's time to call his doctor to be sure!

byronguy74

I did a shorter day juice fast last month and I have been rotating juicing with eating since. I did basically the same thing - I went from eating junk to juicing with no transition period. The true hunger will go away but he will continue to have urges to eat through the whole process. As far as bowel movements, I had the same thing. I would go several days without a movement at all BUT I did take fiber pills in the morning and evening - I have been taking them ever day for several years and these, in combination with fish oil pills, were the only sold things I took in during my fast. When he starts eating again the movements will come back. Expect several other changes during this process - my skin cleared up, started sleeping better, more energy, etc. Also, when he starts eating again he WILL gain some weight back. He has to remember, this will work for a jump start but keeping the weight off means a lifestyle change!

I also posted a fairly lengthy discussion in another thread (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/411482-10-day-juice-fast) that has several different peoples opinions.

shellicious777

In my honest opionion he should be consulting his doctor through this. It can be dangerous. Given his age and weight and sedentary life style. I watched Fat sick and nearly dead a documentary on fasting and they recommended talking to a doctor and being checked during the fast. I couldn't do the juice fast like that so I did it once a day. The calories are actually in the MFP food data for the green juice from that documentary. Good luck!

Yanicka1

oh wow. If he is not uncomfortable, let him be. If i were you i would accidently drop some protein powder in there....soon his body will start breaking down muscles. Good luck

NatalieWinning

Have him track body fat percent.

best answer
because he will notice for the next time that the best way to go is not starving.
Plus that it isn't about "toxins" it's about fat loss, and muscle mass building.
Sometimes they have to learn this the hard way. That there is no jump start. Just a start that keeps going.

For my husband anything I said didn't matter. He started tracking it himself, and now notices what is good and bad. He's not a middle of the road kind of guy, and he is all or nothing. So the numbers and food values on MFP actually made sense, and he's eating nutritionally for the first time. He's in control, he has charts and reports to track and fiddle with, so he's self driven on MFP. The numbers and goals make sense to him instead of "....Muwah wha wha ..." that he hears when I say it (like Charlie Brown listening to the teacher), or a parent telling him to eat broccoli. Instead he now looks for his "fiber" goal number and eats his broccoli. It would be great if you could get him on here and make him track it himself. That would mean you have to help him along at first with recipe database and serving size, or whatever, until he can do it all himself.

byronguy74

In my honest opionion he should be consulting his doctor through this. It can be dangerous. Given his age and weight and sedentary life style. I watched Fat sick and nearly dead a documentary on fasting and they recommended talking to a doctor and being checked during the fast. I couldn't do the juice fast like that so I did it once a day. The calories are actually in the MFP food data for the green juice from that documentary. Good luck!

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is what convinced me to try the juicing fast. I had talked to several other people and watched a couple of other documentaries before watching but that is what finally convinced me.

laurenk182004

In my honest opionion he should be consulting his doctor through this. It can be dangerous. Given his age and weight and sedentary life style. I watched Fat sick and nearly dead a documentary on fasting and they recommended talking to a doctor and being checked during the fast. I couldn't do the juice fast like that so I did it once a day. The calories are actually in the MFP food data for the green juice from that documentary. Good luck!

I have alerted the doctor, who seemed more intrigued than worried. He has a full blown physical march 1st.

HotKanye

I would do smoothies rather than juice. You're missing a lot of the good stuff in fruit and veg by juicing instead of eating the fibre of it too and that would be why he isn't pooping. I don't think for 30 days it would really do him a lot of damage but my concern would just be where you transition to from there. I don't think it makes sense to lose weight in a way that is unsustainable as a long-term way of eating so what's the plan when the juice fast is done? If he just goes back to how he was eating he'll gain the weight all back.

crikey1987

If he's really worried about the bowel movements, he could try a salt water flush. Two tablespoons of sea salt in about a quart of water. Gulp it down ... and there you go. People call it an "oral enema".

slimgoody56

Good Day!
I understand what is happening in the case of junk to juicing. That is why it is advisable to ease your body into a new transition to begin the flushing process. His bowels are blocked and need to be unplugged immediately!! First I will say that I am an advocate juicer and believe in its life-giving qualities. Have been juicing regularly for over 15 years and continue on the journey of giving my body the nutrients it requires on a cellular level. Let me say that all the good juice that is trying to be absorbed thru the colon is not able to get thru even though the enzymes in live juice help break down cooked food substance.
So take heed to the fact that toxins are in desperate need to be released!
What I do is always take a good fiber source while juicing because the body has a time digesting and breaking down even raw vegetables when on a detox plan. What works for me is a carrot pulp salad mixed with olive oil and lemon (add carrot juice if too dry) Eat every day while on the detox and drink at least half of your body weight in onces of water to flush thoroughly! Since he is in serious lock down now, consider a colonic to get things moving! (maybe even a series of irrigation's) I have a stubborn bowel system and have taken enzymes and grapeseed (muscadine) to help keep my colon moving. I strongly believe this journey will teach you so much about your bodies digestive system if you take your time and listen to the signals of upset tummy and blocked bowels. So Keep up the good fight and don't stop until the swollen colon is free and clear!

jetscreaminagain

If you don't agree and are worried for his well being, why are you enabling it by doing the work for him? This confuses me.

laurenk182004

If you don't agree and are worried for his well being, why are you enabling it by doing the work for him? This confuses me.

Because if I don't help him with it, he will still do it and I won't know for sure that he is getting in the required variety of juices.

htowndeb

Hi Lauren, I'm not an expert on juicing, but I have seen a fantastic documentary on a man named Joe from Australia that did a 60 day fast and juiced then entire time. The best part was, that he filmed this documentary while he did it traveling across America. It was a great film. Anyway, he did help someone he ran into that also did a 60 day fast and lost about half his weight which was about 400lbs. My point is, is that he has a website that has loads of information. Go to www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/. I do want to add, that he should be monitered by a doctor so they can keep an eye on any important blood work. In the meantime, good luck to your husband. An added note, I haven't done this, but I do juice in addition to watching what I eat, so that I can get all the great micronutients that vegetables and fruits have to offer.

Di3012

My question is, if he isn't having a bowl movement how is losing weight then? I know if I haven't had a bowl movement in days my scale goes up until I do.

He is losing weight because he is burning any fat he has stored.

It is fat burned that determines weight loss not bowel movements.

laurenk182004

I appreciate the helpful replies

emtrem

He could try 'Fybogel' sachets from Boots. They are a powder that you mix into a cup of water and drink really quickly because it thickens as you stir it. They are orange flavour, and not unpleasant, I took one a day when I did the atkins diet, which really constipates you, and they really did the trick. I hope it helps, and I hope he can maintain his weight loss when he stops the fast, when he starts eating normally again, the weight may come back, which would be a shame after all his hard work. At least he has a medical coming up, this will put both your minds at rest. Good luck to you both. Emma x

celerieaz

Juice fasting can be done healthily with regular bowel movements. However, when you juice the fruit you don't get the fiber one would typically get from eating the whole fruit. Regular enemas are recommended with juice fasts in order to have regular bowel movements.

It concerns me that your husband wasn't aware that he would have to take extra measures to produce bowel movements before starting his juice fast. I recommend that he fully researches all aspects of juice fasting before continuing on with his journey. The recommendation for enemas would be one of the first things he discovered if he had done the proper research. Good luck to him; if he doesn't start producing bowel movements he is going to get very uncomfortable very quickly.

tigersword

Hmmm juice fast. No protein, no fat, basically it's a starvation diet. All the vitamins and minerals in the world are useless without the necessary dietary fat and protein to be able to absorb and use them.

Just another useless, unhealthy, fad "diet."

He may be losing weight, but it's all muscle and water, since he's not getting any protein to keep up with muscle repair and maintenance, and if you aren't eating any fat, your body will not burn fat, since body fat is part of the endocrine system, and if it isn't being regularly eaten, the body will instinctively hang on to what it has out of survival instinct.

Horrible idea all around, really. Drinking juice for health benefits is fine, but drinking only juice is honestly pretty stupid.