Juicing/Cleanse Success Stories!

stepnerd

Once you get to a weight you are satisfied with will you have to keep juicing as a part of your regular intake or will you be able to cut it out all together and maintain your progress with solid foods as the main source?

I won't HAVE to keep juicing, but as it is such an efficient, low calorie source of micro nutrients that I enjoy the taste of, I doubt that I'll want to stop juicing.

Jacwhite22

I was eating 2000 calories in regular food and gaining weight and I was sick of it so I went on a juice fast and only drank juice for 2 months. I drank 5000 calories in juice every day and lost 10 lbs. Juice fasting totally worked for me.



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BurtHuttz

I did a 30 day juice fast. I did not maintain a significant weight loss.... I'm OK with that because the juice fast was beneficial to me in other ways:

1- I proved to myself that I am not powerless over food and that I DO have some discipline!
2- I discovered that I am intolerent to Wheat. When I did the fast, I felt AMAZING, I attributed it to the juicing.. but I later learned that it was not having any wheat products for a month that was making me feel so great.. when I added back the wheat, I felt like crap again...
3- My tastes changed. I begain to crave more and more juice and vegetables. When I first started I could only drink juice if it was quite sweet.. as I progressed through the fast, I began enjoying more and more green and less sweet in my juice. I also enjoy salads more now than before (I used to eat them for the dressing... now I actually LIKE the way salads taste)
4- It helped me begin a healthy habit of juicing daily. I still juice almost daily. Even if it's just some kale to pour into my protein shake.
5- Doing the juice fast helped me break my dependence on wheat and processed sugars. I know, you can break these habits in other ways, but for me, I could never do regular 1500 calorie a day diets because I would want more and more and more and I would cheat like crazy.. but with the juicing, I stopped all that and I realized I didn't NEED more and more.. and that my body really did respond better without the added sugars (before you say that omg... juice is nothing but sugar.. remember that the majority of my fast I was juicing mostly greens and non-root vegetables)

Do I think that a juice "cleanse" is necessary? No I don't.. but it was beneficial to me even though it didn't directly result in sustained weight loss.. it did help me to change some behaviors that were contributing to my weight issues.. so over the long term, I do credit some of my weight loss indirectly to the juice fast.

This is an extraordinarily helpful response - - I can tell you put a ton of effort into compiling and sharing this information and I'm grateful for your time.

It sounds like the biggest boost you got out of your cleanse/juice fast was psychological in nature; a proof of self control, a divorce and distance from more highly refined foods which enabled a palate-change etc. It sounds like you experienced potentially significant short term weight loss (although unsustained.) I understand that it has become a tool in a well rounded diet that enables you to get, for instance, more leafy greens. I think it's also interesting to hear how you employed it as a diagnostic tool to find foods to which you may be allergic.

Thank you again for sharing. I believe your weight loss success thusfar sounds like it might be sustained by and directly attributable to a daily caloric deficit, but that these new habits were influenced by your decision to do the juice fast and as you say in part, indirectly, attributable to the juicing.

By the way? Congratulations on 63 pounds lost!!!! That's awesome.

PeachyKeene

I lost massive amounts of weight on a 7 day cleanse diet pill and keep it off for a while. Because when you are sick with serious liver complications you tend to not want to eat. Took me a long time to recover. After I recovered I gained it all back plus some.

stepnerd

It does in large part, and thank you again for taking the time. Do you intend to track your caloric intake coming out of January 2013? I'd love to hear about your progress in a few months.

I've just started tracking my caloric intake - i joined this site yesterday with that in mind. I thought it would be a good way to become more conscious of what I'm eating. I'm not sure at this stage how long I'll need to track calories to achieve that goal (of more consciousness) or if that goal will change once I've been here for a while, so I can't guarantee that I'll be here in the months to come, but I'm enjoying it so far

BurtHuttz

I was eating 2000 calories in regular food and gaining weight and I was sick of it so I went on a juice fast and only drank juice for 2 months. I drank 5000 calories in juice every day and lost 10 lbs. Juice fasting totally worked for me.

I believe you're being sarcastic and probably did not drink 5 gallons of juice daily.

Joanneea

I have found it sustainable for two days a week when I am not working.


I have not had a plateau, nor put any weight back on and have lost 20 pounds since joining 16th of January.

So, it has only been for a short time. but I do feel extremely energized when I am juicing and find that I do not feel hungry and when I am back to my 1200 calorie I have no trouble overeating or choosing foods poorly. My diet is 99 per cent clean, so I think that makes it easier.

I was asked the other day, a day after my juice fast if I had been to the beauty parlor, there was something different about me, and that was by a person who is not aware of my dieting, as well I do not use make up.

BurtHuttz

My husband and I both did an 8 day supervised juice cleanse at Copperhood Health & Wellness spa before our 2011 October wedding. He lost about 10-11 pounds and I lost 8. We were both a normal, healthy weight to begin with so we thought the results were wonderful. If I knew how, I'd post a pic of us at the wedding. We drank fresh vegetable/fruit juice 3 times a day and worked out throughout the day. We enjoyed it and it helped me break my love of sugary sweets (like Skittles and gummy bears) and it was nice to go an entire week without alcohol. Good luck!

It's nice to hear that you enjoyed it! Sounds like it provided some of the same psychological benefits that MissJules described. Did you guys happen to take weight measurements over the following four months to illustrate a trend? It's sort of hard to figure out the data I'm seeking I guess if your exercise or other diet afterward weren't really closely observed.

It does in large part, and thank you again for taking the time. Do you intend to track your caloric intake coming out of January 2013? I'd love to hear about your progress in a few months.

I've just started tracking my caloric intake - i joined this site yesterday with that in mind. I thought it would be a good way to become more conscious of what I'm eating. I'm not sure at this stage how long I'll need to track calories to achieve that goal (of more consciousness) or if that goal will change once I've been here for a while, so I can't guarantee that I'll be here in the months to come, but I'm enjoying it so far

Awesome! Well welcome; the forums can be a rough place sometimes, a silly place sometimes, and often a helpful place. But the tracking tools here are where the real power is. Consciousness of what I'm eating wasn't why I signed up, but it has become the biggest lasting benefit the site has given me. I know what a serving size is of any given food, I can accurately estimate calories for food that I eat, and can sort of keep everything in perspective as I go about my day. I think you'll like it!

BurtHuttz

I have found it sustainable for two days a week when I am not working.

I have not had a plateau, nor put any weight back on and have lost 20 pounds since joining 16th of January.

So, it has only been for a short time. but I do feel extremely energized when I am juicing and find that I do not feel hungry and when I am back to my 1200 calorie I have no trouble overeating or choosing foods poorly. My diet is 99 per cent clean, so I think that makes it easier.

I was asked the other day, a day after my juice fast if I had been to the beauty parlor, there was something different about me, and that was by a person who is not aware of my dieting, as well I do not use make up.

Glad you're feeling great - the concept of intermittent juicing is completely new to me. At a 1200 calorie intake you're definitely seeing a huge, huge caloric deficit in the whole energy in vs energy out sense, so you probably will see the numbers on the scale drop.

This is still I guess what I'd call the "short term" without the sustainment that I'm hoping to find, but good job on your preliminary success with intermittent juicing, congrats on the compliments and feeling great, and I hope you find continued success in your undertaking!! :-)

stepnerd

In case you're interested, here's the juice I make. This makes up about 2 litres, which is enough to get me through a 13 hour shift at work...

Kale - 1/2 bunch
Celery - 4 sticks
Beetroot - whole, including leaves
Carrots - 2-3
Tomato - 2-3 Medium
Capsicum, Red
Cucumber - Whole
Granny Smith Apple - 2-3
Orange 2-3
Lemon 1-2
English Spinach - 125 g
Brocolli - 4-500 g

Calories:991 Carbs: 214 Fat: 4 Protein: 36

MrsScheidt

bump

Cinflo58

Hello,
I went on a 3 day juice fast. Then started juicing in the morning and brought some for lunch and at night and had a healthy dinner - grilled chicken and salad. THis lasted 2 weeks. It was a lot of work and was hard to do while working full time. I lost 15 lbs/month and kept it off. I am gradually working on losing 8 more pounds to reach my goal
I have maintained the weight loss for 4 months.
Whoile I was juicing, I was surprised that I could function on juist juice. I used the recipes from the reboot.com websitte
I am sorry that I stopped juicing but it is so time consuming!

Juicing is great becuase it helps get rid of cravings. It causes fast weight loss. But it is a temporary thing.

Krys_140

I did a 30 day juice fast. I did not maintain a significant weight loss.... I'm OK with that because the juice fast was beneficial to me in other ways:

1- I proved to myself that I am not powerless over food and that I DO have some discipline!

MissJules... Proving to yourself that you can do something is priceless. I haven't juiced or gone through a cleanse, but proving to myself that I could eat what I wanted to eat (at a calorie deficit) and still lose weight was a major breakthrough for me. Training for and running a 5k proved that I did enjoy running, despite what I'd told myself for years.

Kudos to YOU for finding the "thing" that helped you prove to yourself that you could do what it takes to lose weight.

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

I love the OP's that start their posts with the likes of "don't give me data that disproves my idea, only data that proves I'm right!" And we wonder why our country sucks at Science education....

I love it when people comment on things they don't read.

Edited to clarify: I'm looking for evidence, not meta-studies, research synthesis, tertiary sources - - primary sources only. Does that make a little more sense?

But that is still anecdotal qualitative studies. I think you need to perform a randomized clinical trial where you capture a representative sample size and kidnap them. Place them in a controlled environment, and ensure they all get the same diet. You can insert dobhoff tubes, and give them a normalized amount of calories based upon thier individual needs. Then strap them all to the bed to prevent activity differences. Sedate them so they don't struggle. Then give one group the juicing, one the cleansing, and the other just water as a placebo. After several weeks, take measurements, and see if there is truly a significant difference to a 0.05 level.

That's the only way you will know for sure.

Cinflo58

hi again. I just realized that I don't meet your criteria. I lost 9% intially with the juice fast. I was logging on MFP during and continually after the fast BUT I have gradually lost 14%.

Not too shabby you negative Nellies out there

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

I do a vodka and diet soda fasting cleanse about every weekend.
Does that count?

Valid question. ;-)

I would say that the only thing which reasonably approaches Cr01502's described cleanse was the documentary "Leaving Las Vegas" about Nicolas Cage's fatal battle with alcoholism. I don't believe that it ended well.

Wait...


Nicolas Cage is dead?

Shhh. It's a hush hush thing. The animatronic version of him has most people fooled so far.

EvgeniZyntx

I love the OP's that start their posts with the likes of "don't give me data that disproves my idea, only data that proves I'm right!" And we wonder why our country sucks at Science education....

I love it when people comment on things they don't read.

Edited to clarify: I'm looking for evidence, not meta-studies, research synthesis, tertiary sources - - primary sources only. Does that make a little more sense?

But that is still anecdotal qualitative studies. I think you need to perform a randomized clinical trial where you capture a representative sample size and kidnap them. Place them in a controlled environment, and ensure they all get the same diet. You can insert dobhoff tubes, and give them a normalized amount of calories based upon thier individual needs. Then strap them all to the bed to prevent activity differences. Sedate them so they don't struggle. Then give one group the juicing, one the cleansing, and the other just water as a placebo. After several weeks, take measurements, and see if there is truly a significant difference to a 0.05 level.

That's the only way you will know for sure.

pfffff. you forgot to cross-over. And consent. Consent is a ***** these days.

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

I love the OP's that start their posts with the likes of "don't give me data that disproves my idea, only data that proves I'm right!" And we wonder why our country sucks at Science education....

I love it when people comment on things they don't read.

Edited to clarify: I'm looking for evidence, not meta-studies, research synthesis, tertiary sources - - primary sources only. Does that make a little more sense?

But that is still anecdotal qualitative studies. I think you need to perform a randomized clinical trial where you capture a representative sample size and kidnap them. Place them in a controlled environment, and ensure they all get the same diet. You can insert dobhoff tubes, and give them a normalized amount of calories based upon thier individual needs. Then strap them all to the bed to prevent activity differences. Sedate them so they don't struggle. Then give one group the juicing, one the cleansing, and the other just water as a placebo. After several weeks, take measurements, and see if there is truly a significant difference to a 0.05 level.

That's the only way you will know for sure.

pfffff. you forgot to cross-over. And consent. Consent is a ***** these days.

Yeah.. I was thinking it could be done in a country where you didn't have to get ethics and human subject rules involved. I thought about that. Or, you could do it and pretend it is being done in one of those countries. Hopefully one with liberal kidnapping laws as well.

stepnerd

I love the OP's that start their posts with the likes of "don't give me data that disproves my idea, only data that proves I'm right!" And we wonder why our country sucks at Science education....

I love it when people comment on things they don't read.

Edited to clarify: I'm looking for evidence, not meta-studies, research synthesis, tertiary sources - - primary sources only. Does that make a little more sense?

But that is still anecdotal qualitative studies. I think you need to perform a randomized clinical trial where you capture a representative sample size and kidnap them. Place them in a controlled environment, and ensure they all get the same diet. You can insert dobhoff tubes, and give them a normalized amount of calories based upon thier individual needs. Then strap them all to the bed to prevent activity differences. Sedate them so they don't struggle. Then give one group the juicing, one the cleansing, and the other just water as a placebo. After several weeks, take measurements, and see if there is truly a significant difference to a 0.05 level.

That's the only way you will know for sure.

pfffff. you forgot to cross-over. And consent. Consent is a ***** these days.

Yeah.. I was thinking it could be done in a country where you didn't have to get ethics and human subject rules involved. I thought about that. Or, you could do it and pretend it is being done in one of those countries. Hopefully one with liberal kidnapping laws as well.

Do it in a 5 star resort and call it a retreat - you could charge people a fortune for it and make a profit while you learn!

1ConcreteGirl

This had so much potential to be a fantastic thread.

Sorry you haven't found anyone who has lost 10% of their weight and kept it off with this method here.

firstsip

OP, I have gone to a very spicy Indian buffet about once a month for the last few months. I have been consistently losing. Juice might be involved in this process, but I'm not necessarily saying from which direction the juice is coming.

YankeeScrapperGirl

I have had great success with cleanses but I you should ONLY do it under a doctor's care - I am skeptical about the safety of doing it on your own. Every year, I do a 30 day cleanse program with my chiropractor's office in a group and I lose at least 15 lbs each time. More importantly than the weight loss, it helps you identify which foods trigger weight gain and other symptoms in your body and how to stay away from them in the future. With no exercising, my starting weight was 245 lbs before my first cleanse and I am now at 208 three years later. Now that I have a handle on what foods to avoid, my cravings are nearly gone for those things and I can focus on exercising and really losing the next 50 lbs! Good Luck!

firstsip

I have had great success with cleanses but I you should ONLY do it under a doctor's care - I am skeptical about the safety of doing it on your own. Every year, I do a 30 day cleanse program with my chiropractor's office in a group and I lose at least 15 lbs each time. More importantly than the weight loss, it helps you identify which foods trigger weight gain and other symptoms in your body and how to stay away from them in the future. With no exercising, my starting weight was 245 lbs before my first cleanse and I am now at 208 three years later. Now that I have a handle on what foods to avoid, my cravings are nearly gone for those things and I can focus on exercising and really losing the next 50 lbs! Good Luck!

What foods trigger weight gain?

Any food will trigger weight gain if you eat too much of it.

YankeeScrapperGirl

Sorry for the confusion - this was meant as a response to a question about cleanses and food triggers - NOT juicing. The bottom line for me is to always consult a doctor before doing anything if you truly want to get healthy instead of just losing a few ounds quickly.

"Everyone's body is different - I personally have found that sugar is a major problem for me as well as dairy. Even if I severely limit the amount of dairy I take in, I will not lose any weight - I cannot have any at all if I want to lose weight. But everyone is different and you have to learn what works for you and find other ways to get the nutrients you need. It's a process "

chuckles9189

I've had success and not had success.

I did the GM cleanse back in october. I lost 3 lbs and my roommate lost 13 (this is in 7days). I took before and after pictures and couldn't believe the difference in the way my body looked (I am not posting pictures on this website until I've reached my goal. check back then for these photos). Although I didn't lose weight on the cleanse I credit my start of my weight loss to the cleanse. It kicked my cravings for salt and sugar by the third day but more importantly it taught me what a portion size was. During the cleanse I learned to stop eating when I was full and the difference between being bored and hungry. I've lost (overall) about 20% of my weight since then and it has been easier than I thought. I am actually on day one of the cleanse again for moral support to a friend.

I recommend it for reasons mentioned above (portion control, kicking unnecessary cravings, etc) but NOT TO LOSE WEIGHT. There is no quick fix for weight loss. Especially in the form of depriving yourself of nutrients. I picked the GM cleanse-- I can still eat my 1700-2000 calories a day. but what a crazy difference it makes in your body. even without the weight loss.

MoreBean13

Everyone's body is different - I personally have found that sugar is a major problem for me as well as dairy. Even if I severely limit the amount of dairy I take in, I will not lose any weight - I cannot have any at all if I want to lose weight. But everyone is different and you have to learn what works for you and find other ways to get the nutrients you need. It's a process

Juicing can be dangerous for people with blood sugar problems- it greatly increases the glycemic load of fruits and vegetables. It's like mainlining fructose.

firstsip

Everyone's body is different - I personally have found that sugar is a major problem for me as well as dairy. Even if I severely limit the amount of dairy I take in, I will not lose any weight - I cannot have any at all if I want to lose weight. But everyone is different and you have to learn what works for you and find other ways to get the nutrients you need. It's a process

grward612

It can def be done. I know someone who lost a lot of weight on a water-fast. He fasted for faith-reasons. I don't recommend it for weight-loss, though. It brutalizes your metabolism, and it has other health risks as well.
Short answer: yes - can be done. Definitely not your wisest choice, though. Good luck!

Wouldn't a water-fast be the caloric deficit the OP was wanting to avoid?

I had a doctor tell me that the cleanses are unhealthy as your body sheds very healthy, necessary minerals which can be difficult to replenish (including bacteria in your stomach that aids in digestion). Also, the hardest to replenish is potassium ... which a lack of can cause heart failure.

I have never understood the need to "cleanse" your body when there is enough proof that a healthy diet and exercise works best for weight loss!

BurtHuttz

I have had great success with cleanses but I you should ONLY do it under a doctor's care - I am skeptical about the safety of doing it on your own. Every year, I do a 30 day cleanse program with my chiropractor's office in a group and I lose at least 15 lbs each time. More importantly than the weight loss, it helps you identify which foods trigger weight gain and other symptoms in your body and how to stay away from them in the future. With no exercising, my starting weight was 245 lbs before my first cleanse and I am now at 208 three years later. Now that I have a handle on what foods to avoid, my cravings are nearly gone for those things and I can focus on exercising and really losing the next 50 lbs!
[...]
Everyone's body is different - I personally have found that sugar is a major problem for me as well as dairy. Even if I severely limit the amount of dairy I take in, I will not lose any weight - I cannot have any at all if I want to lose weight. But everyone is different and you have to learn what works for you and find other ways to get the nutrients you need. It's a process

Regarding everyone being different, I think that's true with with allergies and triggers, etc. I know, that for whatever reason, that if I drink diet soft drinks my appetite seems to increase. If I let myself get out of control I'll eat a lot more than I need to in a day. I know that if I did that habitually I'd probably really start packing on the pounds, LOL!

I'm curious about the Chiropractic cleanse, though, if we graphed your weight loss, how that line would look. It sounds like most people put some water weight back on after going off a cleanse so I assume it would go up again shortly after. Have you tracked and do you have sort of a little roller-coaster effect at the cleanse points? Do you track your calories consistently as well? Sorry for the delay in my questions but I had some things come up at work.

BurtHuttz

[...]
I recommend it for reasons mentioned above (portion control, kicking unnecessary cravings, etc) but NOT TO LOSE WEIGHT. There is no quick fix for weight loss. Especially in the form of depriving yourself of nutrients. I picked the GM cleanse-- I can still eat my 1700-2000 calories a day. but what a crazy difference it makes in your body. even without the weight loss.

I'm hearing this as a common thread - that the cleanses have been most effective for cleansing the palate, and for sort of "getting your head screwed on straight" as it were. Almost a ritual or ceremony before starting something that lasts longer. Thank you for sharing this (and I look forward to your own success thread; sounds like you're right on track.)