Husband wants to juice!!! - I prefer he did not!!

chasetwins

Ok..so maybe I am uneducated on the topic....but I find the whole juicing thing more of a fad diet than anything. You do not eat..you drink and you lose tons of weight (only to gain it back when you start eating again...which you will!)

So..my husband who had tried it before...(note tried it - and stopped..you would think this would tell him something LOL) now he wants to do it again. His thought is from AM till 5 PM Monday through Friday he juices. Has dinner with us (my forceful idea as I am uncomfortable with him drinking his dinner in front of our 8 yr old children) and I think a snack at night. Weekends I think he said he would not juice but eat like I had planned for him. (he started counting calories on this past Monday).

Now...my reason for posting this is just as I said at the beginning I am uneducated in this topic since I feel strongly it is like the Hollywood fad diets out there. Mind you he watched that fat sick nearly dead thing I watched a little bit and stopped. I like food - I could not drink my meals all day long so I am very close minded to it and was not interested in seeing any more

So if my fellow MFPs could weigh in and give me your thoughts - hopefully to either open up my mind a bit (for his sake) - or give me ways to talk him out of it haha
If his plan above is not a bad idea...then I will be 100% supportive. But if it screams "BAD idea" Give me some reasons why since things like "are you freaking crazy - you will end up consuming 500 cals a day and lose all your muscle!!" just is not working for him LMAO ...Mind you he originally wanted to juice all day / every day!

Thanks guys!! (and gals!)

highervibes

Is there any particular reason he wants to go off food altogether? Can't he eat healthy foods AND juice? I will admit to being very uneducated on the topic as well, but I can't imagine drinking your food is good. I mean, your micronutrients must be wonderful but think of all the calories you're not getting. I think both juicing and eating right would be a good way of eating.

Of course you can lead a horse to water...

inascent

Good Morning. Please remember before I start, that we all have opinions and mine is just one of many. In the for-what-it-is-worth category I will just give you some bulletpoints on our experience.

1. I think juicing is good when used in balance like all things.

2. We have had a juicer for two years. Sure, we started out being major juice-aholics until the bloom came off that rose. Now we use it about every other day in place of a lunch or breakfast.

3. We still love our juice because we are able to add a lot of vitamins and minerals into our diets in one nice glass. We do feel there are healthy benefits. I would never sit down and eat a bowl of beets, but adding one to my juice is awesome with tons of fresh kale and spinach.

4. Our kids, who do not like veggies/fruits so very much, enjoy juicing because of the process and like to experiment making new juices. This is priceless. If at least a couple times a week they get in some fresh juice loaded with good stuff, then we are ahead of the game.

5. I have to applaud your husband. There are way too many people that drink their meals, but they are not of the healthy kind. He is setting a great example for your kids.

Good luck! I am sure they many response you will receive will help you in your juice journey!

nexangelus

Um, I thought you meant another type of juice, oops...you cannot stop someone from doing something, you can only advise them...

m4ttcheek

Are we talking steriods or fruit and veg with the insoluble fiber removed?

chasetwins

LMAO opps forgot about the other "juice"...no juicing like from veggies / fruits with the nutrient extractor (as I call it)

Sweet_Potato

I can relate. My girlfriend just sent me a link to a Dr. Oz juice fast, suggesting we do it. I ignored the email. I think food should be enjoyable and something you can partake in as a family. Nor do I see the point of a diet that's short-term or not sustainable. Not the answer you're looking for, I know.

fattyfoodie

We have a juicer and I sometimes use it for breakfast or lunch. Just for a change. I think of it like a liquid salad.

I find it's psychologically good, if I feel bloated and then juice for breakfast, I feel less bloated. Am I really? Probably not.

Personally I wouldn't juice for five consecutive days. You would be hard pressed to reach your calorie goals and get enough protein, I think.

jdad1

What you prefer is not relevent, you do not make his choices. Give him information that you feel is relevent to your concerns and then back off. He will make his own decision.

Magenta15

i think that if he plans on juicing for breaky and lunch but still eats supper with the family that that is A-OK

he is still getting quite a bit of cals in... despite juicing as you are putting so many fruits and veg in... so it's not like he's drinking 50 cal drinks all day and he can have as much juice as he wants.. i think that combining it with eating a well balanced supper and perhaps a snack is great... I would get so bored of the juice, lol all the power to him.
if he wanted to juice weeks on end with no real food I might be concerned... I don't think you need to worry so long as he sticks to his dinner plans with you

JMHO of course!

m4ttcheek

Tell him you'd prefer him to have some real juice. He'd see some results then

neandermagnon

Are we talking steriods or fruit and veg with the insoluble fiber removed?

that's what I thought!!

Querian

I love juicing! Here is the link to a thread I wrote some time back:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/948510-juicing-101-with-recipes

A few reasons for juicing:
1) it helps get rid of cravings for unhealthy foods
2) it is concentrated nutrition from natural sources
3) it makes me feel better!

There is currently a Green Juice Challenge going on from Foodmatters. It already started but you can check it out here:

http://foodmatters.tv/GJC

Personally I juice daily but as a supplement to my meals, not as a replacement (look at my diary - I eat a lot). I have done a 10 day juice fast but the biggest benefits were getting rid of chronic headaches and resetting my palette to appreciate healthier foods. When I did a juice fast I still counted calories and was around 1200 per day and normally I eat around 1800-200 a day.

Lyerin

If he is really wanting to do it, perhaps you can suggest to him that he do the modified plan on the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead website - it has juicing AND healthy recipes included, so it's not "just" juice. I tried it and didn't feel hungry or unsatisfied.

NOTE: I was not trying it to cut calories or lose weight - I saw the movie and I have hives just like the guy in the movie (every, single day for 9 years and counting). I wanted to see if it would impact my hives. It didn't, so I stopped. I don't take Prednisone anymore for my hives, but I'm on a combination of histamine blockers that seems to be working for me (still have hives, but much fewer and my eyes and lips don't swell up anymore).

neandermagnon

please could someone explain to me what on earth the point of juicing all your meals is? why?? why can't I just eat my vegetables as they are and drink water?

craigmandu

Yea...the Dr. Oz dude just had a show yesterday on it..or was it the day before yesterday....

Honestly, the problem I have with juicing in general (unless you are using it as a supplement method and not a meal replacement) is that you take away everything about the food that you body burns calories to digest in your stomach. You lose the enzymes created in your mouth as you chew (for pre-digestion), and while it is true that your absorption "could" be quicker, I haven't seen any real evidence that your absorption would be "better" for the minerals contained within the food.

My wife wanted to try it after watching the Oz show the other day too...I simply told her "Hey, you have a hard time staying within your MFP counts, if you try to juice you are going to be really hungry".

I think there could be some benefits to very short term juicing, but I'm not entirely convinced that the benefits would be worth it.

dfonte

Ha. I thought you were talking about steroids at first too. I then read your first comment about it being a fad diet and I started laughing. I then discovered it was about fruits and vegetables, and then it got serious.

goodtimezzzz

balance ...juice and solid food...no extremes no diets! if he doesnt listen ....dump him:))

alpine1994

What you prefer is not relevent, you do not make his choices. Give him information that you feel is relevent to your concerns and then back off. He will make his own decision.

I have to agree. It's not like he's taking up smoking or going on an all-Cheeto's diet, know what I mean? If he wants to do it, let him do it and try not to give him too much grief about it just because you wouldn't do it. If he doesn't like it or it doesn't help him meet his goals, he will stop.

Weighinginwithmy02

He shouldn't do anything that you wouldn't encourage your child to do, or your teenager to do, or your twenty year old child to do. He is supposed to be setting an example for you child as to how to eat healthfully and balanced. He is a parent and he has that responsibility. He could include juice, of course, to add to his diet, but not as every single meal for multiple days in a row. What kind of parental message is that to send? If that's not enough to convince him that it's a horrible idea then I don't know what is.

nerdlyness

I don't think juicing should be done to lose weight. It is a way of injecting concentrated nutrients into your system without slowing down your intestinal track with digestion. It flushes out built up toxins in your system, and extra water weight and fecal matter. The weight you lose initially is only poop and water, not fat. I've done green juice cleanses of multiple lengths, the longest being 21 days and I did lose a fair chunk of weight, but that was a side effect and not my intention. They are great ways to remove certain things that can harm us in excess (aspartame, caffeine, etc.) from our bodies that make us crave certain sweets without us wanting to.

Open your mind when it comes to alternative diets. There is nothing wrong with juicing. If he wants to do it, that is his choice.