Juicing Calories

kamyers89
kamyers89 Posts: 20 Member
edited September 27 in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys, I just got a juicer for graduation (I'm so excited! Best gift ever.), but I'm not really sure how to log calories. I have been trying to find answers on the internet, but there doesn't really seem to be a consensus. I found this, it seems to be logical-- anyone with more experience or knowledge regarding juicing want to weigh in on this?:

"...Multiply the grams of fiber by four because every gram of fiber has four calories in it. Subtract the amount of fiber calories from the total calories of each ingredient when using an extractor because the extractor pulls out the fiber-filled pulp content. Add the fiber calories to the calorie count if you are using a citrus juicer because fiber-filled pulp is not removed." (Taken from "How to Count Calories When Juicing" at http://www.ehow.com/how_5155227_count-calories-juicing.html )

Thanks!
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Replies

  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    This is why the VitaMix is so much better than a juicer! It gives you ALL the nutritional benefits of the fruits and vegetables that you put in it because it's a whole foods machine. There's no pulp to throw away (the pulp is where the real nutrition is, not in the juice). Plus, it makes hot soups, frozen desserts, smoothies, and just about anything else you can imagine.
  • kamyers89
    kamyers89 Posts: 20 Member
    Ok. Anyone have any advice or input on juicing, not VitaMixing?
  • Creiche
    Creiche Posts: 264 Member
    Bumping this thread since I'm interested in how many calories to log for juicing. So far I haven't logged anything as I don't put much fruit in, but I want to make sure I'm not underestimating too much.
  • Trekchick
    Trekchick Posts: 3
    I also would like to know. Im doing a SORT of juice fast and logging the fruit itself (like if its 2 apples and 2 oranges and 10 grapes) as if im eating it whole.

    I dont know if its right cause my breakfast alone was like 480 calories! That cant be right?

    Does anyone have a better way to calculate this (that doesnt involve a whole lot of math! lol)?

    TC
  • wisecat1
    wisecat1 Posts: 41
    This site has recipes with calorie content.

    http://jointhereboot.com/reboot-program/recipes/

    You should also check out the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It's totally motivating!!
  • Creiche
    Creiche Posts: 264 Member
    This site has recipes with calorie content.

    http://jointhereboot.com/reboot-program/recipes/

    You should also check out the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It's totally motivating!!

    I don't usually use nearly as many fruits and veggies as the recipes on this site as I'm not doing meal replacement (just throw in a handful of whatever I grab), but that gives me a helpful ballpark for what I'm having.
  • Latona38
    Latona38 Posts: 111 Member
    Ok. Anyone have any advice or input on juicing, not VitaMixing?

    I've started juicing myself but you won't get much support on MFP about it. When I asked the same question in a thread, all I got was sarcasm and rude comments with no help whatsoever. I don't think you should go on a complete juice diet because it is unsafe but, I have sarted replacing 1-2 meals per day with juicing because I am trying to get bikini ready for my vacation in June. I am having trouble calculating my calories but I'm till searching online for answers. I think it's great to juice and it gives me my servings of fruit/veg that I may skip out on if I had to eat them. I've had my juicer for about a week now and I love it.
  • mprovance
    mprovance Posts: 1
    I found that if it has the items in the food search veggie by veggie, example if typed in "carrot juice" and it had the option of homemade. It also suggests combinations like "carrot, apple, kale"

    I drink it often between lunch and dinner so I'm not starving by dinner time, I've been on this site for 4 days and yesterday I logged it separately as "carrot juice," "apple juice," and "cucumber juice," but today i logged it as the combination.

    i don't know exactly how it calculates the amount of each one, but its close enough to please me.
  • carisparis
    carisparis Posts: 4
    I love juicing, my whole family juices. Not fasting, but as part of a balanced lifestyle. I try to substitute two-four dinners a week with fresh juice. I log each item as a whole vegetable. My take on it is this: I only juice one fruit MAX. This keeps the sugar content in check. I focus on greens as the base, kale, spinach, beet greens, collard, chard etc, wheatgrass etc etc (not carrot greens I learned this the hard way-gross). Then I layer one root veggie such as carrots or beets-they are plenty sweet and starchy so can be used in moderation. After that I add the watery veggies like celery, cuke, tomatoes, bell peppers. Sweet peppers are an incredible sub for sugary fruits. Lemons and limes are the exception to my fruit rule tho, rules are meant to be broken (applies to seasonal berries as well-nutritious! Cranberries yummy!). Don't rule out broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. They are amazing juiced, stalks, greens, and all. While juicing I alternate hard-soft-greens in rotation. If you stick with mostly greens and veggies, the calorie count won't be high. But juicing isn't really about counting calories anyway. I have to remind myself of this sometimes. It's about nourishing and loving your body from the inside out. You've made a great decision to juice. Don't let anyone talk you out of it.
  • hemlock2010
    hemlock2010 Posts: 422 Member
    Bump
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
    Unless you're eating huge amounts of veggies, or eating veggies high in carbs I would not bother counting them. They are so low on the calorie scale that they are almost free meals.
  • vtboomamj
    vtboomamj Posts: 4
    Contribution of Fiber to Energy
    While it is still unclear as to the energy yield of fibers in humans,
    current data indicate that the yield (of soluble fiber) is in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 kcal/g
    (Livesey, 1990; Smith et al., 1998).

    Source: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/DRI/DRI_Energy/energy_full_report.pdf

    Which means when juicing a fruit or vegetable follow the formula below:

    Juiced Calories =Total calories of raw fruit or vegetable - (1.5 [from fiber energy statement above] X Total amount of soluble Fiber)

    I choose 1.5 to make the juice on the higher end of the calorie range.

    Example
    Carrot
    Description: 7.5 inches (in) in length
    Mass: 72 grams (g)
    Total kilo Calories (kcal): 26 kcal
    Total Fiber: 2.3 g
    Soluble Fiber: 1.1 g
    Insoluble Fiber 1.2 g

    Juiced kcal =Total kcal (of raw fruit or vegetable) - 1.5 X Total amount of soluble Fiber
    26kcal -1.5 kcal/g X 1.2g= 24.2 kcal

    Soluble Fiber Source Document: http://huhs.harvard.edu/assets/file/ourservices/service_nutrition_fiber.pdf

    Please let me know if you'd like further clarification.
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    Eating calories is more fun, IMO. :P

    Still, a juicer could have it's benefits... You could make some great syrups with that.
    Great. Now I want one.
  • craftybirdy
    craftybirdy Posts: 53
    I juice a few times a week as a supplement to my diet. I usually track it as a whole fruit or veggie even though I know I'm not getting exactly the same nutrition basis as the whole fruit/veg. The way I figure I would rather over shoot my calories than undershoot or stress out about them. The only issue would be if you are paying close attention to your fiber intake, which is lost when you juice.
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    This is where I have to use the quick added calories option, unfortunately. But if you look at most other juices (natural) you will see some of the calorie counts. IE - a cup of apple juice = 100 calories, while the juice of celery is hardly anything. Sometimes you just have to give your best guess, but better to go over than under to be on the safe side.
  • libbymcbain
    libbymcbain Posts: 206 Member
    Most of the time. I just search veggie by veggie or fruit by fruit on here and I've always found something (I do stick to fairly safe things like carrots, celery, beetroot, apple, orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit). Other things like berries, spinach, banana, nut butters etc, I stick in the blender with the juice and so I just add the calories for the whole item.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Type in your recipe and it may come up. I have logged "Mean Green" many times on this site. Whenever i have a variation, i usually just log it as mean green, because most of my green drinks are based on the same few vegetables.
  • EHirano11
    EHirano11 Posts: 1
    I've found the easiest way to count juicing calories. This site lets you build a juice based on your ingredients and provides a calories count for an 8oz serving.

    http://myphytos.com/build
  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
    Eating calories is more fun, IMO. :P

    Still, a juicer could have it's benefits... You could make some great syrups with that.
    Great. Now I want one.

    Agreed. I'd much rather eat an apple than drink one. Way less calories for the same full feeling.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Eating calories is more fun, IMO. :P

    Still, a juicer could have it's benefits... You could make some great syrups with that.
    Great. Now I want one.

    Agreed. I'd much rather eat an apple than drink one. Way less calories for the same full feeling.
    The advantage to using a juicer is the ability to juice vegetables. You feel fantastic after drinking something with fresh kale or fresh carrots in it. Also, you can make a base for a vegetable stock with the juicer so you can make soups with no/low salt, but still get sodium from the celery.
  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
    Eating calories is more fun, IMO. :P

    Still, a juicer could have it's benefits... You could make some great syrups with that.
    Great. Now I want one.

    Agreed. I'd much rather eat an apple than drink one. Way less calories for the same full feeling.
    The advantage to using a juicer is the ability to juice vegetables. You feel fantastic after drinking something with fresh kale or fresh carrots in it. Also, you can make a base for a vegetable stock with the juicer so you can make soups with no/low salt, but still get sodium from the celery.

    But...why can't I just eat the vegetables?
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Eating calories is more fun, IMO. :P

    Still, a juicer could have it's benefits... You could make some great syrups with that.
    Great. Now I want one.

    Agreed. I'd much rather eat an apple than drink one. Way less calories for the same full feeling.
    The advantage to using a juicer is the ability to juice vegetables. You feel fantastic after drinking something with fresh kale or fresh carrots in it. Also, you can make a base for a vegetable stock with the juicer so you can make soups with no/low salt, but still get sodium from the celery.

    But...why can't I just eat the vegetables?
    Huh? You can eat the vegetables. Why couldn't you?
  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
    Eating calories is more fun, IMO. :P

    Still, a juicer could have it's benefits... You could make some great syrups with that.
    Great. Now I want one.

    Agreed. I'd much rather eat an apple than drink one. Way less calories for the same full feeling.
    The advantage to using a juicer is the ability to juice vegetables. You feel fantastic after drinking something with fresh kale or fresh carrots in it. Also, you can make a base for a vegetable stock with the juicer so you can make soups with no/low salt, but still get sodium from the celery.

    But...why can't I just eat the vegetables?
    Huh? You can eat the vegetables. Why couldn't you?

    Duh. I mean why would I rather juice them than just straight up eating them?
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member

    Duh. I mean why would I rather juice them than just straight up eating them?
    Concentrated source of nutrients. I agree it's not as perfect as eating them, but when you are coming from a typical American diet to something more healthy, you are usually deficient in a lot of nutrients, and a concentrated source of water soluble nutrients helps you feel better more quickly.

    I continue to juice because it just makes you feel great. And it helps control your appetite because you aren't constantly craving all the nutrients that you just got. Try making a fresh green juice once a day for a week and you will feel what i am talking about, i know it sounds crazy, i didn't believe until i tried it myself.
  • sleemorris
    sleemorris Posts: 2
    I think both juicing and vitamix are great. Just determine what you want. Pulp where your body has to break down food or straight juice to the body. Both has benefits. Also just learned cold press is better. Once heat from blades process food, it disturbs the nutrition. Something to think about.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Uhhh...where are you getting 4kcal/gram? That's how much most carbs have but fiber is an exception. It's more like 1.5-2.5kcal/gram. Plus, fiber is the healthy part of fruits and vegetables. You might as well mix vitamins with a butt load of sugar if you plan on juicing. It's the same thing.
  • sleemorris
    sleemorris Posts: 2
    Juicing also helps with consuming more vegetables and fruit you normally don't consume. It also give your digestive system a break. #somethingtochewon
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Juicing also helps with consuming more vegetables and fruit you normally don't consume. It also give your digestive system a break. #somethingtochewon
    I'm an adult. I don't pout and refuse to eat my vegetables. Fasting also gives your digestive system a break without dumping all that excess sugar into your system. There's no reason to juice.
  • racheal9
    racheal9 Posts: 7 Member
    Juicing also helps with consuming more vegetables and fruit you normally don't consume. It also give your digestive system a break. #somethingtochewon
    I'm an adult. I don't pout and refuse to eat my vegetables. Fasting also gives your digestive system a break without dumping all that excess sugar into your system. There's no reason to juice.

    Some people just like it. I like to juice before working out because it's a good source of quick energy. Everyone has their own preferences, I like how the juice tastes so if I'm going to drink it, it might as well be fresh and homemade instead of store bought.
  • Mkaspari41
    Mkaspari41 Posts: 1
    Perfect!
This discussion has been closed.

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