Raw Juices - Good or Bad for weightloss?

BaliBride2Be
BaliBride2Be Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
I'm just wanting some advise/comments regarding raw juices if anyone has any experience with them?
I have seen that raw juices are so beneficial to our health & assists with weight loss, hence why I'm giving it a go..... BUT i have questions.....

Fruit & veggies are quite high in carbs & sugars, do i worry about this as I'm wanting to loose weight?!
How much should i be consuming per day? Or how much is too much?

Recently i have been having a juice every morning, along with some protein (greek yoghurt). Its been about 500-600mls of juice that i consume all at once. I usually make them with spinach, celery, carrot, apple, pear. But im worried this will halt my weight loss as im going over my daily sugar intake, almost every day!!

Do i have as much as i want, ensuring i stay within my macros?
Or dont worry about the macros if im having lots of raw juices as we know it comes from good carbs & sugars?

Is one juice per day OK? Or should i be doing a day of juice fasting to get the best benefits?

Thank you for any advise you have!! :o)

Replies

  • fittzman
    fittzman Posts: 2
    Nothing wrong about juice, but make it sure that it's a pure juice from real fruit.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    you have to look at the whole diet to say if it's going to work for weight loss. to sum it up breifly:

    for *weight* loss, it's simply calories in v calories out, i.e. eat less than you burn off and you'll lose weight

    however, you also need to pay attention to health, because just focusing on scale weight doesn't tell you the whole picture.... if you lose bone density and muscle mass that is not good for your health, however if you lose excess fat then that's healthy.

    for health:

    1. exercise - including weight bearing exercise for increasing bone density

    2. eat all the nutrition your body needs, including protein, healthy fat, carbs, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water

    raw whole fruit will help with 2, because it contains vitamins, minerals, fibre and healthy carbs (and a little water too). It also helps you to eat less than you burn off as it's filling. If you juice it, you lose the fibre and it won't be so filling, so won't help with the calories in v calories out bit so much. However if someone is lacking in vitamins and minerals it may help as these would be more concentrated.... but it's not necessarily going to help with fat loss compared to eating whole fruit.

    But you have to pay attention to the whole diet, just adding fruit (juiced or otherwise) isn't going to do much good if you're not paying attention to calories in v calories out, or the importance of getting all the nutrients your body needs. Additionally, if you're eating at a deficit without exercising there's more risk that you'll lose bone density and muscle mass along with the fat.
  • BaliBride2Be
    BaliBride2Be Posts: 5
    Thank you!!! I am wanting to loose weight, but to also focus on my health as well :)
    I think i still need to look at calories in vs calories out - but to also ensure im getting my daily vitamins & minerals through raw foods. I make sure i stay within my daily macros.
    Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated :o)
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Juicing in upon itself is not going to help or hinder weight loss. Make sure you are hitting your other macros (protein and fats) and don't think that you have to do a "juice fast" or juice at all. If you like it for breakfast, then go for it.
  • dobyblue
    dobyblue Posts: 25 Member
    Thank you!!! I am wanting to loose weight, but to also focus on my health as well :)
    I think i still need to look at calories in vs calories out - but to also ensure im getting my daily vitamins & minerals through raw foods. I make sure i stay within my daily macros.
    Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated :o)

    You will find your body regulates the sugar better if you use a blender. I use a Vitamix during the week, kale, rainbow chard, wheatgrass powder, lemon, beet, ginger, Non-GMO cold-processed whey protein, blueberries and/or raspberries, celery and sometimes spinach. On the week-ends I"ll go with the masticating juicer and add in some apple, carrots and pear.

    All ingredients are organic whenever possible.

    I have lost 24 pounds in the last year which was my goal, steady 1.5~2lbs month so that it stays off.

    I'm also juicing and blending to do my part to prevent cancer, and have removed chemicals from as much of my house as possible (toothpaste, shampoo and hair products, body products, deodorants, cleaning products, linen, clothing, etc) and filter my water with a Berkey system.

    Good for you, it sounds like you're adding a very healthy option to your lifestyle.
  • Dharmafor1
    Dharmafor1 Posts: 32
    I use a Vitamix blender also. I read a lot about the green drinks and decided to go for it, and purchased the Vitamix. I had been losing weight steadily for about a month before I started blending. At first I was using greens such as lettuces, spinach, parsley etc., and drinking about a pint in the morning and about 20 ounces in the afternoon, the Am being a vegetable based drink adding tomatoes carrot celery scallion etc. The second drink still using greens I added banana, berries, pineapple, mango, kiwi in various alternating combinations. I ate a normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for a snack. I noticed that some days before exercise calorie deficits were tallied in, I came up short on my calorie intake, although not on purpose. I also noticed that my weight loss had slowed down a little. It seemed that although my calories were at a deficit my carbohydrates were through the roof because of all the fruit. This week I decided to keep everything the same, strive to hit my calories but eliminate the fruit smoothie. So far it seems that cutting back on some of the fruit has been working and I seem to be back on track. Anyway , that is just me, you might have to play with it to decide what ratio of fruits and vegetables will work best for you with what your tastes might be. One thing I might add, is that my energy went through the roof and drinking these kept my cravings away and kept me feeling pretty full because of all the fiber in the whole foods.

    Good luck!
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    bump.
  • dobyblue
    dobyblue Posts: 25 Member
    I have noticed a huge stamina and energy increase over the last year and from doing research it seems that beets are getting a lot of attention for this.

    See - http://www.examiner.com/article/beet-juice-for-stamina-or-lowering-blood-pressure-studies-at-uc-davis
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8186947.stm
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806141520.htm
  • SJVZEE
    SJVZEE Posts: 451 Member
    Thank you!!! I am wanting to loose weight, but to also focus on my health as well :)
    I think i still need to look at calories in vs calories out - but to also ensure im getting my daily vitamins & minerals through raw foods. I make sure i stay within my daily macros.
    Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated :o)

    You will find your body regulates the sugar better if you use a blender. I use a Vitamix during the week, kale, rainbow chard, wheatgrass powder, lemon, beet, ginger, Non-GMO cold-processed whey protein, blueberries and/or raspberries, celery and sometimes spinach. On the week-ends I"ll go with the masticating juicer and add in some apple, carrots and pear.

    All ingredients are organic whenever possible.

    I have lost 24 pounds in the last year which was my goal, steady 1.5~2lbs month so that it stays off.

    I'm also juicing and blending to do my part to prevent cancer, and have removed chemicals from as much of my house as possible (toothpaste, shampoo and hair products, body products, deodorants, cleaning products, linen, clothing, etc) and filter my water with a Berkey system.

    Good for you, it sounds like you're adding a very healthy option to your lifestyle.

    I'm also a pro-blender person :) I have a green smoothie every day and I love them-like I'm having a shake every day :heart: My base recipe is raw spinach, kale, strawberries, bananas (2), blueberries and then I usually add another veggie (right now I'm using a lot of collard greens because they're in season right now). And then I had been using plain yogurt but I'm trying unsweetened almond milk for my next one, since I'm getting away from dairy products. You can use oj to or another kind of milk instead of yogurt. I also add water and ice, and then flax seed. I blend it all up and then use a large canning jar instead of a cup :) It's super filling and I love that I get in my veggies, without even tasting them lol.
  • fatnessman
    fatnessman Posts: 13
    I've done a couple of juice fasts over the years and I highly recommend incorporating fresh juice in your diet. You don't need to worry about the sugar in fruits because they are natural sugars. It's added processed sugar that you need to worry about. Not that it would be ideal, but if you sustained a diet of only fruit you would likely have a low body weight, simply because the calorie content of fruit is so low. Raw juice can help with weight loss if you use it as a meal replacement the way that you described. You are still nourishing your body while keeping your calorie intake low. I suggest watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix. Great film about the benefits of juicing.

    https://www.facebook.com/eatcleantraindirtyfitness

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eat-Clean-Train-Dirty-100-Cotton-Womens-Workout-Tank-/321171340513?pt=US_Womens_Athleticwear&hash=item4ac74dbce1

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