Juice fasting/very low calorie diet - 18lb loss

Patttience wrote: »

I started off with a narky response too but i'm gonna have another go…

When you start eating again, you may increase a little in body weight because when you eat carb foods, your body holds more water. Its normal. That said, i expect you would surely have lost some fat but most of the weight gain you see within the first few days of eating normally again, will be water weight and that should happen even if you are eating at a calorie deficit. It would only stay at its current low weight if you stick to a low carb diet.


This year i've done some time on low carb, and 5:2. I would never do a juice fast. I prefer my fruit whole. I would suggest you start straight away with ditching the juices and eating the fruit and vegetables you are currently drinking. Then from that you can transition back to including a few more of anything else that's lacking. Its likely you are not eating sufficient protein. And are probably short on a few other vitamins too because not all vitamins come from fruit and vegetables, ditto minerals. Try to make you diet ultimately on that includes a wide variety of foods but always a lot of fruit and vegetables.

Do not be too overly strict about fats. If most of your fats are something like olive oil then you will do yourself no harm and your diet will probably more sustainable because the food you eat will taste better.

I eat whole fat dairy, a little bit of butter. Not much meat fat because i try to avoid it in general. I eat quite a lot of olive oil but not much other vegetable oil. I am trying other nut oils and use sesame when doing asian food. I also eat oily fish for omega 3 fatty acids.

I have followed a sweets free plan all year. Its great. i love it and i'm doing it for the rest of my life. I do get to eat desserts sometimes but in what i have determined to be very low risk situations. I recommend figuring out something like this for yourself with regard to any foods that you find it difficult to practice self-control. I generally find abstinence much easier than moderation but i have already gone on long enough so won't bother with the detail of my program. But i've just weathered some low mood weeks and if there's one thing that can bring all your best intentions unstuck its low mood and or stress. When i get those situations coming up i get help as soon as i can - in the form of counselling. I usually only need one session with my wonderful psychologist. And it works. Along with my commitment to my sweet free life.

yopeeps025 wrote: »

juliemouse83 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

603reader wrote: »

annabellemayh wrote: »

yopeeps025 wrote: »

juliemouse83 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

Personally, I find it a lot easier to stick to my diet when I know I can just open the fridge and juice some fruit and veg as opposed to calorie counting every meal. I just find it easier, if I was at home opposed to university I would probably not juice as I would have more time to plan my shopping etc.

But you still need to weigh and log the fruit/veggies in your juice. SO it's the same thing.
Unless you're buying prepared juice which I think is stupid. I don't like juicing in general but if you're going to do it, you might as well make it yourself. It's cheaper that way and you have better control on what's in it (not saying sugar content here but in terms of flavors). Plus if there's any leftover fruit/veggie stuck in your juicer/blender/whatever, you can compost it for your garden and grow more fruits/veggies.

britishbroccoli wrote: »

You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

RllyGudTweetr wrote: »

annabellemayh wrote: »

britishbroccoli wrote: »

You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

Hi thank you for your advice I'm 5'6, 19 years old and currently 154lbs so I am within my healthy weight range however I personally feel unhappy with my weight. I have lost 18lbs since returning to university and have been here 6 weeks, the 1st October was when I started actively dieting and exercising I may well have lost more before this date simply through eating less than usual.

I intend to follow a low carb high protein diet after coming off the fast with plenty of exercise I hope to maintain/rebuild any muscle lost.

Thank you

My emphasis. Given the portion I highlighted, you might consider speaking to a counselor about body image and body dysmorphia; many universities have folks on staff who are well-versed in helping people with body-image issues.