Juice Cleanses

Hey all!

I just wanted to reach out and see if any of you had done a juice cleanse or something similar to help get through a plateau? I'm not for anything too crazy, but if there was a cleanse for a relatively short amount of time that worked well for you? I would love any input on this! :) thanks!
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I tried a juice cleanse once. It made me weak (I wound up graying out at work, which was awkward because my co-workers assumed I was pregnant). I quickly regained all the weight I lost once I went back to solid food.

    The best way to get through a plateau is to ensure your logging is tight, that your estimate of calories out isn't off, and to adjust as necessary.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    ^ This.
    Juice cleanses won't work. They're not nutritionally balanced.
    How long have you been in a plateau? Usually, when someone has been in a plateau for a couple of months, it means that they're eating their maintenance calories, or logging issues.

    Can you open your diary for us?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
    When I start stalling on my weight loss the thing I usually notice is my logging has gotten sloppy. I'm not using my scale as much, I'm not logging every bite, etc... The solution is never a juice cleanse or any other woo.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    I asked you in the other thread you started today about a plateau how you're measuring your calorie intake/exercise calories. If it's been 4-6 weeks with no change, that's where you should start. Cleanses won't do anything that your liver and kidneys aren't already doing.
  • JennAngel001
    JennAngel001 Posts: 10 Member
    I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

    I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

    I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

    How much did that cost?
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    When I start stalling on my weight loss the thing I usually notice is my logging has gotten sloppy. I'm not using my scale as much, I'm not logging every bite, etc... The solution is never a juice cleanse or any other woo.

    This^^

    Cleansing is unnecessary. Tighten up your logging.
  • Goatsmith
    Goatsmith Posts: 29 Member
    Anything with "cleanse" in the name is a waste of time. They don't do what they claim to (if you had "toxins" you'd need /dialysis/), and they make you miserable because it's a tight diet of all sugar, so you're going to feel hungry more often.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These are my really general tips for a plateau:



    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so since you last saw a drop on the scale, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

    ^^You'll notice the words "cleanse," "detox," or "restart" don't appear up there. There's a reason for that. What quick fixes like juice cleansing tend to do is get your body to dump some water weight and waste early on. That gives you that satisfying drop on the scale, but when you get off the cleanse and you start eating normally again your body replenishes the water weight it was forced to drop. Whatever issue was causing the plateau in the first place will still be there. I always think it's more important to assess what's going wrong in your current routine rather than trying a quick fix that's not really going to fix anything. It's important for long-term success and maintenance once you reach your goal that you understand why you've plateau'd.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    edited February 2016
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

    I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

    How much did that cost?

    Bit the bullet and found their website.

    Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day?? :astonished:

    w77amwi4uc7f.jpg

    It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.
  • Lovee_Dove7
    Lovee_Dove7 Posts: 742 Member
    Hey all!

    I just wanted to reach out and see if any of you had done a juice cleanse or something similar to help get through a plateau? I'm not for anything too crazy, but if there was a cleanse for a relatively short amount of time that worked well for you? I would love any input on this! :) thanks!

    I agree with janejellyroll.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    I tried a juice cleanse once. It made me weak (I wound up graying out at work, which was awkward because my co-workers assumed I was pregnant). I quickly regained all the weight I lost once I went back to solid food.

    The best way to get through a plateau is to ensure your logging is tight, that your estimate of calories out isn't off, and to adjust as necessary.

    I was weak during a week long juice fast as well, but did this at a yoga retreat center and had no responsibilities, so it was ok that I was weak. I too regained all the weight once I went back to solid food.

    I was inspired by "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" but know that juicing isn't for me, so have green smoothies for breakfast and am eating more leafy greens at other meals. Bring on the kale!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I tried a juice cleanse once. It made me weak (I wound up graying out at work, which was awkward because my co-workers assumed I was pregnant). I quickly regained all the weight I lost once I went back to solid food.

    The best way to get through a plateau is to ensure your logging is tight, that your estimate of calories out isn't off, and to adjust as necessary.

    I was weak during a week long juice fast as well, but did this at a yoga retreat center and had no responsibilities, so it was ok that I was weak. I too regained all the weight once I went back to solid food.

    I was inspired by "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" but know that juicing isn't for me, so have green smoothies for breakfast and am eating more leafy greens at other meals. Bring on the kale!

    I love green smoothies. I will often have them as part of breakfast or lunch. Fantastic way to get more greens in the diet.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

    I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

    How much did that cost?

    Bit the bullet and found their website.

    Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day?? :astonished:

    w77amwi4uc7f.jpg

    It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

    Holy bajeebus... I am in the wrong racket.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,767 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

    I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

    How much did that cost?

    Bit the bullet and found their website.

    Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day?? :astonished:

    w77amwi4uc7f.jpg

    It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

    Holy bajeebus... I am in the wrong racket.

    This is the sort of thing that makes me constantly wonder how rich I would be, if only I didn't have this darned moral compass.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    misskarne wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I did it, it helped me jump start my healthier eating. I had to somehow cleanse my pallet. I did Squeezed (delivery service here in Houston). The juices were already added here on the site. I looked and with the juice 'meals' and 'snacks' it equaled my daily calorie intake. I did it for 3 days. After my workout if I felt super hungry I ate an apple. The first day I was extra tired (caffeine withdraws).

    I wouldn't do it long term, but I think it depends on the individual.

    How much did that cost?

    Bit the bullet and found their website.

    Holy moly. Seriously? $40 for one day?? :astonished:

    w77amwi4uc7f.jpg

    It amazes me what people will throw their money away on. $240 is 2 weeks worth of groceries for my family of four.

    Holy bajeebus... I am in the wrong racket.

    This is the sort of thing that makes me constantly wonder how rich I would be, if only I didn't have this darned moral compass.

    Look no further than Dr. Oz for the answer to your question. Perfect example of how rich you can get by selling out and having no moral compass.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    Let's be honest. If it cost $40 and 1 day of misery to get a magically skinny body, and it REALLY worked, most of us would say "screw this" to logging calories. And be glad.

    Unfortunately, it doesn't work. So we're tediously counting calories for months and years on end.
  • Stacey2916
    Stacey2916 Posts: 8 Member
    I started with a juice cleanse for one week and lost 13 lbs! After that I went onto a healthy balanced diet with exercise and lost 4lbs the following week.
    The week after I lost nothing.
    At the end of the month I tried the cleanse again for another week because I was disheartened after losing nothing.
    I lost 2lbs that week, expected more but a loss is a loss.
    I think it's a good kick start but not sustainable. You get major headaches and I had a couple mood swings