Juice fasting

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  • melleyd
    melleyd Posts: 432 Member
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    OMG I am so glad I found this thread. I watched the documentary too a few nights ago...ironically while I was eating a supreme pan pizza. I got so inspired. I've been feeling like crap lately. Here's the short story....4 years ago I had sever hyperemesis while pregnant - meaning I puked 10 or more times a day for 6 months. I had to go on a feeding tube and lost 40lbs during the pregnancy. My body was severely depleted of all minerals and nutrients. Once baby girl was born we ate mostly junk or fast food for the last 4 years because there is no time to cook. I only eat veggies about once a week. For the last 4 years I've never drank water. I've lived off sweet tea and diet coke. For the past 6 months I've felt like I have mono. Went to the doctor and tested positive for Epstein Barre virus. So in the last month I've been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, the beginnings of fatty liver disease, and arthritis. I'm only 39 and I feel like I'm dying.

    So I'm starting my juice fast/reboot tomorrow. I've thrown away all the junk food. Stocked up on fruits and veggies and bought yogurt and protein powder in case I get desparate for protein. I HATE veggies and just made my first shake veggie shake tonight with spinach, carrots, 2 oranges, a lemon, ginger, cucumber. When I first drank it I about gagged. I added a lot of ice and ended top drinking TWO glasses!

    My theory is that my body is still depleted of nutrients so I'm hoping to use this fasting period as a time to overload my body with micronutrients, shrink my stomach, adjust my palette, and mentally prepare myself for a permanent healthier lifestyle.

    Because of all my health problems I can't do any exercise so I really have to get a lot of weight off to add any exercise. With the active Epstein Barre infection if I do any physical activity it takes 2 days to recover. Even buying groceries wears me out.

    I'm excited to see everyone's progress.


    We add some apple or other fruits to the veggie juices and it really helps! I'm glad you are doing this....I think if you do it for long enough you will find that you are a completely different person as far as your CFS, etc. These things will likely DISAPPEAR! How long are you planning to go?
  • awandell
    awandell Posts: 62
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    Oh Lori, I hope you find that this makes you feel wonderful and energized and nourished (after the first two difficult days).

    I haven't commented here because DH and I broke our fast. We did not hear the good news about his job that we were hoping to hear and thus couldn't prolong the fast like we'd hoped (it's expensive!). He is hoping to hear good news in a month, and we'll start right back up on the fast. It was unreal how much energy I had, how healthy we felt. We could tell an immediate difference when we were off the fast.

    Word to the wise. What others are saying about slowing getting off the fast, it's no joke. I made poor choices in what I ate (an enchilada- and I couldn't even eat half of it!) when I got off (I was depressed from the bad news.) and I did get very sick, and it was very painful. It was 24 hours after I'd started eating that the sickness came though, so just take it really slow when you start to reintroduce foods. Thankfully, this diet has altered my appetite. I'm not craving sugars at all like before. I can go almost black on my coffee now. I can eat about half of what I ate before and be full to the brim. My stomach is requiring less to fill it. Also, I am enjoying fruits and veggies a lot now and am now trying to be creative in making meals that our whole family would enjoy that include raw veggies (difficult with 3 little ones!)

    Dakota, how is it going for you? And the rest of you? How are you all doing?
  • CarolTempleton
    CarolTempleton Posts: 244 Member
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    [/quote]

    How often do you go to your doctor to have your numbers checked? I can't wait to hear about his (or her) report about how you're coming along! :smile:
    How do you log in all the veggies and fruits calories?
    I got a juicer today :drinker: Not to be used for every meal, but just one to two meals a day.

    I'm not "getting" why everyone is drinking so much fruit juice when there's so much sugar in fruits. It's the dark, leafy greens that have all the great micronutrients.
    I've been playing around with a coffee "smoothie" which tastes just like a shake. ..

    Coffee Shake Smoothie:
    8 cubes of frozen strong coffee
    1 cup vanilla flavored almond milk
    1 banana
    2 cups baby spinach
    1 scoop tasteless protein powder

    I mix liquify the coffee and milk, then add the banana, then spinach and after that's thoroughly blended I stir in the protein powder and serve. It's 271 calories and the taste and texture is JUST LIKE a coffee-vanilla flavored shake :love:
    [/quote]

    I saw my doctor this morning and he said I am doing great, that I am losing weight at a very good pace and i can go for longer if want to. Also i do fruit juice in the morning and for lunch and dinner its a veggie juice, mostly spinach and kale with other veggies mixed in. Also I look up what each fruit or veggie is in calories, sodium, etc... and log it that way. I have to create a new food (juice) but thats how I log
  • CarolTempleton
    CarolTempleton Posts: 244 Member
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    OMG I am so glad I found this thread. I watched the documentary too a few nights ago...ironically while I was eating a supreme pan pizza. I got so inspired. I've been feeling like crap lately. Here's the short story....4 years ago I had sever hyperemesis while pregnant - meaning I puked 10 or more times a day for 6 months. I had to go on a feeding tube and lost 40lbs during the pregnancy. My body was severely depleted of all minerals and nutrients. Once baby girl was born we ate mostly junk or fast food for the last 4 years because there is no time to cook. I only eat veggies about once a week. For the last 4 years I've never drank water. I've lived off sweet tea and diet coke. For the past 6 months I've felt like I have mono. Went to the doctor and tested positive for Epstein Barre virus. So in the last month I've been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, the beginnings of fatty liver disease, and arthritis. I'm only 39 and I feel like I'm dying.

    So I'm starting my juice fast/reboot tomorrow. I've thrown away all the junk food. Stocked up on fruits and veggies and bought yogurt and protein powder in case I get desparate for protein. I HATE veggies and just made my first shake veggie shake tonight with spinach, carrots, 2 oranges, a lemon, ginger, cucumber. When I first drank it I about gagged. I added a lot of ice and ended top drinking TWO glasses!

    My theory is that my body is still depleted of nutrients so I'm hoping to use this fasting period as a time to overload my body with micronutrients, shrink my stomach, adjust my palette, and mentally prepare myself for a permanent healthier lifestyle.

    Because of all my health problems I can't do any exercise so I really have to get a lot of weight off to add any exercise. With the active Epstein Barre infection if I do any physical activity it takes 2 days to recover. Even buying groceries wears me out.

    I'm excited to see everyone's progress.

    I am Glad you are doing this, you will see a difference in the next couple days, if your use to junk, the first few days will be super hard, so be strong and keep at it. I'm only dothing this for 2wks and will decide at the end of week 2 if I need to be on it for longer. Juicing is amazing. Most of the veggie juices are pretty gross. I found that my favorite one is spinach, kale, carrots and apples and maybe some celery stalk. try it out and see what you thing. I can barely stand anything else. Good luck and Happy Juicing
  • CarolTempleton
    CarolTempleton Posts: 244 Member
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    OMG Day 8 is here and I think I am over my cravings, headaches and growling tummies... Its been a long week, but I made it, how did everyone else do? Anyone have to cheat yet? One day I had a boiled egg, but I really don't think that hurt anything. I just miss eggs so much I had to have one. And it really didnt affect my weight loss. My body probably was thinking, oh heres some more protein. and just used it as extra energy in my workouts. Anyways feeling good and only one more week to go, woot.....

    Happy Juicing :drinker:
  • FindingFit50s
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    That documentary is making the rounds! I haven't read all the replies before mine - just the first couple - so I don't know if anyone has mentioned the title, but in case not, and anyone is wondering, it's "Fat, Sick and Almost Dead", available on Netflix Instant View. My husband, daughter and I watched it a couple of weeks ago after one of my MFP friends suggested it.

    I already have a juicer that my husband bought for me when I wanted one for Christmas a couple years ago, then I never used it. Right after watching the documentary, my daughter started the Reboot for a couple of days, but then our kitchen makeover got underway, so we've decided to postpone it until that's done, which should be by the end of this week.

    So, probably starting Monday, my daughter and and I will be doing the Reboot. My husband wants to try it for maybe ten days to lose his "final fifteen" that he hasn't been able to get rid of for a few years.

    Our daughter is getting married in November and she just bought her dress. She got it two sizes too small, and hopes to lose enough to have it altered an additional two sizes, so four sizes smaller.

    I would just love to be able to get down to 250 by the wedding. I've been on here for a long time, but just got serious about it and "went public" and added friends on June 3rd. I've lost almost 22 pounds already, but since I started out at 334, I still have a ways to go to make that 250 goal by November 12.

    So, we'll be joining the "Reboot Revolution" very soon and looking forward to awesome results!

    P.S. Explanation of my weird profile pic: It's a preview for my friends of my kitchen makeover. The ugly green print on the left is the 70s wallcovering that we've lived with since buying our house 20 years ago. Liked it at first; Grew tired of it by 10 years; Have hated it for the past 10 years. The brick-red color (Glidden "Cinnamon Stick") is the new color of the upper portion of the walls. Installed wainscoting on the lower portion. The new countertop is visible at the bottom of the photo. Behind it you can see the remnant of the old formica - white with green veins - that used to cover the countertop and wall behind it. (I'm putting white beadboard over the wall behind the countertop.) So.... that's the story behind the photo. :wink:
  • swinginchandra
    swinginchandra Posts: 418 Member
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    Made my first juice this morning!
    Dandelion Greens
    Cucumber
    Apple
    Lemon
    Ginger

    I must say, it was really good! The dandelion greens are really bitter though, so they need the other stuff in their to cut the flavor. They are supposed to be amazing for you though!
  • Steelytop
    Steelytop Posts: 145 Member
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    I too watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010) and was so impressed I watched it a second and third time and took notes. Today is Day 3. We bought a Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain (about $100) and it arrived on July 22nd (I ordered it from Amazon on July 21st and it arrived from PA the next day! I love Amazon Prime!) and it's working great. I can see where we may add a Breville Ion (about $200) for the multi-speed features but the one we have now is working like charm.

    On the first day I lost 7 lb. We'll call that beginners luck! Today is Day 3 and I've lost 9.4 lbs so far total! I've been a loyal member of MFP for over a year now. At one point I had lost 58 lbs. I'm back down to 38 lbs lost total. I have a ways to go. And I'm doing this for 60 days and then augmenting solid forms and continued juices for the next 6 to 8 months. (Really for life) After a juice I feel 100% better.

    Last night and the night before I woke up with energy in the middle of the night (I never get up and read or watch tv usually after I go to bed) and got up for 2 hours and then went back to bed. I'm a bit tired right now and plan to regain those 2 hours this morning some time. Yesterday I burned 836 calories on the elliptical trainer. I tend to do that about 3 to 4 times a week. Every other day. And a few sets of curls of dumb bells on off days. I'm merely trying to slim and boost my health. Oh yeah, and get off those pills! (High blood pressure, high cholesterol) I was close late last year to getting off of those but my will power waned and I gained back 30 lbs. I was still about 30 lbs less than last year's 310. (279.6 on July 23rd.) Now down to 270.2

    Oh yeah, we started out with 4 juices a day but went to 6 with a new recipe plan that I thought was much better than Day 1. Day 2 was much better with better colors on the juices (more pure colors). We're just repeating Day 2 on Day 3. I'm taking my blood pressure twice a day and I'll be giving that report to my doctor on future doctors visits as I usually do if medications are changing slightly. I have to support my decisions and conclusions, other wise I'd be in trouble. Good luck to all juicing! And good luck to all using MFP in general! :)
  • Steelytop
    Steelytop Posts: 145 Member
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    Here is my current sample menu. I tend to drink water only but there are substitutes for others so inclined.

    This simple juice detox three-week diet will provide you with a minimum of 22 daily servings of fruit and veggies in the form of nutrient-dense juices.

    You'll absorb thousands of acid-neutralizing, detoxifying nutrients every day, which is the key to shedding fat effortlessly- and permanently, says naturopathic physician Roni DeLuz, R.N., N.D. Expect to lose up to 31 pounds in three weeks and heal stubborn health challenges- fast!

    Diet in a nutshell. Enjoy unlimited amounts of fresh juice, aiming for at least one 8 oz. glass every two hours. For best results, switch up the recipes: USDA research suggests that consuming at least six different plant foods daily can triple your intake of acid-neutralizing phytonutrients.

    A Sample Day to Jump-Start Your Juicing Detox
    Breakfast energizer: In juicer, combine
    3 large carrots, trimmed
    1 cucumber
    1/2 beet
    1/2 peeled lemon
    and 1" piece fresh ginger root.
    Drink along with 8 oz. warm water or herbal tea.

    Mid morning perk-up:In juicer combine
    1 cup mixed berries, like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries
    1 cored apple
    and 2 cucumbers.

    Power Lunch: In juicer, combine
    1/2 cucumber
    1 large handful spinach
    3 carrots, trimmed
    2 stalks celery
    1/2 beet (with greens)
    and 1/2 lemon.
    Enjoy with 8 oz. iced herbal tea.

    Mid-afternoon refresher: In juicer, combine
    2 cored apples
    1 cucumber
    and 1 large handful dandelion greens or spinach.
    Or simply mix 1 Tbs. Macro Greens supplement into 8 oz. apple juice.

    Satisfying supper: In juicer, combine
    3 medium tomatoes
    1 cucumber
    1 small handful cilantro
    1 red bell pepper
    and 1/2 peeled lime.
    Serve in bowl; add dash of hot sauce, if desired.

    Evening treat: In juicer, combine
    1 cup mixed berries
    1 cucumber
    and 1/2 peeled grapefruit.
    Enjoy with 1 large glass iced herbal tea.
  • Steelytop
    Steelytop Posts: 145 Member
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    Not sure if we're keeping the Satisfying Supper or not, it might get phased out. We'll see. Was the least favorite of the day and I'm hearing many people say to leave tomatoes out. I don't know about that yet but I know that one was spicy. Btw, I tend to drink these juices pretty quick the first couple of times.

    I just had the breakfast energizer and a small amount of evening treat as well.
  • RunLikeBelle
    RunLikeBelle Posts: 11 Member
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    We add some apple or other fruits to the veggie juices and it really helps! I'm glad you are doing this....I think if you do it for long enough you will find that you are a completely different person as far as your CFS, etc. These things will likely DISAPPEAR! How long are you planning to go?

    I am just taking it one day at a time. I don't have a goal for how long because I don't want to disappoint myself. I almost caved this morning. I'm seeing a rheumatologist Wed and am afraid the fasting may affect my test results. But then I told myself to get over it. As long as the doctor knows what I am doing they can figure out the results and feeling better is more important than numbers from a doctor.

    I've read a lot of info that juicing helps CFS and autoimmune diseases so I really hope I can do this!
  • RunLikeBelle
    RunLikeBelle Posts: 11 Member
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    sdaudel thank you for posting your sample menu. This helps a lot.
  • RunLikeBelle
    RunLikeBelle Posts: 11 Member
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    Diet in a nutshell. Enjoy unlimited amounts of fresh juice, aiming for at least one 8 oz. glass every two hours.

    Question....

    Do you juice these every two hours and clean the juicer each time? Or make these ahead of time?

    I got a Jack Lalanne juicer for $99 at Walmart despite mixed reviews and am pretty happy with it for the price. But it is a pain to clean!
  • cbpbro
    cbpbro Posts: 49
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    I got the compact breville for 99 bucks too and i love it, soo easy to clean. You want to consume the juice as soon as you can to get the greatest benefits from it but I am forced to take some to work on the weekdays. I also clean it after every juicing. I weighed myself this morning and im down another 2 pounds from yesterday.
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
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    I love juices!! I think it's great you guys are trying this! I do have one concern or question rather, how do you avoid gaining the weight back when you switch to regular food/calorie counting? It's a liquid diet with a lot of nutrients but nonetheless it's liquid and I am assuming it isn't that full of calories? Correct me if I am wrong. I could probably do 1-3 days of juicing but that's it, I would probably crack the next day and eat solid foods, lol!

    Anyways, if anyone could shed some light on this I would greatly appreciate it. :)
  • melleyd
    melleyd Posts: 432 Member
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    I've read a lot of info that juicing helps CFS and autoimmune diseases so I really hope I can do this!

    BELIEVE you can do it and you will be able to do it. We are all here to support you!
  • Steelytop
    Steelytop Posts: 145 Member
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    I clean mine after every use. Definitely. It'll stain otherwise. And the model I got (and Cbpbro got) is awesome for easy cleaning.

    We do a combination of making them every 2 hours and storing them in the fridge as well for times when we don't have access to a juicer. It still works fine and I feel so much better right after a juice. :) There is one being made right this moment for my son and another one for the wife and I. I find myself looking forward to them now because i'm hungry. ;) So, if my wife says "Do you want this extra, i've had all I can." I'd say "Yes!".

    The way to avoid getting the weight back on is i'm switching to solid veggies and fruits as well as adding protein, brown rice, nuts, seeds, etc. for the next 6 to 8 months bare minimum. I was already to the point of avoiding fast food almost entirely (outside of sandwiches) and just making everything at home anyway. So, we've learned a great deal about cooking various favorites over the past couple of years and once we learn the recipe it kind've eliminates that place from our purchase list. Unless, it's truly a treat night like a birthday. And even then we often just make it at home. I plan to continue fruits and veggies long after the 60 days and the 6 to 8 months afterwards. I do not plan on giving up juicing completely when it comes to fresh juice. I'm already starting to crave it and it's only day 3.
  • swinginchandra
    swinginchandra Posts: 418 Member
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    just finishing up drinking my first juice...I feel like it was a lot of juice, at least 16 oz, but it's still pretty low in calories for a lunch... Those of you that are logging, how are you doing with getting enough calories in? I feel full, but I want to make sure I'm getting enough to eat!
  • TonyaJ83
    TonyaJ83 Posts: 155
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    I'm on day 2. Just heard about the documentary a week ago. I tapered off coffee for a few days prior. I did not ask a Dr. The Dr. hasn't cared that I'm 45 lbs. over weight. The Dr. didn't care when I was eating toxic food! I don't want his input on this. If I had a good Dr., one that actually cared about me rather than belittling me and making me feel like a waste of his time maybe I'd feel different. Small town, not a lot of choices. Hard to find a good one!
  • melleyd
    melleyd Posts: 432 Member
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    just finishing up drinking my first juice...I feel like it was a lot of juice, at least 16 oz, but it's still pretty low in calories for a lunch... Those of you that are logging, how are you doing with getting enough calories in? I feel full, but I want to make sure I'm getting enough to eat!

    Amy: I haven't really been able to do P90X since I started and I am on Day 5. I will start to get surges of energy so hoping to start back up in a few days. Will add my protein powder to the juice if I have issues with not being able to do the workouts. I am not logging by the way so I'm probably not getting enough calories. I don't drink a lot of juice when I do this.