Juice diet... any thoughts?

There is no reason to do this.

If he watched some crappy documentary like Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, based on sensationalism and pseudoscience, he's been mislead into believing that crash dieting techniques or toxin removal is a necessary or desirable thing.

In short, you are correct. He is pretty much confused and lacks the direction to do it right.

There is no reason to do this.

If he watched some crappy documentary like Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, based on sensationalism and pseudoscience, he's been mislead into believing that crash dieting techniques or toxin removal is a necessary or desirable thing.

In short, you are correct. He is pretty much confused and lacks the direction to do it right.

I watched that movies this weekend. The only true statement he made was "I'm not a doctor."

I watched that movies this weekend. The only true statement he made was "I'm not a doctor."

LOL!

I thought about doing this in January after watching that documentary. I fasted for one day and decided I wanted to eat. I then switched to raw foods (fruit and veggie only) but I felt I needed fat and protein so I added almonds. I have monthly doctor appts because of a thyroid condition and my doctor was suprised at how much my cholesterol dropped. It wasnt really bad before I just had an over- abundance of good cholesterol.

You answered this in your first paragraph.....He lost all his muscle tone....Now having muscles is a big thing to a man....So why?

I would say that there is such a thing as essential protein and also such a thing as essential fat, both of which are probably scant in this type of regime. You need adequate protein and fat just to maintain and repair your cells in a state of optimal metabolism.

What would be in abundance (probably - depends on the fruit & veg juiced) is sugar. Bear in mind that there is no such thing as an essential sugar.

(At a pinch the body can manufacture glucose from some of the building blocks of protein and fat by the process of gluconeogenesis, but it cannot ever manufacture protein and fat from glucose.)

My opinion is that you'd do your boyf a massive favour by getting him a book called 'Waist Disposal' by Dr John Briffa.

Good luck!

I've done 3 and 5 day juice fasts before with good results, but for me it's not a dietary choice i could easily maintain (and I am a vegetarian!). The purpose of a juice fast is to basically give your digestive tract a rest. Pure fruit and veggie juices are quite easily processed by the body, contain almost as many nutrients as eating the whole fruit (mostly just lacking the fiber) and can be a great way for people to get more greens in their diet if they are not a big fan of eating salads and spinach and such. Juice cleanses can be a little intense on the body though and can be quite unpleasant- think bowel discomfort, cramping, hunger pangs (if you are not drinking at least 20 oz 4-6 times a day), acne, caffeine withdrawal headaches an bad breath! I find the best balance for me is to juice maybe 2x a day (mostly veggie juices w'/ green apple), eat plenty of raw or lightly steamed veggies and drink a ton of water. Oh and fruits (as well as veggies) do contain protein and some fruits like bananas and avocados do contain natural fats so those nutrients are not missing on a juice diet. It is not for everyone and there is a lot of conflicting information on the subject. I simply know that consuming fresh produce (whether eaten or juiced) has a ton of health benefits and micro nutrients that are essential for a balanced healthy diet.

I think it's ridiculous, but he's a grown man and if he wants to try it, he's going to.

You are right... that's why I'm trying to collect good arguments. But if he want he will do it anyway

He is essentially creating a massive calorie deficit and additionally he's drinking instead of eating his food. When you look at it objectively this is basically what he's accomplishing by taking a bunch of fruit and veggies and blending it up as his source of food.

Just ask him to look objectively at it. Does he understand that lean mass losses occur while eating at a deficit, and in the absence of proper protein intake and proper resistance training, a good portion of the weight he loses will be lean mass and not bodyfat?

Does he understand that large deficits require much more precision with food choice?
Does he understand that rapid decrease in intake will typically cause large losses in fluid weight, that only make the scale go down?
Does he understand that if he actually wants to look appealing, he is doing himself a disservice by taking this approach?

It absolutely BAFFLES THE *kitten* OUT OF ME how many people fail to take a sensible approach to this game.

I will give your boyfriend a valuable list if I may arrogantly say so:

1) Eat at a moderate deficit. 20% under TDEE is a good starting point.
2) Consume adequate protein and fat. (1g/lb lean mass in PRO and .35g/lb bodyweight in fat as MINIMUMS)
3) Lift some weights.
4) Get rest.
5) Repeat
6) And stop looking for gimmicks and stop micromanaging all the other CRAP that doesn't matter.

That's it. Medical conditions and individual intolerances aside, the above is a starting point that for many is also an end point.

EDIT: Seriously if he would just do the above list, he will make great progress and it's very likely he'll enjoy it along the way, and actually get to eat food and enjoy that too.