I saw the documentary and have done juicing. I too think that juicing alone does not provide enough protein or fiber to keep you full and with adequate nutrition. However, sometimes I do use vegetable juice as a meal replacement if I am not hungry, or as snack if the weather is warmer and I am really thirsty. I certainly think homemade juice is healthier than anything you can buy in a store. I have never replaced all of my meals with juice, though.
I did research on this diet and this is what I found. Also I am a diet clerk and worked with a dietitian on a daily basis in a nursing home. I saw the results of what a liquid diet did to people. The risk of just juicing means if your body isn't getting enough calcium, your chance of getting osteoporosis and rickets increases. people experience nausea, constipation and diarrhea on these liquid diets. There's also a risk of gallstone formation.people who are only mildly obese may lose too much lean body mass on a liquid diet. That can increase their risk of developing cardiac problems, and these diets have been associated with cardiac arrhythmias.reports that liquid diets may also lead to muscle cramps, anemia, dizziness and menstrual abnormalities. Since some of the diets allow only 500 to 800 calories a day, dieters may experience fatigue and run the risk of malnutrition.Prolonged liquid diets have the potential to lead to symptoms of malnutrition your body goes into starvation mode and you really throw your metabolism out of whack and as soon as you eat something the weight will come right back on. I don't think this diet is worth the risk of all these complications. It's not sustainable and the results will only reverse themselves as soon as the diet is stopped. There is no quick fix to losing weight. I am on a few medications that make me gain weight and between battling those AND being premenopausal losing weight has been a real issue with me I've bounced back and forth with the same 2 pounds for the past 4 mths. I joined WW on Jan 29 and have lost 11 lbs already! I feel great let me tell you I'm a diabetic and when I feel good that is a very good thing. You can't beat sensible portion control and good healthy foods.
Diabeticdiva, I think think there needs to be a distinction between juicing all natural whole vegetables and fruits juiced at home and reconstituted juices or liquid diet supplements. A juicing diet and liquid diet are not the same thing. Liquid diets generally consist of protein meal replacements which are chemically processed and manufactured. What we are talking about here is buying whole fruits and vegetable and making your own juices at home with them using either a juicer or a blender. The only thing removed from the fruits or vegetable is essentially the fiber.
As for your concerns regarding calcium, there are a lot of vegetable which contain calcium including spinach, kale, broccoli, collard green and romaine lettuce. These vegetables also contain a form of calcium which is far more accessible to the body than milk or dairy products.
Fruits and vegetables also contain protein and when juiced the protein actually becomes more accessible to the body. Because it with the right type of juicer is breaks down the cell wall and makes it easy for the body to process and absorb the proteins it contains.
As for the caloric intake when doing any kind of juice fasting you are told to drink lots of water and to drink the juices was when you are hungry there is no real restriction to the amount. Some people drink 4-6 20oz glasses of fresh vegetable juice in a day. This type of whole food is very dense in calories but the enzymes, minerals and vitamins are immediately accessible to the body.
Saying that this is unhealthy is like saying that eating nothing but fruit and vegetables for a specified period of time is unhealthy. I think people are really misguided about juice fasting, what it entails and the amount of food and nutrients actually being consumed.
It is meant to be a break for your digestive system and it is considered beneficial if you are trying to deal with food sensitivities and other issues since it gives those parts of the digestive track a chance to recover.
I am not saying this is something that anyone should undertake lightly. Conducting a juice fast correctly and breaking it correctly take planning and education it is also not something that is recommended necessarily for weight loss purposes.
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead calls their program a reboot which is essentially what a juice fast is. It can be a really good opportunity to break food addiction and allows a person to focus on healing their body on an internal level. Basically giving the digestive track a chance to reset and recover.
I think anything beyond 14 days without proper support from a healthcare provider (it does not have to be a doctor, a nutritionist, dietitian, holistic practitioner etc.) is dangerous.
Weightloss should be seen as an additional benefit to juice fasting not the purpose for it. It is meant to fill your body with such nutrient dense food that it begins to release, toxins stored in the body, and recover.
I am not personally planning on undertaking a fast myself, although I may in the future but I think juicing needs to be recognized as beneficial on many levels.
Has anyone else watched 'Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead'? (Join the Reboot)
I've been seeing these commercials for jointhereboot.com, so I was interested.
To sum it up, this gentleman from Australia goes on a juice fast. He's closely monitored by a doctor. He helps people. Etc. The whole documentary is available at the website.
Anyone else watch it?
I found it to be inspirational, even though I wasn't running out to buy a juicer, haha.
I watched it... I would juice fast if I had one of those high quality juicers and could afford all the produce (I think they even add it up in the movie, it's quite alot for a days worth).
Haha. Yeah. Produce is quite expensive, particularly when they start buying only organic.
It was a good documentary, or at least I thought so. I didn't want to start juicing, but after seeing how much all those fruits and veggies benefited him, it was inspiring to incorporate more in to my diet as well.
I haven't seen that one, but I read Crazy Sexy Cancer when I was going through chemo, which advocates juicing as part of an organic, mostly vegan, "oxidizing" diet plan. I am very curious about some parts of both of these systems and drink store-made green juice with breakfast, but I haven't been able to afford to go full on (for the expense reasons others have cited). It is definitely something I hope to incorporate more into my life as I go along this fitness journey, albeit in a modified way.
I was really shocked at the expense when he added it all up! I do think the organic veg/fruit probably at least doubles the cost, but holy cow! And MAN that's a lot of produce for an itty bitty glass of juice.
If I had unlimited resources I'd probably juice, it seems like something worth trying if you have the money. I really don't think I could do just juice though!
Our bodies don't need cleanses, reboots, douches (yep, same theory), colonics, resets, etc.
My guess is not one person in the "Goals" section who has kept their weight of long term has a goal story that starts our with "First, I did a juice cleanse that reset my system, then I used Xenadrine to control my appetite while using Saran Wrap to whittle my waist."
I've heard many wonderful things about juicing, but I also have not felt the desire to start on something like that. I'm kind of lazy and the more effort I have to put in to preparing something, the less likely I am to do it. I'd rather throw together a salad and eat some fruit than juice it all and drink it.
A friend of mine loves juicing and I swear I see him drink juice more than he eats. He started bringing me juice, because I'd compliment him on how good it was. At least some of them, the sweet ones he'd make with just fruit. When I asked him how much fruit was required to make the juice, I just about died. I may as well have just sat and eaten a pound of grapes, or a carton of strawberries, and I would have been more satisfied. I had to start declining other than a small sample of the juice as I had already calculated my calorie intake for the day, and it did not include a pound of grapes!
I'm with the others. I'd rather have something to chew that will leave me feeling full than drink my food.
