I've heard about this quite a bit but never really looked into it until I watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix. Well I decided to buy a juicer and go ahead and give this a shot. Initial plan is maybe a 7 or 14 day juice fast then transition back to solid foods, healthier foods of course. I've build myself quite the gut by drinking way to much beer throughout the years and careless eating habits haven't helped either. I think my main reason for wanting to do the fast is just to break down this mental wall I have about change and I think once I get through it everything following will be easier. Anybody else juice or have similar experiences?
My family is 3 weeks into juicing my wife and I are doing it to drop our blood sugars,blood pressure and some weight however we only juice for 2 meals and we eat dinner per doctors advice. What you have to remember the juice contains calories so it is a meal replacement.Also while your juicing you should be eating "clean" we also snack on nuts through the day. We are going for a total way of eating lifestyle not just cleansing. Good luck!
I've been juicing for a few years. The longest I've done it is a 31 day juice fast. I did that twice, both times in the month of December. Yes, during the holidays!! lol I've done quite a few 1 and 2 week fasts and I don't know how many 3 day fasts. I've actually been thinking of starting a new one up for 3-4 days or however long it will go.
How long do any side effects last? I know I'm going to feel hungry for awhile but did you get any headaches or feel like you had little energy? Also do you think a one to two week juice fast is a reasonable goal for somebody that's never done one?
Everyone's different, so I'm going to have to throw down the YMMV disclaimer for everything I'm about to say Everyone gets something, but to what varying degrees you never know until you're there. Basically, it's all psychosomatic and your body's trying convince you to eat and if you've never done anything like this, you'll find out what willpower actually is like. So... Okay, I'm assuming you're talking about an actual juice fast, no solid food. In the first 4 days your body is going to want to break you and will do whatever it can to get you to eat solid food. As long as you understand what is happening you'll be fine. During those 4 days you'll get headaches, immense hunger (even when your stomach is full), and the killer of them all: FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS. Your body is totally trying to get you to give in. What works for me is that when I feel the headache, the flu like symptoms, etc. I acknowledge it for what it is by telling myself it's just psychosomatic. Generally it goes away pretty quick when I do that. After those 4 days you'll feel 100% better and have a lot of energy. You will also get a lot of fake hunger. One of the things I do at that point is just think about all the things I put into the juice that I drank that day and I realize that I have had WAY more nutrition than normal and I am actually not hungry. Vocalize things if you need to, you're really just telling yourself that you're okay, and that's usually all it takes. Like I'll say, "So far today I've had the nutrition of 6 apples, 8 carrots, 3 beets, a lemon and a big piece of ginger." It actually works. I think a week or two is a great way to start. I don't know what rules you're following, but I'm going to suggest getting tea to drink in the evening if you're craving a snack. Since everything you're going to be making (I'm assuming) is going to be a mix of fruit and veg's, another tip is to have some V8 in the house. You can't make V8, and at some point you're going to want something warm probably (it's another way your body is going to break you) so warming up a mug of V8 is a good choice. Also, I'd suggest laying in a couple spare bottles of Odwalla or Naked juices for those times where you're too lazy to make juice and you're hungry.
Great advice! Truthfully I'm not sure how strict I want to be and at first I was thinking nothing but juice. That would include no coffee or tea but I'm not sure I'd really gain much benifit from cutting them out completely. You're right though it does sound like a true test of will power and I understand it will not be an easy task. Those flu symptoms though lol....that's going to be a tough one to break past especially during work. How's the saying go "no pain, no gain"
Are youa coffee drinker? I tried it once, man my head was killing me hahaha. It did feel good and tastes nice to me haha. But honestly in sweden it was toooooo expensive. It was like 60$ per day or for two days for 3 people..... Soooooo it would be to expensive to do it 30 days.
If you're trying to cleanse your system then there's a much different fast you'd want to do and that would not include coffee, tea, or anything else. Some people will say you shouldn't drink those with a juice fast either, but it doesn't really matter. If you add dairy to your coffee though, don't. The flu like symptoms aren't that bad actually. It's like that first day where you think to yourself, "am I getting sick?" and that's about it. Are fresh fruits and vegetables that expensive in Sweden? The produce for a day of juicing per person is like $5 here.
I wasnt drinkning coffee when I tried it. Hense the headache. But I didn't continue because of the price. Hahaha 5 $ only? I could have lived on that =P
I would like to try it again sometime. But honestly if I don't find a cheaper way, then I won't be able too. Everything is more expensive in Sweden. From seeds for apples to gas for the car to houses. I don't know if the produce is that cheap in the US because of GMO or if it's just the way it is. But if it costs 5$ then that's awesome man. How do you do it? Same juice all day or do you do "breakfast" "lunch" and "dinner" themes?
I usually make a red juice and a green juice and just drink them whenever. No breakfast/lunch/dinner. I'm sorry to hear that you have no produce. Our price isn't because of GMO, even if buying entirely organic it wouldn't be that much more. A 5lb bag of oranges is $3-5 depending on the time of year, apples are about $1/lb tops, and things like carrots, cucumbers, celery, are all around that same price. A lot of our stuff is domestic, but even more comes from Mexico and Central America.
Hahahaha that's so cheap... Honestly if it was that cheap for 1 day me and my girlfriend would be doing it right now.. I know how good it is for the body to do it. I might try it again and try and find the cheapest juice alternative =) but I we'll see. I'm gonna see If I find a paper and give you an idea of the prices. What do you use exactly in a day? =)
My juicer is shipping today! The refrigerator needs to get cleaned out and I should probably sit down and write out a grocery list as well. I can't imagine this could be that more expensive compared to what I'm spending on food now especially going out.
I'm kind of sad I got called for a job tomorrow since my juicer will be here, but I think I can start my fast Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm beyond ready to get my health back on track!
Well day one starts now. The juice taste amazing so I guess it's good I liked vegetables to start with as my wife didn't want anything to do with the green juice. I went ahead and made breakfast lunch and a snack last night and to my surprise it was very simple and not time consuming. Here's my shopping cart from yesterday. By the way when recipes call for a stalk or two of celery they don't really mean a stalk.....I think half of my refrigerator is taken up by celery now. Also pay no attention to the lasagna it was my last meal before no solid food. Notice the snack is a lot more juice and lighter in color...yeah that's the same recipe as lunch but with an actual stalk on celery not a rib like it should be. I think I'm going to shoot for a 7 day minimum the first go around possibly more depending how things go.
Haha thats cool to make en for the whole day. That way you only need to wash the juicer once =) I Also thought the juices tasted good. Your wife doesn't like the celery in the green one? My girlfriend didn't like that at all, hehe... More for me =D
