Juicing: What I should know.

[wannabang]

I'm in the middle of watching a documentary called Hungry for Change. The movie goes over MSGs and the multiple ways that we overconsume sugar, unknowingly. It talks about the different chemicals that should be avoided, as well as ways to detox your body and begin intaking more natural nutrients. When I got hungry, I went to the fridge and literally couldn't believe how much was bad for me. Bread, margerine, chocolate millk, mountain dew, queso dip, pizza sauce, ranch dressing, ketchup, etc and you what the first think I went for was? Carrots. I was so grossed out by the rest of the fridge, the only thing I wanted was carrots. That the obesity problem comes from a population that is overfed and undernurished, rather than one that is properly nurished. Apparently, we seek calories because it gives us the fats and sugars that our body used to crave since food and nutrition was so hard to find (hunters and gatherers). When we're properly nurished, the calorie count is actually lower than how we would normally choose foods.

 

A piece of the documentary covers juicing, and I'd like to begin a juicing detox. I've found a couple recipes and need to get a juicer (because I'm so unhealthy I don't have one). I probably will give up the healthier eating when I go back to school, but might as well see if I can do it while I'm still at home.

 

Has anyone tried juicing, or does anyone juice? Any tips or recommendations you can pass along? I'm thinking pineapple, apple, coconut, blueberries, aloe vera, parsley, raddish, cucumbers, just for starters. Best of luck to anyone else trying to lose weight or diet in an particular way. Best motivation the movie gave me:

 

"It's not that you want it and that you can't have it; it should be that you CAN have it, but you don't want it."

 

 

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Greens juicing should be the basis of a detox. Cruciferous leafy veggies will be the strongest in that area, kale being the most preferred (very high in chlorophyll & nutrition). Throw in some herbs & spices per your taste (garlic, ginger, cayenne, etc.), as long as the greens are still the star of the juice blend you choose. When you already have problems, fruit juicing can aggravate them, and so has to handled carefully (mind your portions, for one thing). You can throw a little bit of fruit into the greens juice blend for flavor, but not too much.

 

Once you have a few days under your belt with the juicing, you can add good fats like avocado & flaxseed. Presoaking any nuts/seeds you choose will generally yield better nutrition & digestability.

 

Look at the EWG's list of "dirty" and "clean" foods to help you decide which you NEED to go organic with, and which ones you can get anywhere.

 

Use a good juicer OR blender. Something like a NutriBullet would be a good investment, because it pulverizes the foods you put into it, much easier to digest. If you were going fulltime, 24/7/365, I would say get a Vitamix or Blendtec.

 

Minimize your intake of non-vegetarian food sources while detoxing for best results.

 

BTW, if you want to maintain year-round, you can make juicing a routine thing. Do it once a week (all juice, all day), every week of the year. That will get you off the dieting/fasting/detoxing merry-go-round.

[akirby]

I actually thought you were looking to add Nitrous to your Edge......

[wannabang]

Greens juicing should be the basis of a detox. Cruciferous leafy veggies will be the strongest in that area, kale being the most preferred (very high in chlorophyll & nutrition). Throw in some herbs & spices per your taste (garlic, ginger, cayenne, etc.), as long as the greens are still the star of the juice blend you choose. When you already have problems, fruit juicing can aggravate them, and so has to handled carefully (mind your portions, for one thing). You can throw a little bit of fruit into the greens juice blend for flavor, but not too much.

 

Once you have a few days under your belt with the juicing, you can add good fats like avocado & flaxseed. Presoaking any nuts/seeds you choose will generally yield better nutrition & digestability.

 

Look at the EWG's list of "dirty" and "clean" foods to help you decide which you NEED to go organic with, and which ones you can get anywhere.

 

Use a good juicer OR blender. Something like a NutriBullet would be a good investment, because it pulverizes the foods you put into it, much easier to digest. If you were going fulltime, 24/7/365, I would say get a Vitamix or Blendtec.

 

Minimize your intake of non-vegetarian food sources while detoxing for best results.

 

BTW, if you want to maintain year-round, you can make juicing a routine thing. Do it once a week (all juice, all day), every week of the year. That will get you off the dieting/fasting/detoxing merry-go-round.

 

Thanks! I'm ordering a juicer today and hope to go grocery shopping once the roads are clear. Hopefully I can escape the -31 degree wind chill... I could probably do that once a week routine at school.

 

I actually thought you were looking to add Nitrous to your Edge......

Oh yeahhh. Would that be a first? lol

[akirby]

 

Oh yeahhh. Would that be a first? lol

 

First.......and probably last.........

[wannabang]

So if I do a 7 day, juice only detox, would I still be able to drink my protein shakes and pre-workout before/after going to the gym? I assume I'll be feeling extremely tired and kind of edgy, but since they're not solids, they should be fine, right, or will they mess up the detoxifying effects of the juice?

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Are you mostly lifting weights or doing aerobic exercise? I assume weights, since you are taking protein shakes. What is your timing regarding exercise/shakes?

 

Better to separate the juicing from the workout related foods, as the body gets stressed trying to digest "specialty" foods. That is the opposite of what you want when detoxifying. Protein is constipating in its effect on the body, so you would want to scale back IF you are taking massive amounts in your shakes. Good fats, on the other hand, in moderation are very helpful in detoxification. EVOO is particularly good in this respect.

 

Best thing to do would be cut out these shakes completely, and go more aerobic in your exercise routine during the 7 day detox.

 

EDIT: Good guidelines in this article: Though it is about fasting, it does give you an idea of juice recipes to use.

Edited January 7, 2014 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[wannabang]

So I've decided to not do the 7 day detox. Instead, I'm on day four of replacing one meal a day with juice. My shake and exercise routine is wake up > preworkout (caffeine and vitamin B ) > 1.5 miles at a fast jog (8.5-9 minute mile-ish) > weights and abs > protein shake (26 grams of protein). Then I'll have juice for lunch or dinner. That's how it's shaping up to be. Since I'm on break, my mom wasn't too thrilled about me injesting nothing but juice four times a day lol even after explanation of why and how it works. I'm kind of thinking the way I'm doing it could result in weight gain, since my body won't be accustomed to the juice, it will consume the nutrients, but feel hungry since it's used to taking in more calories, converting whatever calories I eat next into fat... I need to do more research.

 

Edit: Apparently the B and ) next to each other make an emoticon.

Edited January 12, 2014 by wannabang

[Eatinitup]

If you're trying to lose weight.. You shouldn't be drinking a pre workout and protein shake! Sounds like your building muscle by working out heavy and building muscle only results into gaining weight. Muscle weighs more than fat. IF you truly want to lose weight just go by the basis that your body will only lose weight if you're burning more calories in a day than you're taking in. Having said that.. Proportion your meals properly and run at night. I eat Turkey bacon and Turkey sausage for breakfast every day. For lunch I eat Chicken and Rice normally.. Very low serving and then for dinner i'll eat another meat/potato, just very small proportions.. I played football at UGA so I can somewhat lose weight fast, if needed.

 

Last year I was 6'0 295lbs.. In 4 months, I was down to 230lbs, just by running daily and proportioning my meals properly. I don't eat fruits or vegetables at all. I am the pickiest, plane jane eater you'll ever meet.

[wannabang]

Sorry, I tend to generalize when it comes to 'weight'. I meant fat, not weight. I know muscle weighs more than fat. I'd like to build muscle slightly, but more maintain and tone. The pre-workout gets me psyched up enough to stay at the gym longer than I usually would. I do ration my food less so than the typical american portion, but am trying to do the fruits and veggies things. I've begun limiting my carbs, but still eating bread and red meats. The red meats are hard to give up lol.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

At least having a hefty portion of greens won't push you over into diabetes, hypertension, obesity etc. Most other foods come with their own issues. Even if you maintain the rest of your diet, simply increasing the intake of greens will have a very beneficial all-round effect. Remember, chlorophyll and hemoglobin are only different in the element bound to them. Chlorophyll has magnesium, and hemoglobin has iron. Remember when you used to hear about athletes getting blood infusions to up their performance?

[wannabang]

I don't particularly remember that, but then again, I'm hardly more than two decades old. I've only ever known athletes to take supplements. Tonight, I'm trying Alpha Brain by Onnit Labs. It's a psychotropic supplement to help enhance mood and focus, but also to stimulate dream production to contribute to more fulfilling REM sleep. I'll let everyone know how that goes. Tonight I ended the first week of drinking juice once a day. This week will be my last week before school starts again.

Edited January 14, 2014 by wannabang

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Cool! Good luck, & keep us updated

[SoCalEdge2012]

Of course you can take pre-workout and protein and STILL lose weight. One protein shake has a whopping 120-130 calories. I would not cut those from your diet if your trying to shape up. The worst thing you can do is skip a shake after weight training. Just adjust calories in / calories out accordingly.

 

I think it's a smart move on your part to just replace one meal a day with juice. A co-worker did that and had lost pretty good weight on it.