Juice to Lose Weight

Juicing is a relatively new diet trend that focuses on juicing fruits and vegetables, using the juice as a meal replacement or a supplement to meals. There are variety of health benefits that have been associated with juicing, including weight loss and increased consumption of vitamins and minerals. In addition, juicing can be a simple and tasty way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet (especially for people who aren't a big fan of fruits or vegetables or don't have time to prepare them daily). Following a diet based on juicing may lead to weight loss, especially when combined with physical activity. Follow the steps below for a safe and well-balanced juicing plan.

Steps

Starting a Juicing Plan

1. Buy a juicer. The essential tool for following a juice-based diet is a juicer. You can purchase either a cold press juicer (also known as a Auger-style juicer) or a juice extractor. Juicers can vary widely in price (anywhere from $50 to over $400) and come in a variety of sizes.
   • An Auger-style or cold press juicer are typically more expensive. They work by slowly crushing and mashing fruits and vegetables to extract the juice. The advantages of this style of juicer is that they typically leave behind more pulp in the juice. The pulp is from the skin and other fibrous parts of the fruit or vegetable and can add a little boost of fiber to your juices. The down side of these juicers is that they can easily get jammed with tougher fruits or vegetables.
   • A juice extractor separates the juice from the pulp and filters the juice through a strainer so no pulp remains. All fruits and vegetables should be cleaned and peels/skins removed as these can jam the machine. The disadvantage to juice extractors is that they can be hard to clean.
   • Review a variety of brands and types of juicers before making your purchase. Look for features that make the machine easy to use, store and clean. For example, find a juicer that has parts that are dishwasher safe or has a large feeding chute to allow for bigger slices/chunks of food.
   • Also consider purchasing a blender. Blenders also vary in size and price and allow you to process the entire fruit or vegetable. Unlike juicers, blenders allow you to consume the entire fruit – including the fiber containing pulp and skins/peels. If your juice becomes too thick, add water to thin it out to your desired consistency.
2. Buy fresh, 100% juice. Many juicers are expensive and not in everyone's budget. If you're still interested in following a juicing diet, try purchasing fresh 100% juice instead of making it yourself.
   • Avoid purchasing frozen fruit concentrate or fruit juice cocktails. These types of juices typically have added sugars, flavorings and preservatives that are not healthy.
   • Outside of your grocery, there are some juice bars and markets that sell a variety of freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juices. You can purchase a single serving or large quantities.
3. Buy a variety of fruits and vegetables. Another essential ingredient to following a juicing diet is to have a variety of fruits and vegetables on hand. Purchasing both fresh and frozen items will give you more flexibility and variety with your juices.
   • As a rule, your juice should be 2/3 vegetables and 1/3 fruit. Fruits generally contain a lot of sugar, which can cause your blood sugar to spike.
   • Buying frozen fruits or vegetables allows you to stock up on items that might be out of season. In addition, you can use a small portion of frozen items in one sitting without worry of them going bad.
   • Mixing both frozen and fresh items together can give you thicker smoothie-like consistency to your juice which may be more enjoyable.
   • Be careful to only buy frozen fruits and vegetables without added sugars. Read the ingredient labels to make sure only the fruit or vegetable is listed.
4. Prepare sample juices. Before purchasing a large quantity of fruits and veggies, try making a few small servings of different blends of juices. This will prevent you from wasting items you may not enjoy as a juice.
   • Many times, when you purchase a juicer or blender, the company provides you with a small recipe book to use. This is a good place to get quick ideas for recipes.
   • Note that when making your own fresh juice, it takes a significant amount of fruits or vegetables to make enough juice. For example, it takes 6-8 large carrots to make 1 cup of juice.
   • Make sure to wash all your fruits and veggies first. This is especially important when you're going to blend the skin/peels into your drink.
   • Follow the juicer's instruction booklet. Most recommend to add delicate items first (like leafy greens), followed by softer items (like a banana or tomato) and add hard foods (like carrots or apples) last.
5. Prepare only 1-2 servings of fresh juice at a time. Freshly squeezed or processed juices are more susceptible to harmful bacteria which can make you sick.
   • Prepare your juice for one day at a time. Keep and store all juice in an airtight container for no longer than 24 hours.
   • Make sure to keep all freshly processed juice in the refrigerator so it stays within the acceptable temperature range of below 40 F.
   • Purchase small, air-tight water bottles or mason jars to help you store smaller quantities of juice safely in the refrigerator. Mason jars also make a great on-the-go container.

Designing Your Juice Diet

1. Purchase juicing resources. Following a juicing diet can be complicated. There are a variety of different diet plans, juices and methods for juicing. Purchasing or researching recipes and eating plans can help you follow the plan more easily.
   • Spend some time researching different juice diets online. There are a variety of juice diets to consider, so spending ample time reviewing a few will help you decide which is best or if you'd like to combine a few different diets.
   • Also consider buying a juicing book or plan to have at home. Having a resource you can refer to at home may be helpful.
   • Some credible sources for juicing diets include: Juicing for Health & Weight Loss from WebMD, How to Start Juicing: A 7 Day Meal Plan from EatingWell, Safe Juicing & Blending from the MayoClinic and Things You Need to Know About Juicing from NCHR.
2. Write up a meal plan. After researching a variety of juicing diets, you may realize there are a variety of options to choose from. If you're not following a specific plan, it may be helpful to write up your own meal plan to ensure you're maintaining a well-balanced and healthy diet.
   • Figure out how many meals you're replacing with juice or how much juice you'd like to consume each day. You'll find some diets recommend consuming a certain amount of juice throughout the day. For example, 1-2 servings of a "green" or vegetable based juice.
   • Arrange to consume a variety of juices in your day. Plan to have both fruit and vegetable juices daily – not just one or the other.
   • Also plan to use a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. For example, maybe your morning juice has apples and kale while your afternoon choice has carrots, oranges and ginger.
3. Weigh yourself. It's important to track your weight on any diet or weight loss plan. This will help you record your progress and give you insight into how effective or ineffective a juice diet is for you.
   • It's ideal to weigh yourself about 1-2 times a week. Weighing daily won't show you the big picture. Daily fluctuations in weight (either a gain or lose) are normal and might not be accurate compared to a weekly weigh in.
   • Purchase a home scale so you have the right tools at home to keep yourself on track.
   • Jot down your weekly weights. It can be a fun and encouraging way to see how much progress you've made over time.

Planning for Healthy and Safe Weight Loss

1. Consult with your doctor or a registered dietitian. Speaking to your doctor prior to starting any new diet regimen is a smart idea. They may be able to provide you with additional guidance or recommend alternatives that might be more appropriate for your health. A registered dietitian is a nutrition expert that may give you a more effective diet for weight loss.
   • Speak with your primary care doctor. They may know or can refer you to a local dietitian for additional help.
   • Visit the EatRight website and click on the orange "Find an Expert" button on the top right to search for a dietitian in your area.
2. Eat at least 1200 calories daily. Consuming less than 1200 calories daily, especially for more than a few days, is not a safe or healthy way to lose weight. Ensure that whatever juicing diet or plan you choose, that you're able to consume adequate calories daily.
   • Use a food journal or calorie counting app to track how much you're consuming each day.
   • Try replacing only 1-2 meals with a juice instead of going on a completely liquid juice diet. Consuming 1-2 well-balanced meals will help ensure you meet your calorie goal each day.
   • Side effects of a very low calorie diet can include: fatigue/exhaustion, weakness and hunger. More extreme side effects can include nutrient deficiencies like anemia, loss of muscle mass and heart problems.
3. Eat enough protein. Although juicing allows you to consume larger quantities of fruits and vegetables, juice provides little to no protein. In order to maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet, it's important to consume adequate protein each day.
   • On average, adult women need to consume about 46 g protein daily and adult men need to consume about 56 g daily.
   • Add unflavored protein powder to your juice, which will help control your blood sugar and won't affect the taste.
   • Try making a smoothie instead of only juice. You can mix in nuts, seeds, nut butters, milk, yogurt or protein powder for a big boost of protein.
   • Only juice for 1-2 meals a day and ensure to eat lean protein at all other meals and snacks.
4. Add in a source of fiber. Some juice diets and juicers (like juice extractors) leave out the pulp from the fruits and vegetables. The pulp contains some nutrients and most of the fiber from the fruits and vegetables. Low-fiber diets can lead to constipation, blood sugar fluctuations and weight gain.
   • Many juicers separate the juice from the pulp. You can add some of the pulp back into your juice or use it in other recipes. For example, you can add leftover vegetable pulp to soups, stews, and pasta sauce or mix it into casseroles or other savory baked dishes. Try adding fruit pulp to to sweet baked goods like muffins, cookies or pancakes.
   • You can also try adding a fiber supplement daily. These come in chewable tablets, capsules or powders. Add a 1-2 servings daily.
   • Regardless of how you get it, fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet. Make sure you are not eliminating it from your diet by juicing.
5. Limit the amount of time you spend drinking only liquids. All liquid or juice diets or cleanses are not meant to be followed long-term. Don't follow plans that recommend consuming only juice or liquids for more than a few days.
   • Juice cleanses and diets are typically very low in calorie, low in protein and low in some essentials nutrients which, over long periods of time, can be unhealthy and unsafe.
6. Engage in regular physical activity. With any weight loss plan, it's important to be physically active. Exercise burns additional calories to support your weight loss attempts.
   • Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercises and at least 2 days of moderate-intensity strength training each week.
   • Be aware to not push yourself too hard with exercise when following a lower calorie diet. Physical activity requires a significant amount of energy to perform. When you're subsisting solely off juice or a low-calorie liquid diet, you may not be consuming enough calories to fuel a workout.

Tips

• Avoid bottled fruit juice cocktails (ex: Cranberry Juice Cocktail); they are high in added sugars.
• If you're not a fan of fruits or vegetables, adding juice to your diet may help you consume more vitamins and minerals. However, if you can, it's best to eat the whole fruit or vegetable to get the most benefit.
• Research juicing diets and plans thoroughly before choosing to purchase an expensive machine or resources.

Warnings

• Always consult your doctor prior to starting any diet or making any significant dietary changes.
• Women who are pregnant and people who have compromised immune systems or heart, liver or kidney disease should avoid juice cleanses or diets.
• Some medications interact with certain fruit juices. Always talk to your doctor prior to starting any juicing program to make sure it's safe and appropriate for you to consume a variety of juices.
• Some juicing plans encourage very low calorie, low-fat and low-protein diets that are not safe long-term and may not be safe for everyone. Again, check with your doctor prior to starting.
• Do not drink laxative teas or take laxatives during a juice diet or cleanse. This will increase your risk for dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.

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Sources and Citations

• Juicing for Weight Loss

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