The best way to lose weight by juicing is to juice fast. A juice fast is when fruit and vegetable juices are drunk exclusively, omitting all other foods. A juice fast can be for a short duration lasting between one and three days to kick-start weight loss, or it can be continued for longer periods, which will result in more drastic weight reduction and also be extremely beneficial to your health in general.
Step 1
Determine how long your juice fast will last. This will depend on you as an individual, your regular lifestyle, and how much weight you want to lose. If you are very obese, opt for a longer fast, lasting at least one week. If you wish to lose around ten pounds, a short one-to-three-day fast will help you to quickly meet your goals. Set a date to begin your fast, which ideally should be a day when you have some spare time to establish your new juicing routine.
Step 2
Prepare your juice. You will need a juicer and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. The two types of juicers most commonly sold are centrifugal juicers that extract juice from the product using a spinning perforated basket or a masticating juicer, which employs a masticating or chewing process to extract juice.
Your juicer will have a feed chute to introduce the fruit pieces. Wash your fruit and cut it into pieces that will fit into the chute. If the fruit has been waxed, peel it first. Fruits and vegetables that are commonly waxed include apples, cucumbers and bell peppers.
There are no "unhealthy" fruits or vegetables. However, as your juice fast is aimed at weight reduction, chose produce that has a low glycemic index rating. The glycemic index was devised to rank carbohydrates according to their effect on the level of blood glucose.
Low GI fruits and vegetables include tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, lemons and all types of berries. Fruits with higher glycemic loads can be mixed with the lower GI fruits to avoid spikes of insulin levels.
Step 3
Drink your juice. While juice fasting, you can drink as much juice as you wish. Mix fruits with vegetables for interesting tastes, nutritional variety and also to keep your insulin levels steady. During the first three days of juice fasting you are likely to lose between two and four pounds per day, depending on your starting weight. After a few days your weight loss will level off to around one to two pounds per day.
If you feel hungry or crave unhealthy foods, simply drink more juice until your hunger or cravings subside.
Tips and Warnings
- Drink your juice immediately. If juice is left to sit, some enzymes will be lost as the juice begins to oxidize. When preparing juice in advance is your only option, store in an opaque container with an airtight lid. Juice can also be stored in a thermos flask, although this may affect the taste. You are likely to experience detox symptoms if a juice fast is followed for longer than three days. The severity of these flu-like symptoms will depend on several lifestyle factors including your standard diet. These symptoms will diminish as the fast continues or if you end the fast.
- Under some circumstances an exclusive fruit juice fast is not the healthiest weight loss method. If you are taking certain medications, have a liver or kidney disorder or are pregnant, your medical practitioner will probably advise you not to juice fast. Consult your doctor or nutritionist before embarking on juice fasting as a weight loss regime.
Things You'll Need
- Juicer
- Fresh fruit and vegetables
References
- Doctor Yourself: Juice Fast
- Glycemic Index
- Best Juicing: Weight Loss Juicing
- “The Juice Lady’s Juicing for High Level Wellness and Vibrant Good Looks”; Cherie Calbom; 1998
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