Juicing has acquired a mystique among followers who sometimes claim that drinking fresh fruit and vegetables juices burns belly fat and helps you lose weight. However, MayoClinic.org indicates that this isn't necessarily true. Fresh juices are high in nutrients --- and just as high in calories. These drinks can be just as fattening as a sugar-sweetened soft drink when you add them to your daily diet.
Belly Fat FAQs
Belly fat is more than just flab around your middle. Harvard Medical School points to specific dangers to your health associated with excess abdominal fat. Belly fat is made up of two kinds of fat: subcutaneous fat, which is the flab you can grab onto; and deep, visceral fat that presses up against your abdominal organs. Belly fat functions almost like a gland, secreting hormones that raise your insulin resistance. Abdominal fat is tied to chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, dementia and certain types of cancer. Eating a healthy diet that consists of the right amount of calories for your age, gender, height and level of physical activity is important to lose or maintain weight. Juicing might add extra pounds.
Juice Calories
Excess calories contribute to weight gain --- even the liquid calories in fresh juices. Vegetable juices are lower in calories and may be a better choice if weight loss is your goal. A 12 oz. serving of carrot juice has 100 calories, and a 2 oz. shot of wheatgrass juice has only 15. However, a 12 oz. glass of fresh orange juice gives you 167 calories --- more than a can of regular sugar-sweetened cola, which has around 150 calories. A 12 oz. serving of fresh pink grapefruit juice gives you 144 calories. A same-size serving of raw passion fruit has more than 200 calories. Eating the whole fruit is more healthful because you get more dietary fiber, says MayoClinic.org. Whole fruit also has far fewer calories than its juice. A large orange gives you 86 calories. A cup or red or pink grapefruit sections has 97 calories.
Other Problems
If you exercise regularly, it can take a lot of effort to burn off the extra calories you get from juicing and drinking other beverages like fruit shakes and smoothies. The American Council on Exercise, or ACE, points out that a 185 lb. adult male would have to shoot baskets for 19 minutes straight to burn 150 liquid calories. Another problem with belly fat is that there's no way to spot-reduce, either through dieting or performing specific types of core exercise. ACE spokesperson Jessica Matthews, MS, states that the best way to start to get rid of belly fat is to increase your level of physical activity.
Solutions
To burn off belly fat, ACE recommends getting at least an hour of moderate to intense cardiovascular exercise as many days of the week as you can. Take a brisk walk, jog or take up stationary cycling or swimming. Couple this with strength training sessions two to three times a week. And, watch your calories. If overall weight loss is your goal, create a weekly calorie deficit of 3,500 for every pound of body fat you want to lose. You can lose 1 lb. a week by shaving 500 calories from your daily diet. MayoClinic.com suggests getting rid of calorie-laden foods, eating smaller portions and choosing low- and no-calorie options over those that are higher in calories. If you enjoy juicing, Harvard School of Public Health recommends drinking no more than 4 oz. of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice a day. Unsweetened tea and coffee without milk or cream are other low-calorie beverages. However, your best bet is to drink plain water.
References
- MayoClinic.org; Juicing Fruits and Vegetables: Some Touted Benefits are Far-fetched; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Dieting? Beware of Liquid Calories; K. Zeratsky; November 2009
- Harvard School of Public Health: Healthy Beverage Guidelines
- American Council on Exercise: Don't Sabotage Your Workout Routine: 5 Pitfalls
- American Council on Exercise: How Can I Get Rid of Belly Fat?; J. Matthews, MS
- MayoClinic.com: Counting Calories; Get Back to Weight-loss Basics; December 2009
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