If you follow, know someone who follows, or even consider following a healthy lifestyle you know that staying on top of the newest trends might get a bit overwhelming. There’s always some new diet, a new miraculous meal plan designed by experts, new pills, new groundbreaking workout routines… the list goes on and on.
If you’re trying to not only live a healthy lifestyle but also to lose a bit of weight following a certain diet, we’re sure that the diet you are following encourages you to eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
So is there a natural way to consume fruit and vegetables without forcing yourself to eat them?
So is there a natural way to consume fruit and vegetables without forcing yourself to eat them?
For a healthy adult, the daily recommended portion for fruits and vegetables is anywhere from two to three cups. Although you might be fine with this if you’re just starting out, but in time, you’ll probably get tired of eating that many fruits and veggies a day (if you haven’t already), especially if it’s winter or your favorite product is out of season.
So is there a natural way to consume fruit and vegetables without forcing yourself to eat them? And even most importantly, is there a way that allows you to get them into your system without having to try your best and be creative in the kitchen day by day?
So yeah, you read the title. Today, we are going to talk about juicing.
You must have heard this term before, but today we are going to go in detail. We’ll see what juicing can do for you, how can it help with weight loss, how to do it right, – and at the end, we’ll see whether juicing is actually safe.
What Is Juicing?
The term juicing refers to the process of extracting juice from fruits and vegetables. Juicing has become extremely popular in the last decade and the trend is not about to stop any time soon. Whether it’s cleansing, detox, weight loss, or a particular skin problem you want to tackle, juicing is something health experts swear by.
Precisely because it’s so popular, juicing has come a long way – especially in terms of the juicing technology and equipment we can now afford. If as kids, we only had a small plastic gadget to squeeze lemons and oranges with, today, there are so many choices that choosing the best juicer can be a headache on its own.
Generally speaking, juicing is different from the juice you’ll find in a supermarket since the term juicing applies to freshly squeezed juice without any additional sugars and colors. In the last few years though, the market has stepped up its game so nowadays it’s quite easy to find fresh juice in your local supermarket or your nearby coffee shop.
With juicing, the body receives the same amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, as it would by eating whole fruits and vegetables.
With juicing, the body receives the same amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, as it would by eating whole fruits and vegetables.
Is Juicing Healthy And Sustainable?
New research has shown that consuming five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day can have an important impact on your health and life expectancy.
For people who don’t have the time or will to slice, chop or cook so many vegetables and fruits at each meal, juicing is a very simple and tasty way to meet those standards. It’s also useful for people who don’t really like to eat fruits and vegetables. This way you can still have the feeling of doing something good for your body without literally forcing yourself to eat something you really don’t want to.
With juicing, the body receives the same amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, as it would by eating whole fruits and vegetables. Along with vitamins and minerals, juicing really helps with water intake, which is, of course, crucial to stay hydrated the entire day.
Juicing can also motivate you to become more sustainable. Do you still have those strawberries that stopped being fresh a few days ago? A delicious, healthy juice is always a good idea.
Other than being a healthy and sustainable lifestyle it can also be of great help if you want to lose those extra few pounds.
Now, let’s see if you can replace an entire meal with a glass of freshly-squeezed juice and whether using juice can help you with weight loss?
What About Calories?
You would think that juicing for weight loss and replacing a proper meal with just juice is not enough to keep your daily calorie intake? Well, we’ll prove you wrong.
Although any type of juice certainly has fewer calories than a burger and french fries, we’re still talking about a fairly high concentration of calories. For example, a cup of pineapple cut into pieces contains 83 calories, while a cup of pineapple juice has 120 calories. One glass of two and a half decilitres of orange juice can contain approximately as many calories as four medium-sized oranges.
But would you ever sit and eat four oranges at once?
Hardly, but for less than five minutes, you can drink that orange juice cup containing the same number of calories. And given that the concentration of fruit in the juice is large, the sugar concentration is high, and this is also something you should bear in mind.
For example, a cup of grapefruit juice contains 37 grams of sugar compared to just 12 grams of sugar in a cup of grapefruit juice. Another thing you have to keep in mind is that eating liquid foods won’t give you the sense of satiety you’ll get by actually chewing your food.
In other words, you will inject a larger amount of calories into the body than you would have if you actually chewed these foods, but you’ll feel hunger sooner.
The thing is, our organs, especially the liver and kidneys, constantly have to work hard to keep the body clean from poisons and harmful bacteria – and that’s what detox actually is.
The thing is, our organs, especially the liver and kidneys, constantly have to work hard to keep the body clean from poisons and harmful bacteria – and that’s what detox actually is.
The 3 Day Juice Cleanse
If you constantly research weight loss and juicing you will eventually come across the 3 Day juicing cleanse. What exactly is this juice cleanse?
Essentially the cleanse is thought of as a detox, rather than a weight loss diet, but is the 3-day juice cleanse really necessary? The thing is, our organs, especially the liver and kidneys, constantly have to work hard to keep the body clean from poisons and harmful bacteria – and that’s what detox actually is. Can you do a detox with an external method such as a juice cleanse? Hardly.
In fact, there is nothing in medical literature to confirm that the body needs an external source to be cleansed, but many who practice juicing claim they feel healthier and find it easier to let go of their bad nutritional habits and accept the new healthy habits. This might be the only reason why it might be beneficial for you to try this kind of cleanse.
If you do choose to do the cleanse, please limit it to just three days.
The Juicing – Weight Loss Diet
This is not a good idea. A healthy diet should be balanced. It must include a whole variety of food groups and macros: protein, dairy products, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.
It should also be said that when you mix fruits and vegetables in a meal, your body actually mechanically melts them and thus separates the fiber from the juice. When you eat whole fruits or vegetables, the fiber they contain helps you regulate your blood sugar levels. And how do you get the fiber when juicing? Well, you don’t.
Also, keep in mind that although such a fluid diet can help you lose weight in the short term, it can also have serious consequences for your metabolism. After only a few days, your muscle mass will begin to break down, which means that your body will generally begin to spend fewer calories. After all, relying solely on drinking juices is neither delicious nor comfortable, after the initial day or two, when the need for solid food will undoubtedly begin to grow. Once you succumb to it, it’s only a matter of time, and that one extra cookie before you return every lost pound.
The Three-Day Only Juice Diet
This diet will help you lose weight at the beginning, but won’t give you long-lasting results.
When we say lose weight we mean you can lose up to 5 pounds in three days. In order to achieve this, you will need to drink 5-6 glasses of juice and an unlimited amount of water. No food is allowed during this cleanse. This diet is low in calories, expensive and unsustainable, so we aren’t really big fans.
The One-Week Juice Diet
This diet is similar to the previous one, but instead of three days, it lasts for one entire week. A whole week without any kind of solid food is a terrible idea. No amount of weight is worth it, so don’t by any chance try this kind of diet, no matter what those super skinny youtube girls say.
Who Should Avoid The Juice Diet?
Of course, juice diets aren’t great for anybody, but for pregnant women, older people, children, recuperating people, people with liver or kidney problems, people suffering from epilepsy, anemia, low blood pressure, or diarrhea they can be detrimental to their health.
With a juicing diet, you are not getting any kind of protein, unless you use a big amount of expensive protein powder.
With a juicing diet, you are not getting any kind of protein, unless you use a big amount of expensive protein powder.
Is Juicing Safe?
Surprise, surprise: no. With a juicing diet, you are not getting any kind of protein, unless you use a big amount of expensive protein powder. If you are looking for a weight loss plan that is sustainable, try tracking your calories, working out, walking in the park, anything but these kinds of unhealthy and dangerous diets.
Your body will thank you sooner or later.
How To Do Juicing Right
Once we got out of the way that we’re definitely against juicing-only diets, the occasional juice on a daily or weekly basis can be a huge benefit – as long as you don’t substitute it with a whole meal plan.
- With juicing you simply don’t get as much fiber as your body needs, or as you’d get by consuming whole fruits and vegetables – as the fiber is mainly in the pulp. So, to avoid being left without fiber, return some of the pulp to the juice.
- Juicers can be expensive, with a price range from $170 up to a thousand or more. The pricier models grind the core, kernels, and seeds to make the most of the fruits or vegetables. But – if you use a blender, you’ll get the same results, at a fraction of a juicer’s price – and you’ll get some fiber too. If you think that the mixture is just too thick, add some water.
- If you really want to make the best of your freshly-squeezed juice, drink it the same day, or at once, if possible Juices can lose a lot of their vitamin content just by short contact with the air.
- To achieve a more balanced nutrition, add protein to your juice: some good sources are almond milk, Greek yogurt, flax seeds, and peanut butter.
