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Ultimate Juicing to Lose Weight Guide

By on April 20, 2015
juicing to lose weight

Ultimate Juicing to Lose Weight Guide

Do you know anyone who owns (and uses) a juicer on a regular basis? What do you notice about them? Chances are, they are healthy and don’t have a weight problem at all. This is not just a happy coincidence, either. People who add juicing to their everyday diet tend to be healthier and weigh less than those that don’t. Are you ready to become someone who doesn’t have a weight problem? If so, juicing to lose weight just might be the answer to your battle of the bulge.

Why It Helps

The short answer to why juicing can help you drop those extra pounds is because of two things; you are including more vitamin rich foods in your diet, and you are likely consuming less calories and fiber. Now, before you start the, “But I thought fiber was good for losing weight,” questions, you need to know that not all fiber is the same. The fiber left behind after juicing is insoluble fiber, which means it doesn’t dissolve in water. Instead, it bulks up and slowly forces it way through your digestive system. The fiber that is left in the juice is soluble fiber, which means that it does dissolve in water.

Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber

The differences in the way that these fibers work in your body are important, especially when it comes to weight loss. As mentioned, insoluble fiber bulks up, but this also means that it stays pretty much whole all the way through your digestive system. This not only makes you feel full, it also helps to move the foods you eat through the intestines much like a laxative.

Soluble fiber actually attracts water to it, which leads to a slowing of the digestion process. This slowing means that it takes the stomach longer to empty out the foods you’ve eaten, helping you to keep hunger at bay for longer periods of time. Additionally, this type of fiber may also help to keep blood sugar levels more even, helping those with diabetes have better control over insulin sensitivities.

To be clear, both types of fiber are beneficial for optimal health. However, when trying to lose weight, appetite control and blood sugar regulation are both important aspects that can’t be ignored. When juicing to lose weight, you will still need to include other fiber-rich foods, or even retain the pulp from your vegetables to use in cooking, but you will notice a considerable difference when you are not consuming quite as much fiber every day.

Making the Juicing To Lose Weight Choice

If you are trying to lose weight, you may be considering a juicing cleanse, or simply adding healthy juices to a healthy diet. If you want to get the most benefit out of switching to a juicing lifestyle, you may want to consider trying to complete a three-day juice cleanse to get your body in the best shape to lose weight. If you are considering this option, you will want to speak with your doctor before beginning the process – especially if you are on any medications, or have or are being treated for and health conditions. Making drastic changes in your diet in these instances can be dangerous, and should only be done under a doctor’s supervision.

Why People Choose to Juice

Many people who juice to lose weight do so for a number of reasons already mentioned, but there is also another very important one – dietary needs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 30 year old female who exercises up to 60 minutes per day needs around 2 and a half cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit every day to meet their dietary needs. The problem is most of us don’t even come close to the recommended amount each day. When you add juicing to lose weight, you can pack all or most of the vegetables and fruits you should be eating into a single glass of juice. The difference is that you can create interesting flavors with your juices that will help you include beneficial vegetables that you may not enjoy eating into your diet.

Choosing the Right Produce

While juicing is healthy all around, when you are trying to lose weight, you can’t just throw your favorite fruits into the juicer and go. You have to be selective about which fruits and vegetables you use to make sure you aren’t adding too much sugar into your diet, which would defeat the purpose of switching to the juicing lifestyle. Fruits have considerably more calories and sugars than vegetables, and when you juice them, you are concentrating those natural sugars. For example, let’s take a look at a juice recipe made up of (on right):

• 5 small strawberries
• 2 small oranges
• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 small carrots

Nutrition Facts (Juiced)

Calories – 184
Calories from Fat – 24.31

Percentages % Show Daily Value *

Total Fat – 2.7g 7.71%
Saturated Fat – 0.276g 1.38%
Monounsaturated Fat – 0.187g
Polyunsaturated Fat – 0.98g
Cholesterol – 0mg
Sodium – 140mg 9.33%
Potassium – 1873mg 39.85%
Total Carbohydrate – 50.84g 39.11%
Dietary Fiber – 2.2g 5.79%
Sugars – 26.81g
Protein – 12.84g

As you can see, there is a considerable amount of sugars in this recipe. This is mostly due to the fact that most juicing recipes will require multiple pieces of fruit to get enough juice for a serving.

However, if you make juices that feature vegetables, you will see a very different outcome:

• 2 small carrots
• 9 large leaves lettuce
• 1 stalk of celery
• 9 large leaves cabbage
• 2 stalks broccoli

Nutrition Facts (Juiced)

Calories 116
Calories from Fat 11.63

Percentages % Show Daily Value *

Total Fat – 1.29g 3.69%
Saturated Fat – 0.198g 0.99%
Monounsaturated Fat – 0.077g
Polyunsaturated Fat – 0.273g
Cholesterol – 0mg
Sodium – 172mg 11.47%
Potassium – 1470mg 31.28%
Total Carbohydrate – 35.45g 27.27%
Dietary Fiber – 2g 5.26%
Sugars – 15.36g
Protein – 10.06g

As you can see, the recipe without the fruits added has less sugar and fewer calories.

If you are serious about using juice to lose weight, understanding these aspects will help you be successful, so you can finally drop the weight and keep it off in the healthiest ways possible.

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About Lionel Correia

Lionel is a fitness enthusiast, juicing advocate, and serial entrepreneur. He loves real estate, but is even more passionate about health, wellness and a positive mindset. He’s a graduate of the University of Arizona and prides himself on establishing great habits because great habits lead to great results. His favorite workouts include, yoga, spin class, sprints on the track and resistance training. He believes that if you desire a strong healthy body, you must first build mental toughness because a healthy body requires a disciplined mind and great habits.

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