Juice For Weight Loss

Dieticians and health food enthusiasts say ‘you are what you eat’ when they want people to take a good hard look at what they put into their mouths. For those who wish to lose weight, there are a number of diet programs that promise rapid weight loss. However, most people give up dieting because of the loss of energy and vitality that they experience when they are on a diet and because they feel hungry all the time. A juice diet for weight loss ensures that you remain energetic and full of vitality even when you are on a diet, and since a juice diet can be very filling, hunger ceases to be an issue. Healthy juices for weight loss include juice of vegetables like carrots and cucumber, which help to detoxify the body and put the glow back on the skin.

Fruit juices for reducing weight should be freshly made as canned juices are mostly sweetened with sugar. For those who do not like to drink unsweetened juice, honey or molasses can be ideal sugar substitutes.

Juice Fasting To Lose Weight

Going on juice fasting for weight loss has a number of other benefits besides shedding those extra pounds. Enzymes and nutrients in fresh juices help to remove toxins from the body, and at the same time, nourish the body so that all systems in the body can function smoothly. Fresh fruit and vegetable juices at breakfast provide dieters an energy boost that can carry them through the day. Water fasting may leave some people listless since they do not get the required calories to give them the energy to carry on with their regular work. The combination of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in a fresh fruit and vegetable juice fast provides the body with the energy it needs for day to day activities without the need for solid food. Nutrients in juices extracted from fruits and vegetables are readily available to help nourish the body, without the body having to absorb the nutrients by breaking down the fruit or vegetable fiber in the process of digestion.

How To Juice Fast For Weight Reduction

Using a juice fast to reduce weight requires a little bit of planning and preparation. It must be understood that pregnant and nursing women and those with serious medical conditions should not go on a fast to shed pounds unless advised and supervised by a qualified medical practitioner. A plan for juice fasting for weight loss could be made flexible by substituting juice for just one meal a day initially and progressively increasing juice intake while proportionately reducing solid food intake. Juice fasting for weight reduction can also be practiced once a week by those who prefer to lose weight gradually.

How Juice Benefits In Weight Loss

Juice benefits in weight reduction come from the fact that juices have no dietary fat and a couple of glasses of juice a day can help to drastically cut down on the number of calories consumed. With fewer calories consumed than the number of calories used for day to day activities, the body has to use up its stored fats to make up for the shortfall. This is how a juice fast works to help shed pounds. An additional benefit of juice fasting is that it helps to flush out all the toxins in the system and reduces water retention. Fresh vegetable juice before a meal serves to suppress the appetite and also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. A glass of lemon juice with a dash of honey and cinnamon powder first thing in the morning is said to give a boost to the metabolic rate and help the body burn up more fat.

Juice fasting involves substituting solid food at every meal with freshly made vegetable or fruit juices, for any length of time, ranging from one day to 21 days or more, depending on the purpose of the fast. Juice intake for weight reduction can take several forms. Going on a juice fast once or twice a week is one option. There are people who prefer to forego solid food and drink juice instead at lunch or dinner every day. Intermittent juice fasting four days a week interspersed with three days of solid food also helps to avoid binge eating disorders that affect some people who go on fasting. If you want to increase your juice intake for weight reduction, in order to cut down on solid food, it is best to start with an 8-ounce glass of juice in the morning, before a protein rich low fat breakfast. A glass or two of fresh fruit and vegetable juice with lunch or dinner ensures that you get the recommended five to eight servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Drinking juice just before a meal or substituting a glass of juice for a snack serves to take the edge off your appetite and you end up eating less solid food. Apart from this, absorption of nutrients from the juice is highest when the stomach is empty. Diluting juice with water is one way of ensuring that your body gets the required amount of water to remain hydrated.

Precautions While Consuming Juices:

Canned or bottled juices from supermarket shelves are not recommended for those who intend to use juice for weight loss because these processed juices are usually high in sodium and sugar and their nutrient content is low. Freshly made juice is the healthiest as oxidation takes place destroying nutrients when juice is left standing for a long period of time. To prevent oxidation and to preserve the freshness and quality of the juice, it must be vacuum packed immediately if you plan to consume it later during the day. Juicing fresh green vegetables like cucumber, cabbage with a dash of lime or lemon juice adds to the nutritional content and improves the taste. Healthy ways to drink fruit juices include making smoothies and milk shakes with fruit pulp so that you get the benefit of the nutrients in milk and in the fruit. Fruit purees used in frozen desserts and for flavoring fresh natural yogurt are other ways of including fruit pulp and juice in your diet. Although they are aware that they should eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, many people find it difficult to include them at every meal, since they eat a hurried breakfast and brown bag their lunch to work. Fruit and vegetable juices offer an easy way of ensuring that your body gets all the vitamins and minerals that it needs, without adding unnecessary pounds.

Submitted on January 16, 2014