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Vegetable juice fasting: anyone inspired by "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead"

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SD-Ness

Member
I just watched this documentary on Netflix. It's about two overweight guys who go on 60 day fasts, drinking only vegetabe and fruit juice. Both lose tremedous amounts of weight, and maintain it by adopting new lifestyles.

Anyway, I think I'm going to try it. The fresh juices taste very good. Breville sells a juicer for $90. And even if I don't solely drink juice, it'll be a good addition to my diet.

anyone else?
 
How do they keep up an intake of protein? I just don't understand any sort of cutting out of a nutrient when dieting. It's so counter-intuitive to me.
 

xavi42

Member
Its about fasting while juicing, and no it won't kill you. The guy in the movie did it for like 60 days or something crazy, but anyone can do a 5 or 10 day juice fast.
 

Esiquio

Member
Fasting is an extremely interesting and often misunderstood subject. Done correctly it can have amazing effects and boost energy like you wouldn't believe. I'll be doing a three day water fast pretty soon, and a one week fast this summer.

Juicing is somewhat similar, but can work very well for many that don't have the discipline for straight water fasts...plus its yummier

Recommend OP tries an eight hour water fast soon, then a 24 hour maybe a week later. Then just have only fresh fruits and vegetables for two days, see if you can handle that.
 
I'd rather try to eat six apples over time than to hit my liver with a drinkable version of them.

Fasting is an extremely interesting and often misunderstood subject. Done correctly it can have amazing effects and boost energy like you wouldn't believe. I'll be doing a three day water fast pretty soon, and a one week fast this summer.

Juicing is somewhat similar, but can work very well for many that don't have the discipline for straight water fasts...plus its yummier

Recommend OP tries an eight hour water fast soon, then a 24 hour maybe a week later. Then just have only fresh fruits and vegetables for two days, see if you can handle that.

I do Intermittent Fasting on a semi-paleo diet. I'm doing pretty well so far.
 

upandaway

Member
I get all the "it's not ideal/healthy" comments but I can see where the concept comes from. Sometimes you just want a "thing" to happen so you can start a blank page and go from there with a new long-term diet. Fasting seems spot-on for that.
 

VALIS

Member
My fiancé and I did it for a week and a half. I lost 16 lbs, she lost 12.

It's extremely effective, and also quite miserable. You're basically starving, but you do have a lot of energy and feel very even throughout the day.
 

The Lamp

Member
Instead of juicing you should mix fruit and vegetables in a blender and drink smoothies of them with ice....because the fiber you get from them is good for you.
 

Ferrio

Banned
Fasting (or very very close to) is how I lost 100 lbs. It's really tough the first week, gets a lot easier after that.
 

xavi42

Member
That's kind what I was thinking. Why not just eat the veggies? Is it just because juicing is a heally fad?

It would take too long to eat all the vegetables and fruits they use to juice throughout the day. It is all about extracting the micro nutrients, it's a good way for a really unhealthy person to get back on track.
 

Az

Member
Don't do it.

If you want to change up your died do it gradually. Get rid of junk first and go from there.
 

xavi42

Member
Just eat nothing but protein. You will drop it even faster.

One of the guys in the movie, Phil, is 350 lbs and had tons of physical ailments. I dont think a ketosis type diet would be healthy for someone like that, he was already at risk for heart disease.

Today Phil is down to like 220 lbs, and is doing much better.
 
It would take too long to eat all the vegetables and fruits they use to juice throughout the day. It is all about extracting the micro nutrients, it's a good way for a really unhealthy person to get back on track.

Eh, if your body is starving for nutrients just eat some liver.

5 ounces of calf liver equals roughly 5 pounds of fruits and vegetables - and that assumes one is 100% capable of converting plant forms of vitamins to animal/bio-active forms. Also, no sugar and more protein; hard to beat that.
 

ChanHuk

Banned
I had a Jack Lalanne and returned that piece of shit the next day and picked up a Breville and never looked back. I never went on a juice fast, I just add it into my diet whenever I feel like I haven't had enough fruits/veggies. I bought a Vitamix for cheap, haven't gotten a chance to use it yet. But Vitamix is the way to go as you still have all the fiber and other nutrients otherwise lost in juicing.

If you do go on a fast, I still recommend supplementing omega 3s still.

EDIT: I saw the documentary and got nothing against it. Most of their health benefits were seriously just losing all that weight. I think I can do a fast for 5-7 days, then I'd want to kill everyone in sight. And I've done a PSMF for 10 days, that was hell and thats eating all lean protein.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Fad diets will not help you. You need a lifestyle change and going on a 60 day juicing diet is not going to help that. After you come off it, you're just going to want to head back to bad foods.

Also, juicing is terrible. All it does is remove lots of good fiber from fruits & vegetables. There's no reason to do it.

One of the guys in the movie, Phil, is 350 lbs and had tons of physical ailments. I dont think a ketosis type diet would be healthy for someone like that, he was already at risk for heart disease.

Today Phil is down to like 220 lbs, and is doing much better.

You really don't need to go keto. Just lower the carbs to <100g and you're golden.
 
Don't jump into a diet after watching a documentary. Look at several different diets, read their pros and cons, make sure you very thoroughly understand what they have you do and why, then pick the one that works best for your lifestyle and tastes. There are several diets that will work just fine, but picking one that makes you miserable will never, ever work. A diet also has to be a change in lifestyle. You can lose plenty of weight on a fast, but what do you do after that? That's the critical point.
 
It would take too long to eat all the vegetables and fruits they use to juice throughout the day.
I don't know, that sounds like the kind of thing people who don't eat healthy tell themself. You can eat all those fruits and veggies and your normal meal/snack times as easy as you can drink a glass of juice. The part the juicer leaves behind has a good deal of nutriants in it as well.
 

shira

Member
It would take too long to eat all the vegetables and fruits they use to juice throughout the day. It is all about extracting the micro nutrients, it's a good way for a really unhealthy person to get back on track.

If you didn't buy organic food, wouldn't you be multiplying the amount of pesticides
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Just eat nothing but protein. You will drop it even faster.

100% fat is even faster than complete starvation, for fat loss at least.
 
Off topic, but this thread reminded me of one of my favorite episodes from This American Life. Promised Land

For millenia, people have tried to reach a spiritual promised land by fasting. Jesus did it. The Buddha did it. Monks and saints and new age gurus have done it. And now, on the radio, This American Life contributor David Rakoff tries it. He does a 20-day fast, to find out if it brings him any form of enlightenment.
 

Riggs

Banned
I've been thinking about doing this, or switching to a plant based diet only. Really I want to loose this weight, and fast. Quit drinking beer, working out but I want to loose the weight fast. Not sure if this is safe, my mom is a nurse she didn't recommend it lol.

And edit, yes I watched the doc it really motivated me. Also another doc on netflix forks over knives.
 

xavi42

Member
If you didn't buy organic food, wouldn't you be multiplying the amount of pesticides

Yeah in the movie they were shown buying organic food.

Also, for all of those saying how dangerous this sounds, in the movie both guys were monitored by their doctors throughout the process. if anything, they kept getting healthier as time went along.
 
We juice quite a bit in our household. I think the most dangerous thing about it is cleaning the veggies and the juicer regularly and well.


I usually start with some type of base like Coconut Water or I will juice oranges, then I'll add beets, spinach, pineapple, ginger, and a couple of carrots.

Delicious. (I put the veggies in the fridge before hand so my drink is cold.)

Edit: It does bother me how much is lost in the process though. It is pretty wasteful.
 

LuchaShaq

Banned
Would only consider it if I gained the weight back

+ there was enough ample protein I wasn't losing significant muscle.

Long term weight loss the muscle you keep/gain will burn more than it's weight in fat.
 

Sethos

Banned
I wouldn't do it for that length of time but I have done it and I am doing it periodically. First few days are a completely bitch but once you get over the hump, it's actually quite awesome and the weight does drop like crazy. I won't deny that it might not be the healthiest thing in the world for you but the logic behind the caveman starvation theory I'd believe and unless I hear people die from a few days or weeks of juicing, I won't speak against it.

But as I said, wouldn't do it for months as I like my solids. I do combine this with my low-carb diet.

Some people are just blowing it out of proportion however, making it sound like the most dangerous thing on earth.

Certain individuals were also so obnoxious about me doing it in the Weight Loss thread I decided to not post there any more. Stay away from that thread when juicing or just don't talk about it, you will hear so much shit for it.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Fad diets will not help you. You need a lifestyle change and going on a 60 day juicing diet is not going to help that. After you come off it, you're just going to want to head back to bad foods.

Also, juicing is terrible. All it does is remove lots of good fiber from fruits & vegetables. There's no reason to do it.



You really don't need to go keto. Just lower the carbs to <100g and you're golden.

Spot on across the board.
 

Riggs

Banned
Think I am going to do it finally. I weigh like 244 LB's and I am only 5'10. I don't look it, most people think I am like 200. Or maybe they are being nice.

Tired of feeling like shit all the time, I hit the gym but honestly I just want to loose this weight hard and fast. No surgery for this guy though , no way.

This seems safe enough, just need to find cash for a good blender.

Anyone know a good brand name that will not run me 400 dollars ... ?

(Edit also I don't even eat, I am fat from a life long problem of inactivity. I don't eat fast food, I don't eat sweets or deserts, hell 80% of the time I eat one meal a day that is not even that big. So I know coming off a big juice fast will be good for me, I will not gain the weight back.)
 
Think I am going to do it finally. I weigh like 244 LB's and I am only 5'10. I don't look it, most people think I am like 200. Or maybe they are being nice.

Tired of feeling like shit all the time, I hit the gym but honestly I just want to loose this weight hard and fast. No surgery for this guy though , no way.

This seems safe enough, just need to find cash for a good blender.

Anyone know a good brand name that will not run me 400 dollars ... ?

There's a huge weight loss thread on GAF with numerous success stories from people who lost as many as hundreds of pounds through steady diet and exercise.
 
Not my thing.. I'm no expert, but any type of fast doesn't SEEM healthy to me from a conceptual standpoint.

"Cleanses" as well.. yeah, there's a lot of shit built up in our bodies.. forcing it all through your system at the same time is supposed to be good for you?

Isn't that going to cause severe strain on liver/kidneys?

Other than that.. why not just.. eat better? I really don't get why it's so hard for people. Eat a balanced diet, try to stick to vegetable fats (olive, avocado) and away from animal fats (too much dairy, fatty meats, food cooked in lard)...

Seems way more satisfying than just drinking juice.
 

NH Apache

Banned
The doc was incredibly motivating and before people start hating like crazy, they need to see it. It wasn't a fad diet and they had docs with them the entire time.

This is definitely something I would like to try if only for a couple days detox. Go see the film now if you haven't.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Not my thing.. I'm no expert, but any type of fast doesn't SEEM healthy to me from a conceptual standpoint.

"Cleanses" as well.. yeah, there's a lot of shit built up in our bodies.. forcing it all through your system at the same time is supposed to be good for you?

Isn't that going to cause severe strain on liver/kidneys?

Other than that.. why not just.. eat better? I really don't get why it's so hard for people. Eat a balanced diet, try to stick to vegetable fats (olive, avocado) and away from animal fats (too much dairy, fatty meats, food cooked in lard)...

Seems way more satisfying than just drinking juice.

Advocating eating better and buying into the bullshit conventional wisdom of demonizing animal fats? Now that's how you make advice fall flat.
 

Shambles

Member
Jeez, why are so many people afraid of fasting? Humanity survived on period of food/starvation for many thousands of years. We live in an era of bread and honey with our grocery stores and international food supplies. God forbid we don't eat like ancient kings every day of the week.
 
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