Day 7 - Weigh In

Well, everything I read and heard was absolutely true. Without any over-the-counter weight loss pills, without any real stress or strain, I lost over 7 pounds my first 7 full days on my "modified" juicing fast. Now, I know that there has been a lot of media lately regarding a book that says you can lose 21 pounds in 21 days, in fact that might be the title. But on that plan, you do nothing but juice, as I understand it. I have no doubt at all that it will work for just about anyone willing to do it. I wasn't. I want to eat something once in awhile. So I dug the juicer out of the back corner of the cupboard, dusted it off and set out to make the best tasting fruit and vegetable juices I could concoct, topped off each evening with a well balanced meal. That's the "modified" part of my plan. Oh, and I must also now admit that each morning I still have my one large cup of coffee. I consider that a moderate intake of caffeine, and my evening meal has a moderate amount of fat. What makes it possible for me to make it through the whole work day with nothing but juice is the fact that I am usually pretty busy all day. I find it harder to stick to the juice only during the weekend, but, except for the buffalo wings (boneless, skinless though), I even managed that. I've added in some time on the treadmill and at least four resistance workouts using my Bowflex.

One week might not prove anything to you, but it has convinced me that a little self-discipline and a good juicer will get me to my goal. At present I'm just making plans to continue one more week. I will reevaluate then whether to go for the third consecutive week, or stop there and do this again in a few months. The real proof, as with any weight loss plan, is whether I will keep the weight off with continued exercise and healthy eating habits. I don't expect that to be a problem, but I'll keep you posted.

Weight Loss Project - Day 7

I am pleased to report that I have lost 4.9 pounds in 7 days. I did not start my modified juice fast until the first week was well along, so I'm very happy with the results. My wife has joined me on the juice fast too. She started yesterday, and I appreciate her help cutting fruits and vegetables. We made a full 2.5 quart pitcher of vegetable juice yesterday in about 15 minutes, including cleanup. So I don't think anyone should blame lack of time for their failure to do this.

Now, about that 4.9 pounds. It is legitimate weight loss, but there is no way to say how significant it may be. Generally, health care professionals agree that 1.5 to 2 pounds per week is a good target for healthy weight loss, but that is with diet and exercise, and it is over a very long period. Not a weight loss project, but a change of lifestyle. What we are doing is more concentrated or focused, and from some points of view, a bit more extreme, though we are still eating one "normal" meal each evening. I expect the pounds to fall off at a faster rate early in the program, and taper off after the first 10 days to two weeks. We may decide to continue beyond that, up to three full weeks. That is a bit of a challenge, I admit it. Several times each of the last two days I wanted a double cheeseburger with everything right in the middle of the day. Instead I drank my vegetable juice and went back to work. About an hour later I felt a bit hungry, so I drank a large glass of water. The hunger went away. I can tell you that I look forward to my evening meal though!

It is worth mentioning here that losing weight is only one of my goals. As my doctor says, nothing much good happens over 200 pounds. With that in mind, one of my goals is to reduce my blood pressure, and another is to have more energy. I did feel more energetic throughout the day today, and I must say that I slept unusually well last night. But what about after the weight comes off? That's where the real test comes in. In order to maintain my new weight, it will be necessary to continue to eat healthy, balanced meals and to exercise regularly. For me, that should not be too hard, since I have been doing that most of my life. The weight I have put on crept up very slowly for the last 25 years, and especially over the last 10 after I quit playing racquetball two or three times a week. A torn ACL and long recovery from knee surgery was good for about 15 pounds all by itself. But I am staying fairly active even without racquetball. The real problem has been that my appetite didn't seem to understand that my activity level had changed, so I was consuming calories I couldn't burn. Doing a juice fast is an opportunity to recalibrate your metabolism and start fresh. Even if you only do it for a week, you will benefit in many ways. My plan is to do it for two weeks, and perhaps repeat it again in the summer. Now that my wife has decided to join me though, we might just stick with it the whole three weeks. Misery loves company.

Fruit juice recipe

For my morning fruit juice I use the following:
4 to 6 apples
1 pear
grapes - a bunch about the size of my fist
1/3 of a pineapple
1/2 cup blueberries

I juice these items, finishing with the apple because it is most firm and helps push through the softer fruits. I find this blend to be delicious and sweet, but as I mentioned in an earlier article, it is rich in calories, so I dilute it with 1/3 water. This gives me enough for about three days, drinking an 8 ounce glass in the morning and one in the afternoon. tomorrow we'll talk about the vegetable juice recipe.

Weight Loss Project - The Juice

I want to tell you a bit about today's trip to the farmers market for fresh fruits and vegetables to juice. But first let me say that I understand that for some of you, buying and using a juicer is not practical or possible. A good juicer is not inexpensive, and it does take some time to clean and cut and juice the fruits and vegetables, and there is a good bit of cleanup as well. So if it is a matter of cost, we'll talk about some alternatives to buying your own juicer. Ask friends and relatives if they have a juicer you can borrow. You might be surprised how many people own juicers they never use. But if it is a matter of the time it takes to do this, remember that drinking your meals means you don't have to spend time preparing those meals or washing dishes. So don't talk your self out of this because you think you don't have time. You do. You have time for everything you believe is important, whatever it is. Shouldn't your health be pretty high on your list of priorities?

If buying a juicer is not in your budget, can you go to a health food store or natural foods grocery, or maybe a large farmers market? At the very least, can you take some extra time on your next trip to the grocery store to look in the produce area for bottled juices? There are now several companies that grow their own produce and market their own labels of juices, and I'm not talking about orange juice from concentrates. In our local chain grocery store there are many juices with no added sugar or preservatives that contain what juice, barley juice, spirulina, kiwi, celery, you name it. In the farmers market we found fresh wheat grass juice in addition to a number of other interesting choices. The only drawbacks to some of the bottled juices have to do with the inability to add or leave out certain things according to your individual needs or personal taste, and the fact that some are calorically very dense. To reduce the number calories in a single 8 ounce glass of juice, you can dilute it with filtered water. Lets say that you determine that one serving is 280 calories. Why not mix a half glass of water with a half glass of juice and only take in 140 calories? Easy enough. My point is that you can find ways to do this if you really want to. You might not be one of those folks whose results are not typical, losing 30 pounds in 30 days. But would you be happy to lose 30 pounds in the next 90 days?

Ok, back to the farmers market. Where we live there is a huge international market, and I love going there because you can find fruits and vegetables you've never seen before. I like to try new things, so when I see someone selecting some strange looking fruit or vegetable, I politely ask them how they prepare it and what it tastes like. they are always happy to comply. For my weight loss project though, I'm going to stick to what I know for the next few weeks. My goal is not to follow some published book or online system, but to create my own based on all I've read. The principle of of weight loss or weight gain is simple: to lose, consume fewer calories than you burn; to gain, put in more than you burn. Works pretty much like your bank account.

As you decide what juices to prepare, remember this simple guideline. Fruit juices to cleanse, vegetables juices to repair or build. But be sure to drink a good combination of both. If you are trying to lose weight, you will want to drink more vegetable juices than fruit juices. And remember that fruit juices usually have more calories per ounce than vegetable.

My shopping list today looked like this:
BROCCOLI
CARROTS
CELERY
CUCUMBER
FENNEL
SPINACH
WHEAT GRASS/BARLEY GRASS

APPLES
BLUEBERRY
GRAPES
PEAR
PINEAPPLE
GRAPEFRUIT
ORANGE
STRAWBERRY

My total bill today was about $38. I will make two pitchers of juice this evening. Including cleanup time it might take me 2 hours. I will have enough juice for the next four days, or maybe five. Each of those days I will begin with a 10 ounce glass of cold, filtered water. 45 minutes or so after that I will have a glass off fruit juice consisting of apple, carrot, parsley, blueberry, and strawberry most of the time. For variety, I will make grapefruit juice by peeling a thin layer of skin off, leaving as much white pulp as possible, and maybe throwing in half an apple. Same thing with orange juice. It taste nothing like the orange juice you've been drinking! It is thicker and creamier and a lot healthier. Every two hours I will have an 8 oz. to 10 oz. glass of juice. The water first, then fruit juice, then every two hours another glass of juice. Here's the important part, as far as I'm concerned. Each time I drink a glass of fruit juice, the next TWO times I drink vegetable juice. Perhaps because I lack discipline, or maybe because I'm not in a rush to reach my goal, I will eat a relatively "normal" meal each evening. Tonight it is a nice filet of wild caught salmon in an orange juice reduction with some steamed broccoli. Oh, and I will admit to a couple of cookies. See! You can do this! More tomorrow. If you have questions, let me know. Comments are welcome.