Discussions

Hello!  
I recently watching the documentary on Juice Fasting by Joe Cross. I would love to start a 5 day juice fast because I recently started on a weight loss journey and would love to cleanse my body first. Now I know some don't agree with this but it is my personal decision.  
I read that some start with herbs in their juice, or they have a coach that provides them with the herbs to instantly start cleansing your body (if you know what I mean). Now what kind of herb is that and where do I find it?  
And where can I get fresh fruits and veggies thats not from superstore or walmart? Like a farmers market.  
Has anyone from Brandon tried juicing? What are your experiences?  
Thanks, any advice will help.  

My own experience has been great. I do short juice fasts here and there and experience really great benefits from it. The thing I found most remarkable was the anti-inflammatory effect of cleansing that way. My joints felt incredible after only a few days of fasting.  
 
I would suggest going to the Reboot website, which is the website created by Joe Cross, the Fat, Sick & Nearly dead guy. It has a lot of great information, plans for short term fasting, recipes and a community as well. I don't necessarily think you need anything to jump start with herbs...in most cases the juice will do the trick. Liquid diet = liquid cleansing if you know what I mean. There's also an awesome facebook group for people who are juice fasting or just juicing intermittently for health and weight loss called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead inspired weight loss". A lot of great people and very positive as well.  
 
I'd also suggest watching FS&ND #2 as it's got a lot of great practical information. And remember that if you're going for weight loss, juice fasting will never be enough. It's what you do when the fast is over that will determine your long term health. Good luck!

the problem with juice fasting is the spikes in your blood sugar due to the speed the fruit sugars (fructose) get into your system (natural fiber slows down this process but you will be filtering those particles out when you make juice). try to minimize the amount of fruit you are juicing and focus on veggies. eat your fruit, juice your veggies! thats all the advice i have.

I am doing it too. I lost several pounds in a week of juicing. The feeling is great and it seems you crave 'junk' a lot less after putting in the good stuff! I have more energy and want to keep it up even if just incorporating it in the diet daily.  
 
All the best!

I've never done a juice fast as its not something that would interest me but I do know senna tea has a cleansing effect. Probably can be bought at a health food store. There's a farmers market at the parkade in the town center, upick strawberry farms around, I believe a market in the old target parking lot (not sure what days) and usually stands around town (Canadian tire had one).  
 
Edited by Tamara79, 2015-07-30 12:44:47

when the farmer's markets are in full swing! You get fresh and that's the best. I get a lot of goods when the ripe fruits and veggies go on sale at superstore, etc. My main juice is inexpensive: apples, celery, carrots. On occasion, I add kale, spinach, parsley, beets. Google it. There is many concoctions and recipes that will work with whatever your goal is to improving health and wellness.

Thanks for all the responses!  
I'm sitting here drinking my first juice haha, it can be so messy to make.  
I will definitely look up the website and forum too!  
I used 2 kale, 2 apples, 2 celery sticks and half a cucumber so trying to stay away from the fruits because yes I heard it can spike up sugar levels haha thanks!  
Now I suffer from headaches, I wake up with them no matter how long I sleep, (7-9 hours a night) so I hope this will help with them.  
Now I have been putting hemp seeds along with chia and salba seeds to keep me full for long (so I don't starve as much haha) do you think it's a good idea?  
I'm planning on easing myself in, probably drink my juice all throughout the day and have something healthy for supper, when I eventually get used to it I will go full days with just juicing.  
We should really have a juicing community here in Brandon haha, like what Phil Staples did in the documentary.

My wife and I have gotten away from it and we'll probably start again. We have tried doing a 3 day fast and couldn't do it. We got so hungry.

If you can do it good for you! My husband and I did it last year. Did the fasting but only managed to last 3 days as we were so hungry.  
 
We switched to 2 juices a day for breakfast and lunch. I couldn't handle the green juices! I would do breakfast only and then a smoothie for lunch. My husband did it for a long time and lost almost 45 lbs. I was down 30. Unfortunately like usual the bad habits come back and we gained it all back.  
 
It is expensive to juice I found and money was a factor in us slowing down. I do miss my orange/carrot/ginger morning juice! My husband also ended up with kidney stones. After doing some research it looks like the juicing could possibly have contributed to it?.

The reboot team recommends this structure:  
 
Warm lemon water upon waking up  
Breakfast juice  
Coconut Water mid morning  
Lunch Juice  
Snack Juice  
Supper Juice  
Desert Juice  
Water throughout the day  
 
It's a LOT of drinking. I bought a case of the 2 cup mason jars for storage and a glass tumbler with a lid and a straw from Starbucks so I don't have to smell the juices when I'm drinking them lol.  
 
Oh and lots of people add chia or spirulina to their juice.

If you can do it, great!! We tried it last year after watching Joe but it wasn't for us lol. We like to eat...too much haha. It was also really expensive and for us, wasteful because we didn't do anything with the excess. Some people bake with it which I think us a good idea. I'd rather eat my fruit and veggies than drink it I found.  
 
Like anything though, you have to change your eating habits because you can't juice forever.  
 
Good luck!!

Have to juice a lot of produce, be prepared for that, vegetables are very low in calories, so if your not juicing enough you will get very irritable, hungry and tired.  
 
Fruit juices aren't actually that healthy, too much fructose all at once.  
 
Juice a large VARIETY, sticking to just a few of your favourite veggies will give you too much of some nutrients and not enough of others, which isn't healthy.  
 
Do it smart, calculate the calories of what your drinking and compare it to your estimated calorie expenditure, and only go slightly less calories then what you need, too little will make the hunger unbearable, perfect balence and no weight loss, too much and weight gain, weight loss really is just a matter of mathematics.  
 
 

An excellent experience with it.  
 
We did not buy a very pricey one, only the Jack Lalanne one and it has been fine.  
 
Hubby and I both lost 15 pounds in two weeks, I lost another five the next week, but he platueaued.  
 
Once you get past about three days, it gets easy. The hunger doesn't go away, but it is easy to deal with.  
 
My one complaint about it is the time to prep and clean and and clean up after - it helps if you have a second person supporting you to help. One person does the prep and the other does clean up.  
 
We did mostly veggies - the only veggies I cannot stand are things like kale and bitter lettuces - so we stayed away from those. I also found broccoli did not juice well, but we ate it instead. We did a lot of celery, carrot, beets, spinach, cucumbers....  
 
Pinapple works well, grapes, apples, ginger is a very good thing to add.  
 
We fasted the first week with only juice. After that first week we added in whole veggies and fruits once a day to give us something to chew on and that really helps - if you have at least one meal that you can sit down and "eat". About mid way through the second week we added proteins back - like small bits of cheese, an egg a day, we got hooked on greek salads.  
 
Every so often we do a few days again just to help us feel better. It did not get rid of my migraines like the woman in the film, but we sure felt better, less sluggish, it sure helped the digestive system work better too - kind of a reboot.  
 

Drink more water if you are getting the headaches - you may think you are getting enough liquid, but it will not hurt.  
 
As someone else mentioned, for real weight loss, you need to add exercise - but you may feel like crap if you try while juicing - which is why we added the protein in - we found we needed it.  
 
I think the biggest benefit is that it reboots your system of it's addiction to processed foods and junk, and that in itself is the best benefit.

I would add, try to use organic whenever possible. Safeway has the best selection of organic greens in town!  
When we juice we use: green apple, carrot, beets (greens too) kale, spinach, Swiss chard, cucumber, celery and fennel. You can also use ginger root and garlic, not together I'd suggest lol. Caution, those last two are POTENT!  
Green apple is best, and are sweet like beets and carrot. They mellow out the taste if you use a lot of greens  
Best of luck to you

Jason Vale... The Juice Master!!  
 
Highly recommend his books.

Just curious and not being negative. But, why not just eat the vegetables whole. You get the fiber as well as the juice and it would fill you up. Plus you wouldn't have all the mess to clean up and it wouldn't cost so much.  

Milky Whey said "Just curious and not being negative. But, why not just eat the vegetables whole. You get the fiber as well as the juice and it would fill you up. Plus you wouldn't have all the mess to clean up and it wouldn't cost so much.   "

You have to understand that juice fasting is not intended to become a lifelong thing. People fast with juice only so that they can get the nutrients from the raw fruit and vegetables as fast as possible and get the maximum benefits. After a few days of fasting your stomach stops looking for food and starts looking towards fuel sources that are already stored in the body. A juice fast is really only intended to cleanse and reboot the system and give the digestive system a chance to recover from all the heavily processed foods we put it through.

Mela said "    Milky Whey said "Just curious and not being negative. But, why not just eat the vegetables whole. You get the fiber as well as the juice and it would fill you up. Plus you wouldn't have all the mess to clean up and it wouldn't cost so much.   " You have to understand that juice fasting is not intended to become a lifelong thing. People fast with juice only so that they can get the nutrients from the raw fruit and vegetables as fast as possible and get the maximum benefits. After a few days of fasting your stomach stops looking for food and starts looking towards fuel sources that are already stored in the body. A juice fast is really only intended to cleanse and reboot the system and give the digestive system a chance to recover from all the heavily processed foods we put it through. "

It basically flushes your intestines, gives your system a break. Gives your liver and bowels a rest almost. Not sure if I am imagining it, but even my kidneys seemed to work better, I stopped urinating so much through the night (that is after the initial juice fast, when you pee like a race horse)  
 
People who eat very healthy to begin with will not notice a big difference though. If you have really been eating heavy, fatty an processed foods, it makes a bigger difference.  
 
Now that I do small juicing more often, I do not notice as big a difference as that first time.  
 
I did notice in addition to a nicer bladder behaviour, my skin cleared up too. Did not do much for my hair, in fact I believe the no protein may have actually made my hair weaker briefly.

Desiree_B said "Hello!   I recently watching the documentary on Juice Fasting by Joe Cross. I would love to start a 5 day juice fast because I recently started on a weight loss journey and would love to cleanse my body first. Now I know some don't agree with this but it is my personal decision.   I read that some start with herbs in their juice, or they have a coach that provides them with the herbs to instantly start cleansing your body (if you know what I mean). Now what kind of herb is that and where do I find it?   And where can I get fresh fruits and veggies thats not from superstore or walmart? Like a farmers market.   Has anyone from Brandon tried juicing? What are your experiences?   Thanks, any advice will help.   "

Jusice Fasting is something that you need to be kind of careful with. There are a lot of pros to it and I do it once a week. From Sunday at 10:30 pm to Tuesday morning at 9:00am when I eat breakfast>: The meals between which I consume consist of:  
 
Soup Broth  
Teas from David's Tea (They are great btw and can even offer suggestions)  
Water  
Natural fruit / vegetable juices  
 
When I started it, I went right into it. It was a bit of a challenge at first but after about a month of doing it, my body had adjusted to what was going on. Its recommended that you not go to hard or long fast at it (which is why I only do 32 hours or so)  
 
I have been at it for almost 3 years now and find that it helps with stress, weight loss, diabetes and many other things. I actually managed to get rid of the last 12 lbs I couldn't trim off with diet and exercise by incorporating a fast in my weekly routines.  
 
If you are looking to go the route of owning a juicer, The Jack Lalond Juicer is a great machine to own. I found it was easy to clean and easy to use. I know there is a farmers market twice a week (The Global Market) and the woman who runs it (Erin) is prpobably one of the most awesome people I have ever met. lol.  
 
You can also find a truck in the c-tire parking lot every so often. But come winter they aren't there and you need to go to Walmart, sobeys, or SS.

Yes I understand It won't be lifelong and I need to make the right decisions for my body. I have been eating healthy and walking, even started up boxing. I have been feeling great! I started up juicing once a day to give my body that boost of nutrition and what it needs. And yes cleaning up can be messy but worth it I'd say haha!

Hi OP, those headaches are definitely not normal! Please do yourself a favor and go to a chiropractor (that does crack) like Marshall chiropracticor Kaleigh strath.  
 
I've been to both and such a difference! Used to have a headache every day. They both measure allot before doing gentle, small adjustments. Did i mention no cracking?!

I really don't think juicing is good for you.  
You are eliminating the part of the fruit and vegetable that is really good for you. Someone said it gives your bowels a break, well, you are supposed to go every day, maybe twice a day. Also, I don't believe that having something hitting your system instantly is good for you either. Our systems are made to break food down and digest it.  
So, I think, if you just quit eating the crap food, and everyone know what is good and what isn't, your body will cleanse and heal itself. Period.  

That is just my own opinion. Coming from a place where I tried the fads. The only thing that has ever worked is to stop over eating and to stop eating crappy and junk food.  
Thinking about what you are putting into your body is about 90% of the solution.

There is no stopping anyone who wants to try these ridiculous diets. No harm if done in moderation. But think about what you are doing and get the facts. I won't say anymore other than to post some information from the Mayoclinic.  
 
Juicing:  
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/juicing/faq-20058020  
 
Detox diets or fasting:  
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/detox-diets/faq-20058040http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/juicing/faq-20058020  
 

yes, Jason Vale has great recipes. We have done his 7 day juicing program a couple of times and once we are done harvesting I want to do it again.  
 
Our favourite juice has apple (we use Granny Smith to keep the fructose level down), pineapple which has digestive enzymes in it - about a one inch slice per person, a chunk of cucumber and half a lemon or lime (peel if using lime). Once that is juiced, put it in your blender with half an avocado, a tsp wheat grass (we used powdered since it is easier), and a tsp of spirulina and some probiotics (just pull the gelcap open and pour the powder in. Add 4 ice cubes and blend. The avocado makes it creamy and smooth and provides those much needed healthy fats.  
 
I tweak recipes to our taste. Better to do that than make juices we don't like. I often add in some kale and ginger or cinnamon which we enjoy.  
 
Would highly recommend it you are interested in health to check out Food Matters online. So much great information there!