For the longest time I thought I was eating healthy. A piece of fruit each day and vegetables with dinner. I was really active with biking, yoga and hiking, but not losing any weight. Carbohydrates secretly sabotaged my diet.
Cereal, pasta and bread were all very good friends of mine. Then last January, I decided to turn to more of a protein-based diet. I did lose weight fast, but after a discussion with a person who eats a plant-based diet, I quickly learned that high protein was not sustainable or good for my health in the long term.
Gradually over the past seven months, I've eaten more vegetables, some protein and even bread! I have maintained a good weight but those last 5-7 lbs. have been stubborn.
Then last week, I spoke to Ryan at the Juice Truck in Vancouver. He told me about one of his customers who lost a very large amount of weight on their juice cleanse over 60 days.
Juicing is popular among celebrities. Nicole Richie, Whitney Port, and Tracy Anderson are regulars and stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Olivia Wilde are all known for getting their juice on.
After sampling the Juice Truck's array of juices, "The Green" was my favourite. Very refreshing and pleasant on a hot humid summer day. Ryan suggested that if I wanted to learn more about juicing I should watch the film Fat Sick and Nearly Dead .
The movie was at times painful to watch and also inspiring. After seeing the film I wanted to learn more about how I could lose those last 5-7 lbs. via juicing.
Here are the top tips for losing weight while juicing:
1. Find a juicer that will suit your needs. Not all juicers are created equally. Check online for reviews from other people who are juicing. Fruit juices can be done using a hand juicer. Vegetables you can puree them in a food processor or blender. There are also high-end juicers which will do both fruit and vegetable juices.
2. Fresh juices do not store well, it is advisable to drink the juice as soon as it is made.
3. Try to drink water before having your juice, this will help keep you feeling full. Juices with dark greens such as spinach, cabbage and cucumber can create powerful combinations for vitamin intake.
4. After your juice cleanse, slowly start to bring whole vegetables and foods back into your diet. This is not a quick fix. Hopefully after your juice cleanse, you will be on a path to including more fruits, vegetables and juice in your diet.
5. If you do have a juice with a meal, be careful, some juices will high in nutrition but can also be high in calories. If you are have a juice with a meal, the meal should be light.
For your first cleanse 30 days of delicious juice recipes .
Keep watching my blog, in the weeks to come I will be trying a juice cleanse and will share my results with all of you and if I was able to finally shed those last 5-7 lbs.
If you had success trying a juice cleanse and losing weight please share in the comments section below.