Do Juice Fasts Work For Weight Loss?

Can a Juice Fast work for losing weight?

You have probably heard from a friend how you can lose several pounds in a week, just by limiting your food consumption to juice. Sure that sounds pretty simple but can you actually lose weight and is it the type of diet that you could possibly stay on for a while?

Does juice diets and juice fasts cause weight loss?
Yes in the short term but you would not want to rely on juices for the rest of your life and not even more than a few days unless you were under a doctors care.

If you need to lose a few pounds in a hurry going on a juice fast may be the answer. You can lose as much as 3-5  pounds in the first couple of days. You should know though that  most of the weight weight you are losing is excess water and therefore it’s not fat.
Weight loss gradually drops off to about one pound a day, once you stay on this type of diet more than 3 days.

Going on a juice diet is very similar to going on a detox plan. Instead of eating lots of raw fruit and vegetables, you are going to be drinking their juices. The idea is that you still get lots of vitamins and minerals whilst losing weight. But recent studies have shown that as sugar is concentrated in fruit and to a lesser extent vegetable juices, you would actually be better eating the whole fruit or vegetable.

Different juice recipes for weight loss include cucumber juice, tomato juice, carrot juice, and apple and celery juice. Some people add protein powder to the juice in order to make it more filling and to avoid losing muscle while they are dieting.

Over the long term you do not want to rely solely on juices. Your teeth will suffer due to the acid and sugar in the juices not to mention your intake of the vitamins and nutrients you need for good health will be compromised.

I know that it may sound like a healthy diet but unless you read up on which fruits and vegetables contain which nutrients you may be lacking important nutrients.
It’s not to sat that a frutarian diet isn’t healthy, it’s just that you need to know all about nutrition before adopting this type of a diet and you will also want to eat the fruit and not just have the juice.

Just as a vegetarian should read up on how to supplement their diet properly a fruitarian should do the same.

You should aim to improve your overall eating habits and you can by starting off with a juice fast.
By all means try a juice diet for a couple of days to kick-start your weight loss (be sure to check with your doctor,just as you would when you start any restrictive diet) .

Developing a healthy lifestyle involves more than buying a juicer. You need to become more active to get those pounds shifted. Start with an exercise you enjoy and then vary the routine to prevent boredom settling in.

Some exercises are better at fat burning than others so it makes sense to try different activities.

Instead of juices, you could choose to have soup several times a week. You should not have packet or canned soup( unless the label specifically mentions low sodium, low fat or heart healthy)  as these can contain hidden fats and sugars not to mention salt.

The best soups are the homemade variety.  Soups are made with vegetables and natural broth, both key ingredients in a healthy lifestyle. Don’t be tempted to add salt to your soup. Use herbs to flavour it instead. If the recipe calls for milk or cream, use skimmed milk or low fat yogurt instead. If you want to have a slice of bread be sure it is 100% whole wheat (not just wheat, cracked wheat or white) and remember that having the bread will slow your weight loss down, but it can help you avoid getting the headaches that some will get during their fast.

Drink plenty of water to keep your system hydrated. This is especially important when you suddenly increase the amount of fiber in your diet as otherwise you can end up constipated. You should be aiming for at least 8 glasses a day. Drinking lots of water will also help you to eat less thus reducing calorie intake.

So yes, juice fasts can help with weight loss. Just remember to keep your diet healthy and your fitness level up so that once you start losing weight you can continue in a healthy manner. It’s so much easier to lose the weight once, then to have to try and lose it over and over again.

Weight Loss Plans and Weight Loss Tips
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Eat THIS before your workouts

[ Note: The guest writer section of weightlossplansandtips.com is the most popular section of all. This is due to having articles, videos, audio and tips like the one below written by guest authors. This particular post was written by fitness and nutrition author and expert Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you and I know that you will enjoy it as much as I did.]

*** Short-cut Link:
*** My Favorite Foods Dietplan <== click here

One of the most common questions I get asked is:

“What should I eat before my workouts if I want to get rid of bodyfat?”

The answer?

NOTHING.

I’ve been saying this for almost a decade now… and research is catching up with the idea.

It’s nice to be right. : )

Several studies now confirm that exercising while your body is low on food may be a good way to trim excess fat.

European researchers found that cyclists who trained without eating burned significantly more fat than their counterparts who ate. Now, this is important: Cycling requires a LOT of energy. Far more energy than you need to get rid of bodyfat.

Working out with weights and doing moderate to intense (but short) cardio will take care of 99% of your needs when it comes to fatburning.

But with weights, and espeically with the cyclists that were tested, performance may be an issue.

In fact the members of the group of cyclists that didn’t eat performed worse on the intensive training. Still, they burned a higher proportion of fat to carbohydrates than the group that ate. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.)

Why? Simple. Your body’s blood sugar is lowest in the morning prior to eating. When you train, moderately or with intensity, most of your fuel comes from your bodyfat and NOT ingested carbs. Isn’t that cool?

Which would you rather burn… bodyfat or carbs?

Yeah, me too. : )

About performance: I have found that my performance only suffers slightly when fasting and training for the first few weeks. After that my performance increases. The body starts to burn its own bodfyat far more efficiently so I find I have PLENTY of energy.

This was not a lone study on fasting and training. In a 2008 study, Hespel and colleagues tested the effects on men who did endurance training without eating versus those who ate. In the athletes who hadn’t eaten, the researchers found a spike in the amount of proteins needed to process fat, meaning their bodies had been primed through fasting to get rid of more bodyfat.

So, now you know the answer to the old question: “What should I eat before training?”

Nothing… or as little as possible.

In my next email I’ll tell you what to eat AFTER your workouts to REALLY jack your fatburning through the roof…

… and no, it’s not “nothing”. It’s something special. ; )

P.S. If you want the best diet possible to turn your body into a fat-burning machine along with my personal workout plan for fasting cardio… and a plan that works in your favorite foods too … then look no further than this:

My Favorite Foods Dietplan <== click here

Weight Loss Plans and Weight Loss Tips
It is advisable to assume that any mention of a product or service on this website is made because there exist, unless otherwise stated, an affiliate connection between the product or service owners and this website.