Welcoming Myself Back... And Juicing?

[maps81]

I used this board daily back in 2007- really helped to keep myself accountable. Now I am back- but under a new name... (long story- I was Patches... but lost all the info and log-in stuff and was just easier to start all over...)

Anyway- another long story and I have put on 30+ pounds in the past year. Husband has had non-hodkins lymphoma for 4 years, under went 2 stem-cell transplants in 2011-2012, and is still recovering from the most recent one- even though it is still a year later. (Fighting Graph vs Host disease...)

So- STRESS and lifestyle changes have packed on some pounds. I am currently going to a doctor who is doing a plethora of testing to see where I am with hormones, cortical, etc...

So- in addition to welcoming myself back into this community- I have a question... Are there any "juicers" out there? I have a friend in Phoenix who swears by juicing veggies and fruit. She has lost about 20 pounds and looks great!

Anyone out there also doing this? If so- how have you liked it so far? Do you see results you were hoping for? (not just weight, but feeling healthier...?)

Also- any good combinations/recipes you have done or really like?

I bought a cheap juicer at Target today- thinking that if I really like doing this- I could always upgrade.

I also bought a ton of different veggies- did a lot of cleaning and cutting tonight, and plan to start tomorrow.

Thanks for reading- and any input you would be willing to give is
appreciated!


PS- we are planning to take a Disney Fantasy Cruise in May- but waiting for the very last day to make our final payment- to be double certain hubby is well enough to go! Also- to add to my STRESS- my perfectly healthy, athletic, 25-year-old son has a non-cancerous tumor in his sinuses that will need to be removed- oh yes- life has been "fun" for me! Just a "freak" thing that he discovered about 4 weeks ago...

 

[Dish]

Hi!

It's funny because I also started juicing about a month or so ago. Never had time to juice too much (juiced a couple of carrots, mostly oranges and so). My problem is mostly that I can't put pounds on me so I thought drinking juice could help?!

I have one cheap Breville (got it after reading some juicer reviews).

I can't say about losing weight with juicing (you asked about it in the first place), but what I can tell is that there is a huge difference between orange juice (made by my personal juicer) and Coke.

 

[maps81]

Hi Dish!

Thanks for your reply!

Here is where I am. I took the original juicer back to Target- Magic Bullet I think? I didn't like all the "grit" from the pulp-fiber-seeds, so ended up having to strain the concoction!

So- yesterday I went to BB& Beyond to purchase a Breville - mission accomplished! Am planning to begin actual juicing tomorrow.

I also am renting the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" from iTunes. I am really not "fat, sick & dying" but have read the reviews about how motivating this docu-drama is to watch... so couldn't hurt!

I am planning to watch it tonight after our Bible study group... if I can stay awake!

My "plan: plan it to try and do a "cleanse" with juicing, and see how I am feeling. Not certain how many days- just going to start and see how long I can keep going!

So- I will try to log in in a few days- if I have anything profound to report!

All for now!

 

[Earl Of Sandwich]

Personally, I hate doing all the cleanup. With a juicer, the tiny bits of food get into everything.

In general, I prefer to eat the actual food. All that fiber and seeds which you hate to strain out of the juice also prevents you from eating the food very fast, prevents your body from absorbing the sugar too quickly, and also helps to feed the friendly bacteria which are hopefully populating your lower digestive system.

I have lost a significant amount of weight (about 87 pounds) and I did start out with a lot of juice. Back then, my main focus was getting high amounts of potassium in my diet, and juice was a good way to do it.

However, a lot of juices, like most fruit juice and carrot juice and even beet juice, will contain a LOT of sugar. So, I would go to Jamba Juice or wherever and get a large orange-carrot juice, and it would have over 100 grams of sugar and about 500 calories.

So, the potassium (and probably the sugar and some other nutrients) did give me a bit of a rush, but it was also very difficult to lose weight.

Where juicing might be helpful is with things like green leafy veggies - beet greens, turnip greens, collards, spinach, kale, etc. But that stuff is really hard to clean, and most people I know don't use their juicers that way.

My personal style now would be to simply eat the underlying food. So instead of drinking orange carrot juice, I'd just eat oranges and carrots. Instead of juicing green veggies, I'll make a big salad, or a bowl of soup, or saute some greens. Stuff like that.

One advantage of juicing would be for foods that are literally inedible in their present form - for example, wheat grass juice. One swig of that is the equivalent of eating your entire lawn. But, again, the cleanup is a pain and I'd rather just leave it to the pros.

I do like the Magic Bullet / Ninja for making smoothies. But I don't make too many smoothies. I'd rather just eat the actual foods going into the smoothies. I can sometimes get my tween-age son to eat fruits and veggies by turning them into smoothies, so there's that.

One cool feature of the Ninja is that the blades are so incredibly sharp that they will turn frozen fruit into a slushee-type treat without adding any other ingredients.

But that extreme sharpness also makes it very difficult to clean the blades without cutting yourself, so the Ninja doesn't come out very often.

 

[maps81]

All good points! Thanks for your input!

I am planning to try more "greens" like the kale, spinach... will have to see if this system can do those items!

I am off to watch my docudrama! Enjoy the Oscars everyone else!

 

[maps81]

So.... Day 3 of juicing. The video, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" was great! I highly recommend it!

Juicing is going well- I am juicing mostly cucumber, green apple, and kale- then add different veggies and sometimes fruit.

I have lost 3 pounds- so a pound a day.

We will be traveling tomorrow- going to help my son & daughter-in-law move into their 1st home. I am not planning to bring all my juicing equipment. Instead- I bought a bunch of V-8 low sodium and V-8 low sugar (no sugar?) juice blends. That will have to work until I return on Sunday.

I am continuing my regular workout- doing cardio one day (intervals) and weights/abs the other. I am also walking for a half hour on my treadmill at night- mainly because I tend to park it in a recliner from 7:00-bedtime....

I hope to write an update on either Sunday or Monday! Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

 

[maps81]

Oh... forgot to add...

My son with the non-cancerous tumor had surgery at a university hospital on Wednesday. Doctors removed as much of the tumor as possible- without going into the jawbone and teeth. While he was having the tumor downsized- they also sprayed the area with a concoction of steroids- to try to reduce the size.

He will also go back once a week for 6 weeks- to get a "booster" of the steroids via injection. After 3 months- they will take another CT scan to see if the steroids managed to shrink the tumor. This is experimental- so no guarantees...

Either way- he will have to have more surgery to totally remove the tumor. This will involve removing jaw bone and teeth- about 10...

Son and his wife have a great attitude. Being the MOM- I am not happy- but GOD is awesome and we trust HIM in all times.

Fantasy cruise is probably called off... Oh well! Getting son healthy is priority!