JUICE FASTING FOR QUICK WEIGHT LOSS, HEALING
AND BODY DETOXIFICATION. THIS IS PART ONE OF A FOUR PART SERIES RELATED TO
VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE JUICING DISCIPLINE.
Here I'm going to give
an introduction to this discipline and talk a little
about my own fasting path, the benefits, the detox symptoms and ...
for good measure ... I'll throw in
some tips at the end to help begginers.
This
is the
longest page of the juice fasting series. But take your time
and read it. There's a lof of information that will help you. I made a
lot of mistakes
in my journey. I want to pass on TO
YOU what I have learned in hopes that
you too will experience the health beneifts I did.
I'm not talking
about anything mystical here either. I'm talking about weight loss and
health improvement attained through commitment, desire and
determination. I can babble for
a thousand pages. Ultimately, IT
IS UP TO YOU to put it into practice. So,
whatever your excuses have been in the past - THROW THEM AWAY! It is time
for you to lose weight and
get healthy once and for all. Life is too short. You deserve it!
The
point of
these articles is to get you moving to DO
IT.
If you read these pages and do NOTHING
then nothing will happen. I'm sure you've heard it before: IF NOTHING HAPPENS, NOTHING HAPPENS.
Why
are you here? Is it because you are looking for ways to lose weight and
improve the quality of your life? If so, then I tell you that juice
fasting can help you acomplish both!
Whatever your health/weight
situation may be, there IS
hope! But, again, you have to go FROM
THINKING ABOUT IT TO ACTUALLY DOING IT.
Hopefully through these chats we can motivate you into action. The
potential is huge.
Juice Fasting and Weight Loss
Fasting
with
fruits and vegetables will help you lose weight fast. During the first
seven days
of juice fasting one can easily lose anywhere between 10-to-40 pounds.
While a lot of that initial
weight loss will be water weight, it is weight loss nonetheless. One
heck of a good start.
After
seven days the weight loss gravitates from half-a-pound to one pound
per day, depending on the level
of activity and quantity of juice you drink (we'll talk more about this
in a little while).
A
30-day juice
fast can help one to lose 25-to-40 pounds. But there are some who lose
much more.
I have known people who do a 30-day juice fast and lose 60 pounds.
One
man I know juice fasted for 60
days and lost 110 pounds! The numbers will fluctuate depending on how
your body is made. If you stick to the half-a-pound to
one-pound-per-day figure, you will not be disappointed.
Anything additional to that will be a bonus.
Fasting Detox Cleansing
Juice fasting
also cleanses your body/digestive system of disease-causing toxins.
Furthermore, the
nutrients in fruits and vegetables have the capacity to boost your
immune system and help your body
fight disease - in many cases relieving and even curing illness. You
have absolutely nothing to lose but a LOT
of health and vitality to gain. Millions can attest to this...
and the numbers are growing every day. With the increasing cost of
healthcare and medications - and with the surge in
air, water and food-based toxins -, more and more
people are looking for natural ways to prevent and treat disease. Juice
fasting is, by far, one of the best ways to get started.
This
process, however, does require some work. You will need to purchase the
fruits and vegetables, wash, peel and prepare them for juicing -AND
you will need to have a
good juicer.
The cleaning process can also be a little
tedious since the pulp in fruits and veggies
can make one heck of a mess. Are you willing to do that? Believe me,
these are VERY
minor
inconveniences compared to the amazing health and quick weight loss
benefits juice fasting ALWAYS
gives.
Juice
Fasting Definition
Juice
fasting, in
a nutshell, is the substitution of solid food in favor of raw fruits
and/or vegetables liquefied by hand or in a juicer.
It is basically a liquid diet carried out for as little as 24 hours to
as long as 100 days and beyond, depending on the purpose for which it
is being done.
I have heard of juice fasts going on for as long as a
year for the healing of chronic ilness, although the people DID
add these
soy protein powder and
liquid multivitamin supplements.
Juice
fasting can also be done on a "per meal" basis. In
other words, instead of having lunch a certain day, you prepare a glass
of juice and substitute it for the meal. Once a week, twice weekly ...
intermittent fasting by jucing three days
a week and eating for four - these are all
alternatives
at your disposal.
Whatever your schedule and availability, there is a
juice fasting program that you can implement. There really are NO>
excuses. Whatever one is able to start with is fine. Even fasting one
day per month is better than nothing.
Slow
Down & Rejuvenate
In
this
fast-paced world in which we live, it is increasingly difficult to
decelerate in order to learn, practice and carry out new ways to
improve our lives.
Fasting has been overlooked in the past even though
it has the seed-promise of physical, mental and emotional health.
In recent years, however,
studies have emerged which give it increased credibility. It
has been found that abstaining from food for a given amount of time can
actually improve overall health and wellbeing, as well as have marked
anti-aging and life extension benefits effects.
The
ancients knew
this ... and the modern world is catching on! I
have a feeling that juice fasting and
water fasting will continue to increase in popularity during
the 21st century.
Considering the billions of dollars that are spent annually in skin
care, anti-aging and weight loss, it is important for you to realize
that simply adopting a juice
fasting lifestyle can help you to accomplish ALL
of these benefits.
In my opinion, fasting is definitely one of the cheapest and fastest
ways to get there. Even if you are a skeptic; stick around! You may,
after some further reading, decide to give it a shot.
Physical,
Mental & Spiritual Healing
As we
have
mentioned in other parts of this site, almost all disease originates in
the digestive tract. There are many holistic medicine enthusiasts and
practitioners who would easily say the correct word is ALL
...period. The danger is greater for persons who are more
than twenty pounds overweight and who eat poorly.
Those who suffer from
the heartbreaking cycle of
binging eating disorder are especially vulverable. Juice
fasting, whether with fruits, vegetables or a combination of both, is a
powerhouse of healing and can notably improve these life-crippling
conditions.
Juice
fasting has
the potential to heal the entire being: body, mind and spirit. When the
body is detoxified, the mind becomes sharper. It is not uncommon
for persons that juice regularly to report that they function better,
think more clearly, have more energy and no longer are pressed-down by
ongoing depression and anxiety.
If you have been stricken by these
types of paralyzing emotional foes, juice fasting can definitely help.
When the mind is clearer, a person is able to focus his or her physical
and mental resources with greater efficiency. The result is deeper
wisdom and discernment. A person can often
come to live in a "higher plane" of awareness just
by being able to think more clearly.
When
toxins are
eliminated from the body through juice fasting or water fasting, the
blood that flows through our veins is much cleaner and more powerful
which, in turn, energizes the
mind. It is truly amazing. I have seen people crippled by depression
make dramtic recoveries through fasting. It is definitely a powerful
start to the
recovery process. None of us were born or came into this
world to live our lives in obesity, toxicity, misery and depression,
don't you think?
Lessons
from a Cancer Patient
One of
the biggest lessons in juice fasting I received was from a friend who
was diagnosed with cancer and was fighting for her life. This amazing
lady was the first to ever tell me that, Fasting
gives your digestive system the opportunity of a lifetime - to rest and
flourish again.
This
precious friend inspired me through her strength-of-will and courage as
she embarked in a prolonged period of juice fasting to fight the
dreaded cancer. Chemotherapy was not treating her well.
She knew there
had to be an alternative. She devoured traditional and holistic
medicine books, eventually arriving at a resource in which persons with
chronic diseases said they had found relief and even healing through
fasting.
She
immediately began a weekly program of 24-hour juice fasting for several
months. She would return to
normal eating the following day, and fast again for one-day the same
day the following week.
Being very wise, she added more days later
under her doctor's supervision until she actually carried an
uninterrupted juice fast for 60 days. During the process, I could see
her health and wellness coming back. She
literally went from a bedridden dying person to one who could get up,
cook and even walk her dog.
As the
months went by, the color started coming back to her face until, two
years later, she beat cancer altogether. She did this with both juice
fasting AND
chemotherapy.
Still, towards the end of her treatment, the chemotherapy
sessions were reduced because she was doing so much better. It was
truly a miracle. What is the moral of this story? Simply this:
JUICE FASTING HAS THE POWER TO HEAL
DISEASE; THERE IS NO
DOUBT ABOUT IT!
However, this hope and promise of healing should BY NO MEANS
lead you to arbitrarily abandon medical treatment.
Juice
fasting IN ADDITION
to whatever else has been prescribed is the safest and most responsible
way to go with any illness, especially one as deadly as cancer. Many do
find, however,
that after some time of fasting they are able to reduce and even
eliminate harsher treatments.
But that decision should be made by a
physician in the light of test results. In short, there
is a lot of hope. Whether you are ill, or simply wish to lose weight
and get healthier, juice fasting is a powerful way to do it.
Tired
& Sick
During
the time
my sick friend started fasting, I recall being physically and
emotionally drained myself. My body was beat-up pretty bad from poor
eating habits, a hormonal imbalance, lots of stress and difficult
family/financial situations. It was bad. I had a hard time
concentrating and started to have periods of insomnia.
I was in deep
emotional turmoil and my joints were stiff and achy. All told, I was
exhausted and sick. Impressed by the miraculous results my friend got,
I decided to learn more about the benefits of juice fasting.
I made up
my mind to start doing a juice fast at least once a week, increasing
the number of days as my body grew accustomed. Little did I know that I
was about to embark in the journey of a lifetime, much of which
culminates in the pages you are now reading.
Fruits
& Vegetables
When juice fasting,
one consumes lots of fruits and vegetables in liquid form.
So I went to
the supermarket and bought my favorite ones, including apples, pears,
cantaloupe, grapes, grapefruit, oranges and cabbage, collards, lettuce,
wheat grass and watercress. This is a standard recipe with lots of
nutritional
potency that I always recommend.
It is truly a detox and
disease-killing powerhouse.
I learned that the body needs one pound of uncooked vegetables per 50
pounds of weight.
Juicing
makes this possible to achieve. Assimulation of nutrients is faster
since the body does not have to separate the fiber. And above all,
juice fasting gives the body very important nutrients called enzymes.
Enzymes are essential for digestion and food absorption.
They protect
our cells from being damaged by the many toxins in food, air and water.
Enzymes also produce energy and body tissue. Juice fasting is a raw
food diet at its very finest.
For a discussion on raw food diets, visit
fruit fasting
when you have a chance. Fruit fasting is another type of system that I
used where one goes for 7-to-21 days eating only apples, pears and
bananas.
Juice
fasting really saved my life. It induced a real positive change in me -
physically and mentally. The enzymes nourished me back to health and
strengthened my embattled immune system. I was feeling better than ever
and even looked younger. And it can do the same for you too!
Side
Effects
Juice fasting side effects may include; skin
eruptions and boils, dizziness and headaches.
You may have bad breath,
a metallic taste in your mouth and very strong body odor. Nausea,
fever, weakness, irritability, diarrhea, vomiting, white paste-like
film in the tongue, headaches and dizziness are all symptoms related to
fasting and detoxification.
Consult your physician before you start, even if you plan to only
practice juice fasting once a week. People with serious health
conditions, ulcers, diabetes hypoglycemia, liver and kidney diseases
must not fast without direct and constant supervision by a qualified
health care professional.
If you
have not had a physical exam in some time, this is the time to do so,
along with basic panel blood work. Those taking prescription
medications, as well as women who are either pregnant or nursing, are
encouraged to talk to their doctors BEFORE starting
any type of fasting program.
This is not a speed race nor are we trying
to break any world records. So DO
IT, but be patient.
General Juice Fasting Tips
The best
way to prepare for juice fasting is to taper-off sugar, starches and
greasy foods ONE WEEK
before starting. Eat less.
Don't overstuff yourself with food thinking
that you are storing up to feel less hungry. You are not a bear going
into hibernation. That is a no, no. It will not work. It will make you
miserable later. Drink AT
THE VERY LEAST half-a-gallon of water
daily during this pre-fast period.
Stay close to a toilet -
especially if you NEVER
have been much of a water drinker. Cut out steaks, pastries and
anything with a high sugar or fat content. If you can eat mostly
salads, steamed vegetables and lean poultry/fish for 7 days prior to
fasting, the discomfort will be notably less. This is a golden nugget
that I strongly advice you to follow.
During
the fast,
prepare juices made up of a COMBINATION
raw vegetables and uncooked fruits, organic if your
budget permits. If not, don't worry about it. Regular supermarket
fruits and vegetables will do just fine. But I recommend that you
combine them.
Some people drink juice only
from fruits. In my experience, this is not optimal because many fruits
contain lots of sugar which can spike cravings and have an adverse
effect on blood-sugar levels.
Besides, vegetables have tons of
nutrients that I don't want you to miss out on.
So use BOTH
juice and vegetables! If you shy away from veggies because you don't
like their taste: GET OVER IT!
Trust me:
even if at first you don't like them, liquefied veggies will grow on
you.
Of course, make
sure you remove pits, tough fruit skins and, logically, citrus peels. I
would be careful with grapefruit and citrus foods, unless you are
specifically doing
the Master Cleanser lemonade diet. You CAN
use lemons and oranges ... but do it sparingly.
Citrus fruits are
very acidic and this may cause you intestinal discomfort.
I highly
encourage you to add
organic wheatgrass to the juice. Wheat grass is part of the
cereal family which includes barley, oat and rye grass. It neutralizes
acid production and contains large amounts of
chlorophyll,
very similar to the hemoglobin in your blood. Wheat grass helps to
reduce food cravings. The grass can be bought fresh or in powder form.
The organic type linked above is the one I prefer. I recommend you take
2 Oz. a day of wheat grass mixed with your juice.
As far
as the
actual portions of juice, I normally drink anywhere between 32 to 64 oz
daily divided in 8 and 9-ounce portions. I drink five times a day, but
you can drink more if you still feel hungry. I will go out on a limb
and actually tell you to go ahead and drink as much as you want. If the
hunger gets overwhelming, take a large swig of water. While I am
fasting I normally drink up to one gallon of water per day -
in addition to the actual juice.
Take it
Slowly & Breathe
Bad
nutrition,
pollution, free radicals, stress, difficult life situations, etc -
all produce toxic deposits in the blood stream. Nevertheless: There is
hope. Move forward. You can cleanse through juice fasting and add many
healthy years to your life.
And do not forget to breathe, as breathing
calms down hunger pains, detox symptoms and the volatile emotions that
often surface while
one is fasting.Check out the
amazing book
Free Your Breath, Free Your Life for more on
this crucial, life-giving topic. Ok: Let's go to
Fruit-Vegetable Detoxification and continue our juice fast
discussion.
for more on
this crucial, life-giving topic. Ok: Let's go to 
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