Juicing separates the valuable fiber of the fruit or veggie – leaving you with a glass of sugar and carbs. And guess what? You’re still hungry!
The Time I Got “Fat” Juicing
No really – I’m (semi) serious, lol! A few years ago, over the course of about 10-11 months, I gained 14-lbs doing nothing different, other than jumping onto the juice-bar craze. Per the usual I was working out hard 6x/week & eating healthy – but had added lots of fresh pressed juices to my day! Not fruit juices which we all know are full of sugar. I stuck to fresh pressed veggie juices like kale, spinach, beets, ginger, carrots, etc.
I noticed that some of my clothes were starting to feel tighter, and immediately thought “omg, the fricking dry cleaner!!” Lol. It was only after stepping onto the scale, that the weight gain hit home. I couldn’t understand what had happened. I wasn’t doing anything differently and had never had a weight problem before. Was this supposed to be the middle-age thing? Ugh!! No!!! Picture trying to put a cat into the bathtub. Not happening without a fight and some serious fur-balls.
Stepping back to analyze things, it became obvious what had happened. In a nutshell, I was drinking 3-4 fresh-pressed bottles of juice each day plus my regular meals because juice isn’t filling! That added up to a lot of additional calories.
Now, I know you may be thinking “uh, yeah – but I’m not drinking 3-4 bottles a day.” Fair enough. I knowthere are those who still like to juice. It’s been promoted as the latest-greatest healthy thing to do, but IMO – it’s just a fad.
If it works for you and you love it – more power to ya. If you’re on the fence, consider these 2 important points about juicing:
1. Juicing separates out the natural fiber of the fruit or vegetable, essentially leaving you with a glass of sugar and carbs to drink.
Then guess what? You are still hungry. The natural fiber is so important! It is what works to satiate your hunger, keep you full, regulate blood sugar, fight illnesses like cancer and diabetes, and help you maintain a healthy weight!
2. If I handed you a basket of apples—how many would you eat? Probably one, right?
Eating a whole, real apple gives us all the benefits of fiber (fills you up) and 100% of the apples nutrients.
Now, if I handed you that same basket and asked for an 8 oz. glass of apple juice—you’d need about 3–4 apples to fill that glass. Just by virtue of juicing the apples, you’re ingesting triple to quadruple the calories (3–4 juiced apples instead of 1 whole apple), drinking a glass of sugar which then causes insulin levels to spike, leaving you hungry, and of course depriving yourself of the full value of the fruits nutrients!
I love quick-n-easy. I don’t want to spend 20 minutes steaming veggies.
I do love the idea of a quick and easy way to get in a healthy dose of fresh vegetables each day. I mean, let’s be honest. How many of us are really going to spend a ton of time steaming, cooking, etc. Sometimes you just need to hit the Easy Button!
Instead, blend your favorite fruits & veggies into a SMOOTHIE. I love using the Vita-Mix!
Instead of juicing, use a blender or Vita-Mix to make a healthy VEGGIE-SMOOTHIE snack! Blending whole fruits and veggies (not separating the fiber by juicing), leaves you with a full glass of all the valuable fiber and nutrients inherent in fruits and vegetables.
Try my STRAWBERRY-SPINACH Smoothie:
Blending whole fruits & veggies in a Vita-Mix keeps the fiber. Helps you to feel fuller, longer.
Into a Vita-Mix (or Blender) Add:
- (2) full handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
- 2–3 leaves of kale
- Approx. 1⁄4 cup ice-cold water
- 7–8 frozen strawberries (these act as a natural sweetener + makes it frothy)
*Blend until it is smoothie consistency. Pour into cold glass and enjoy!
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