Juice fasting is to the 2010’s what the Thighmaster was to the 1990’s: You’re not really sure it does anything, but there are people who are in better shape than you who swear by it, so you keep your mouth shut and try it.
Last week, I attempted to embark on a three-day juice fast with Juice by the Raw. Rather than start off with all greens, I chose their three-day basic “Whenever” fast, which is designed to include basic fruit and vegetables like apples, celery, cucumber, beets, pineapple, and others.
Why Cold-Pressed Juice is Better
The best juice is cold-pressed. Ounce for ounce, cold-pressed juice contains a higher concentration of nutrients and enzymes than juice made with an extractor, because cold-pressing squeezes the juice out of all parts of the plant.
A cold-pressed juicer is opposed to a juicer like a masticating juicer, which shreds fruits and vegetables with blades, exposing the produce to air and speeds up oxidation. With cold-pressing, the juice you end up with retains more pulp. Because of this, cold-pressed juices have more fiber and even a little protein. That’s why I decided to go with a juice from Juice by the Raw, rather than trying to make it myself with my masticating juicer.
The Science of Juice Fasting
According to Cherie Calbom, MS RD, author of Juicing and Fasting for Life, juice fasting may help bodies operate more efficiently by improving their digestive systems, metabolism, and complexions.
Studies also show benefits for regular juice fasting — and other forms of fasting. The finds to date suggest that alternate-day fasting, in which persons eat normally one day and 500 calories or less the next, may improve glucose sensitivity, and reduce several risk factors for cardiovascular disease (American Clinical Journal of Nutrition, 2007). Fasting on alternate days also causes fat oxidation, or the breakdown of fat, to increase (American Clinical Journal of Nutrition, 2005).
So the science definitely supports fasting, if for no other reason than increased energy utilization (glucose sensitivity)! But what about your metabolism?
Does Juice Fasting Slow Your Metabolism?
I’m not a nutritionist, but it is my personal opinion that the “slowing your metabolism” has caused many of us to eat when we’re not hungry, fear fasting, and to overeat even when on diets. Think about it: If you read a diet book from the 1990s (when more of us were thin), we’re told to restrict calories and carbohydrates. But if you look at a diet book now, we’re being told to eat every 3-4 hours, even when we’re not hungry. Anything not to slow the metabolism.
In truth, it takes a lot to slow your metabolism. A 2009 study from the International Journal of Eating Disorders found that there was almost no difference between the resting metabolic rates of recovered anorexics, who had eaten 600-800 calories or less per day for years, and women who were never anorexic. Recovered anorexics had a higher rate of fat oxidation (meaning an increased ability to break down big fat molecules and use them for energy), but even then the differences in body composition were basically null. Anorexics two years out of recovery had about the same BMR as those who were never anorexic.
In another study, there is actually a phenomenon called “hypermetabolism” that is identified and discussed amongst anorexics. In this condition, anorexics must eat more calories than a person who never had an eating disorder to gain weight. It is believed that a decent-sized portion of calories are eaten up in thermogenesis (creating heat for the body) while in the early stages of recovery.
While I would never promote anorexia or unhealthy eating habits, I do believe that we are being coached by the mass media to eat far too much and far too often.
My Experience on the Juice from the Raw Juice Fast: Day 1
Day 1 on the Juice from the Raw juice fast was inspirational.
I flew past breakfast and lunch. It was refreshing, literally and figuratively: I didn’t have an urge to grab my usual bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. When I realized I wanted Pad Thai badly for lunch and resisted, I felt smug.
Around 3 PM, I started to feel really, really tired. I complained to my coworker Meredith, and then I went home early. On the way out, it took everything not to grab a bag of chips out of the vending machine. But once I got home, IÂ took a two-hour nap.
When I woke up, I felt somewhat better, but pretty weak. I managed to get the rest of my work done, and called it a night at 9 PM. Lights out.
My Experience on the Juice from the Raw Juice Fast: Day 2
On day 2, I woke up with a headache, runny nose, and sinus issues.
By the time I got to work, I had fatigue, tingly fingers and toes, and felt like I was barely making it through my work.
Meredith suggested that we go to Chick Fil-A for lunch. One value meal later, I had 1000 calories ingested, but I felt eons better.
My Experience on the Juice from the Raw Juice Fast: Day 3
After my Chick Fil-A experience on day 2, it got much easier.
On day 3, I felt like I had more energy. Interestingly enough, the stubborn fat on my thighs I thought was muscle got substantially less firm, to the point that I half-excitedly, half-disappointingly had to come to terms with the fact I had more fat than I thought, but could do something about it.
I ate dinner on day 3, splitting some appetizers with my fiance at a favorite local restaurant. It was delicious.
Bottom Line
The greatest part of this experience was reexamining my own habits. Since I was committed to the fast for the first day, I realized that there were so many times in that one day I would’ve overeaten: I would’ve stopped for food from a vending machine, had lunch at a favorite restaurant, and picked up take-out for dinner. Each instance adds up to hundreds of calories. Considering that 500 calories a day is 182,500 calories in a year, or 52 pounds, I was shocked.
As a result of this experience, I looked and my diet and my excuses. (“I really don’t eat that much,” I often say.)  After (mostly) fighting off pangs to go buy food constantly for 72 hours, I realized that I am eating at least one meal out per day five or six days per week. When I do that, I usually eat the entire delicious portion. But when I eat food from the grocery store, I rarely eat more than 1/2 a cup to a cup at a time. I’m just not that interested in literally devouring anything.
I started eating only food prepared at home Monday through Friday. The result? I’m eating a lot less, I’m already losing weight, and I feel like I have more energy.
As for the juice cleanse itself, I think I will do one again in another month or so. Something has to get the jiggle off of these thighs, and the only thing that has ever done that was the juice fast! #notMuscle #sadFace
What do you think of juice cleansing? Let me know in Comments!