One Week of Juicing - Why, What, and Will I Continue
It all started with celery juice….
For the last few months I have been seeing all sorts of things about juicing. Celery juice, carrot juice, ginger juice, beet juice, apple juice, EVERYTHING JUICE.
So I started to do a little bit of research on juicing. What are the benefits, why you should do it, what are peoples results?
They say juicing can reduce your risk of cancer, boost your immune system, remove toxins from your body, aid digestion and help you lose weight. However, there's no scientific evidence that extracted juices are healthier than the juice you get by eating the fruit or vegetable itself.
The Food Network also had a pretty good article on the health benefits of juicing. You can find it here.
After the little bit of research I did, I decided that I should try it out at least try it for just a week or so. I mean after all what is it going to hurt? I ended up looking at a few different juicers and decided on this one:
Now obviously this isn’t the only juicer out there. I decided on this one because it was on sale, it said it was easy to clean, and it got really good reviews. There are seriously hundreds out there, so the reviews mean alot to me. Here are some other juicers that you might be interested in.
Why I decided to Juice:
I am doing this strictly for health benefits. I am still going about my normal meal and exercise plan. Nothing has changed there.
Again, I did a bunch of research of the different juices and found only amazing benefits to it. Out of all the amazing benefits I found to juicing there were three main things that made me really want to try this out
Helps with digestion
Now you see… my digestion hasn’t ever been good. I have tried all sorts of things to help my digestion. I’ve tried prunes, all the different fibers, intermittent fasting, and pretty much everything. So if juicing was going to help me with my digestion then heck yas!
Helps you eat all the vegetables that your body actually needs
If you now me at all you know that I suck at eating all my vegetables. Seriously I just want to eat all the pasta, but I figured if I could drink my veggies then heck ya! Heck ya I am all about it!
Helps your immune system
Growing up, my immune system has always sucked. I was always getting sick and pretty much still am. So, if there is anything that can help me not get sick as easily then I am all about it.
Juices That I Decided To Try:
First of all, I decided I was going to do this entire thing while Intermittent fasting. I just want to start off by saying this. I stop eating around 5pm every evening, break my fast around 11:30 with juice, and then eat my first meal around 11:30 or 12.
After I received my juicer I decided I was going to drink Ginger, Carrot, and Celery juice for a week. I went out and bought myself
2 bags of celery (4 celery hearts)
1lb of ginger
1 bag of carrots.
I was super confused on how much to drink so after a bunch more research I settled on 8 ounces of celery juice, 1 shot of ginger juice, and 1 shot of carrot juice.
The first day of juicing was interesting. I tried was celery juice. It tastes just like liquid celery. I then added carrot juice to it and omg it tasted terrible. I then added ginger juice and it was just terrible with a side of spicy. So I added apple juice and it was just ok.
From that point on I decided I was going to just drink shots of them. Get it done and over with. Boom!
So, I shoot both the carrot juice and the ginger juice and chase it with some water. The carrot juice is kinda sweet and not too bad, but the Ginger juice makes me tear up every time.
How To Make The Juices:
Making the juice is super easy. All you need to do is add the vegetable to the juicer and watch it make juice for you. Now how much does each make that is the real question.
1 celery heart makes approximately 8 ounces of celery juice
1 bag of carrots makes approximately 6-8 ounces of carrot juice
1.5 lbs of ginger makes approximately 6-8 ounces of ginger juice.
So, basically you are going to eat an entire celery heart every single day. Most celery packages come with 2 hearts so 1 bag will be good for 2 days. That means you need 7 celery hearts for the entire week.
Also, I ended up juicing all my juice all at once. I put the juice in mason jars and put them in the fridge. So, why did I do that? Because I absolutely HATE washing dishes lol. I am sure that is against the juicing rules, but I wanted to make it to where I actually stuck to it. I know myself too well. If I had to clean a juicer every morning it would be a short lived thing.
What Were My Results and Will I Continue?
My results were mild. Nothing changed drastically over the week of juicing; however, I did notice a HUGE change in my digestion. Now this is probably TMI, but I rarely go to the bathroom… like once or twice a week. Like I said, this was the biggest interest to me and something that I have been trying to fix. Well, after juicing this entire week, I went every day but 1. Ya I know, TMI, but I an all honest and real with you guys. I want you to know what actually happens and if it actually works. Non of this fake stuff. So here I am giving you ALL THE INFORMATION even if it is a bit personal. So, for this reason alone I am interested in continuing to juice. I am wondering if this is just a fluke, or if drinking the juices actually aids in digestion.
With all of that being said, I have not lost any weight nor have I seen any change in before or after photos. So, just because you are adding juice to your regular diet and exercise plan, don’t expect to see some sort of unrealistic change in the mirror. I feel like so many people share before and after photos that are either something that isn’t normal, or is completely fake, or exaggerated.
So, I am definitely going to continue. I am going to continue for the next three weeks and see what happens. That would make 1 month of juicing. During this next month I might try to actually make some yummy juices. I might experiment and share good recipes with you, that is if I actually come up with any :)
Do you juice? If you do and you have good recipes please please share them below. Also, if you do, do you like it? What have you noticed? Comment below and let me know :) I would love to hear all about it!
Wishing you nothing but amazing days,
Bessie