Biggest Loser Week 3

Week 3 is when things got serious. This is when I started juicing. And upped my total loss to 18 pounds. That puts my total percentage to 6.74%. I have found that juicing seems to be a polarizing activity. There are those that tell me not to do it because it isn't safe. There are those that tell me that it is cheating for the Biggest Loser Competition. And then there are those that commend me for doing something so challenging.


I would first like to say that this is the third time that I have done juicing for an extended period of time. Before the first time, I did an extensive amount of research on the health ramifications to juicing. I came to the conclusion that juicing is NOT a crash diet. It is incredibly demanding and it takes a lot of commitment, fortitude and mental toughness. That being said, it is not a diet that can or should be maintained for too long. A juice diet is like a restart button. It is a detoxification diet that cleans out your system and establishes the proper mindset for dieting. For a good comprehensive explanation for the biological effects of juicing, click here.
Let me address some of the most asked questions when I tell people that I am juicing.
Q:Am I hungry?
A: Yes and No. To juice properly, it is essential to give your body the proper amount of nutrients and vitamins. I did a lot of research on what foods have those different things. To simplify, similar colored foods have similar qualities to them. The important thing is to have a variety of foods. You can't alternate between apple and orange juice for every meal. On a normal day, I drink two 32 oz. bottles of juice and another of water. One of those juices is a vegetable-based one, while the other is fruit-based. If you are getting enough variety, you are giving your body enough of the essential vitamins and nutrients that it needs. When you do this, you aren't biologically hungry. So no, I am not hungry. This doesn't mean that you aren't mentally hungry. When your body goes for too long without various foods, it starts craving those foods. After juicing too long, I want grains. A piece of bread or some crackers.
Q: How do you get enough protein?
A: Both fruits and vegetables contain protein. Here is a chart of characteristics of both fruits and vegetables. I am a plasma donor and these are things that they check before each time that you donate. I had been tracking these numbers for several weeks leading up to my vegetarianism and then juicing. As it turns out, both my protein and iron levels spiked up once I started to juice.
Q: Do you really like the drinks, or are they as gross as they look?
A: As I said earlier, this is the third time that I've juiced. I have learned what a lot of foods taste like once they are juiced. I have a couple go-to juices such as Carrot-Apple, Pear-Grape-Cucumber and Watermelon-Strawberry-Mint. My first time juicing, I tried to make a juice gazpacho. It had tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, bell peppers, carrot, and onions. Let me give you a simple piece of advice. Never juice an onion. As you can see on my food blog and my 101 Foods To Eat Before You Die, I am willing to try any food. This gazpacho was the worst thing that I've ever eaten. ***DRINK JUICE, NOT ONIONS*** I do like the fruit juices a lot more than the vegetable ones, but you need to have both. If you are thinking about trying out juicing, make sure that you read up on it first.
A few tips: foods change their taste when they are juiced. Essentially, they become more concentrated. While the pineapple-orange combination is really good, it is so acidic that your tongue will start to hurt if you drink too much. Herbs are nice additions to the juice. You can still not only get juice, but impart its flavor in everything that you juice after it. Those fruits that turn brown when you leave them out will likewise turn into brown juices. If this grosses you out, run a lemon through the juicer before you do these fruits. Freshly juiced drinks taste better than older ones. The nutritional value also drops for some things after they get too old. And finally, remember to stay away from the onions. If you want to add some spice to your drinks, I recommend. ginger.