Juicing to Lose Weight (even if you hate veggies!)

Like you I've heard all about the health benefits of juicing. How all of the good stuff from the fruits and veggies are funneled directly into your body via the juice. But the biggest enticement for me to want to try it was that I had also heard that lots of people were juicing to lose weight, and it was working for them. (And truly- what Mom out there isn't still trying to lose “those last 10 pounds”?) But there was one thing that stopped me in my tracks. I, um…. hate veggies.

Sure, I can eat a salad- but ones that I make contain only romaine, croutons, and no-calorie no-fat dressing. That's it. And if it would count as a salad without the romaine lettuce then I'd like it a whole lot more. Other than potatoes in pretty much any form (a potato is still a veggie, right?) and tomatoes used in soup, sauce, and ketchup (but never raw!)… that pretty much sums up my entire vegetable intake. For my entire life.

And then my brother, who is also a card-carrying-veggie-hater, told me that he bought and was using a juicer. (And please, don't blame my Mom… she tried her darndest to get my bro and I to eat the green and orange stuff. But we just fed it to the dog when she wasn't looking. And then grew into adults who pretended that vegetables didn't exist). I just couldn't believe it- that my brother would actually drink that stuff? Juice made from veggies? But when he told me he lost 20 pounds in a matter of a few weeks just by sticking to this juice regimen- well…. I was intrigued. 

So on our next visit to his house, I asked him to prepare me one of his juice drinks. And I watched him feed carrots, cucumbers, kale, spinach, and apples into his Breville juicing machine. Then he took the resulting juice and mixed that in a blender along with a banana and some frozen strawberries and served me a small glass of veggie-fruit-smoothie deliciousness.

And you know what? It wasn't all that bad. I could actually get it down without gagging. (Win!)

So Steve and I came home from that August trip and promptly purchased our own Breville Juicer (affiliate link- and it is quite an investment!) and started to create our own juice drinks. Steve immediately began to lose weight. But me? After two days of drinking it- I was done. I was hungry- I was sick of the taste. It just wasn't working for me. I guess maybe I am just too much of a confirmed veggie-hater.

A New Year, A New Start

Like so many of you, after a holiday season spent over indulging on food and drink, my clothes were too snug, and I was unhappy with how I felt. (Not quite “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”… but certainly not “Healthy, Happy, and At My Best”.) So I decided to give juicing another try. But my way this time- not trying to follow anyone else's definition of a good juicing recipe, and making sure that it tastes good so that I can actually drink it (happily!) and stick with juicing.

I am starting my 4th week of my juicing plan, and so far it is working well for me. I have lost 9 pounds (!), I feel great- not hungry, not tired, and very satisfied. There are a few things that are working for me, and I wanted to share it with you:

• It has to taste good. So if that means I add 1-2 additional strawberries for flavor and a splash of OJ- then so be it. (It is much better than the cookie and Chardonnay diet that I was on in December!) It is more important that I enjoy my breakfast and dinner than it is to worry about the fact that I ate 4 extra strawberries today!
• I am drinking a juice at breakfast and at dinner, but for lunch, I eat protein. Most days I have a small serving of roasted chicken (I like the Perdue Short Cuts chicken strips).
• I allow myself one or two 100-150 calorie snacks a day (you can check out my favorite low calorie snacks here).
• When serving the kids dinner, I will drink a small glass of fat-free milk before drinking my juice. Milk is filling plus it gives me a dose of dairy that I am not getting from the juice.
• And if I am at a dinner or a party, I'll allow myself a glass of wine, maybe a cracker or two. But for the most part- I try to stick to the 2-juice, 1 protein, 2 snack plan I've outlined above.

But after about a week of staying dedicated to my juicing plan, I was becoming frustrated with how much kale and spinach I was feeding into my Breville machine and how little juice it was producing. I felt that I was throwing away too much of the green stuff- which seemed both wasteful as well as expensive! After doing a little online research, I learned that lots of folks feel that the a juicing machine like the Breville does a terrible job with leafy greens. So I decided to make another investment in my juicing plan, and I purchased a Magic Bullet NutriBullet “juice extractor” (affiliate link). 

Here's How I Am Juicing These Days:

The NutriBullet does a great job of pulverizing my leafy greens and blending them right into my other ingredients completely. And the best part- is that I am using the whole thing- no kale or spinach is wasted. For a few days, I tried using the NutriBullet exclusively for all of my juicing ingredients- but dense fruits and veggies like carrots and apples made my resulting juice very thick- almost like drinking applesauce. For me- that was a little too gaggy.

So now I use my Breville juicer to give me just the juice from these denser fruits and veggies.

And it leaves behind all of the thick pulp that I don't like to drink.

Just that small pile of 5-6 carrots and 4 green apples produced this much juice! I will use this carrot/apple juice to blend in with my leafy greens and frozen berries.

The one negative about using the Breville is that it leaves lots of parts to clean up afterwards- which is a bit of a pain. So when I juice my carrots and apples, I make enough juice to last 2-3 days. Now juicing purists will tell you that you should make and then immediately consume your juice because you lose many of the antioxidant benefits when juice is allowed to sit. But you know what? 2-day old carrot/apple juice is still better than the cookie and Chardonnay diet I was on in December! 

I then put two good-sized handfuls of kale and spinach into the NutriBullet cup. Before packing it down- it looks like this.

Then I pack those greens down and I add in a heaping tablespoon of flaxseed, and add in 1/2 a banana, and a handful of frozen strawberries and raspberries. The ratio of greens to fruits should be close to 50/50. (I know it doesn't look like it now, but it's because the greens pack down so much flatter than frozen fruit!)

Then I drizzle in the carrot/apple juice that I made in the Breville. I add it in slowly- it takes a moment for it to work its way down under everything I've packed into the cup. I keep the liquid beneath the “max line” printed on the cup. And then I add a splash of OJ on top which gives it just a punch of flavor.

Next I screw the blade base onto the cup, attach it to the NutriBullet and start blending.

Play the video to see how the NutriBullet draws down the leafy greens and blends them all into an easy to drink juice.

I know that the puce green color doesn't look like the most appetizing drink in the world- I totally get it. But with all of the fruit that I added plus the splash of OJ, it takes sweet. And for a veggie hater like me- it doesn't taste like veggies at all!

The other great thing about the NutriBullet is that there is one small part to clean up- the extraction blade. And all it takes is a good rinse. 

If you've thought about juicing and weren't sure that you could really stick to it- maybe you'll be able to if you try my approach. Yes- making the investment in the two machines is expensive. But compared to other weight loss plans and programs- it is not out of line. And you could always start with just the NutriBullet and see how you do with the extra-thick juice that is created when you add in the carrots and apple. Maybe it won't bother you (especially if you can handle drinking applesauce!) Or you can choose to leave out the carrots and apples and just get your goodnesses from the leafy greens and berries. There are tons of recipes included in the NutriBullet book that comes with the juicer.

You are eating real, healthy food (or drinking it anyway) which is something you can continue to do long after you've said goodbye to those last 10 pounds you've been wanting to lose. As for me, I am still hoping to shed another 10 pounds over the next few months. But the most important thing is that I have a found a way to add a whole lot of good fruits and veggies to my daily diet- and I know this is something I can stick with!

Have you tried juicing? What tips & tricks can you share that have worked for you?