Does the idea of juice fasting make you feel a little uncomfortable? I’d be surprised if it didn’t. We are conditioned to think of fasting as unhealthy or extreme.
Regardless of the fasting gurus of past and present, don’t normal people – like you and me – need to eat to stay alive? Yes, of course we do!
Okay, this is a trick question…. Do we really need to eat?
The fact is, assuming that you’re not pregnant or have an illness for short periods of time you actually can fast safely. This is especially true if you’re overweight.
I don’t expect you to trust me on this. Here’s a quick way for you to tell for yourself.
First answer this question: Are you carrying at least 10 pounds of extra body fat? I assume you are or you probably wouldn’t be reading this article in the first place.
If your answer is yes, then you have at least 10 pounds of stored fat that your body can use as fuel for the short term.
How long could you safely live off of your fat?
I like numbers rather than guessing, so let’s do the math:
One pound of fat = 3500 calories. This means that if you have 10 extra pounds on you, you’re carrying around an extra 35,000 calories. (Picture 40 extra sticks of butter on your body!)
Next; the human body requires between 1500 and 2500 calories per day to function.
Finally, take your daily requirement of 2500 calories. Divide these daily requirements into the extra 35,000 calories you’re carrying. The number is 14.
35,000 extra calories/ 2,500 calories = 14 days.
This means you have a minimum of 14 days worth of excess fat available, which you could live on fully.
Wouldn’t it great to use this extra fat – from your belly, your hips, and thighs – to fuel your body?
Wouldn’t it be great to see it literally melt off of you?
Nature designed our bodies brilliantly. Back in the days before agribusiness, we’d have periodic famines or food shortages.
During these times, our bodies would kick into this gear of using extra (stored) body fat to live on. With less food to eat, the body would burn some of the fuel needed to stay alive, equalizing weight balance.
Problem is, we don’t go through these feast and famine cycles anymore. Instead we simply become and remain fat.
Plus, with our modern lifestyle we’re overfed and under nourished. And being undernourished means that we remain in a hunger cycle. Empty calories encourage even more fat to be eaten and stored.
So I think you get the point about this vicious cycle.
However, I’m not asking you to go to the extreme. I’m not proposing a water fast, or its’ cousin the “Master Cleanse Diet”. So you don’t have to worry about living completely from your fat stores.
Juice Fasting
One of the huge benefits of Juice Fasting is that your body gets important nutrition from the juice during your fast. This keeps your body from going into full starvation mode where it tries to hold onto fat for dear life.
We strongly prefer Juice fasting over a true fast and I think you and your body will prefer it too.
To answer the original question, yes Juice Fasting can be safe. We still recommend talking to your doctor before starting any kind of fast to make sure that you’re healthy enough.
Fasting does put a strain on your body, so make sure you don’t start a fast during a stressful time – like during a move or job transition.
Finally, if you’re looking for a guide to help you plan out your Juice Fast, we recommend taking a look at the Experts Guide to Juicing Book.
We also often get asked for Juicer recommendation. We’re a big fan of Breville Juicers and use one ourselves.
Check Prices on Amazon.com for the best deal on a Juicer:
Original post: Is Juice Fasting Safe?
