The juice diet: not a success this time

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), about one-third of adults in our country are overweight. This has led to a multi-billion dollar diet and exercise industry. If you struggle with weight, your options for dropping it are endless. If you wish to follow a program, you can join Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem. If you want to take pills, there is Alli, Sensa, CTS 360 and thousands of others. Then of course there are the fad diets like Atkins and the South Beach Diet, but the latest fad is known as juicing.

Juicing is a unique approach that focuses on only allowing the dieter to drink juice made from fresh fruits and vegetables. According to the Mayo Clinic, "proponents say that juicing is better for you than eating whole fruits and vegetables because your body can absorb the nutrients better and it gives your digestive system a rest from working on fiber." This supposedly "reduce(s) your risk of cancer, boost(s) your immune system, help(s) you remove toxins from your body, aid(s in) digestion, and help(s) you lose weight".

Much of the current juicing phenomenon can be attributed to the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" by Australian Joe Cross.  In the film, Cross weighs 310 pounds and suffers from a debilitating autoimmune disease.  Through juicing and a trip across America, Cross loses the weight, gets back his health and takes back his life.

While Cross's story is inspirational, it is not the standard experience for most.  I can speak to this personally, as at my heaviest I was 310 pounds.  I was always the heavy kid, chosen last for sports, and weight has always been an issue for me.

Since I was a teenager, I have tried numerous diets that included everything from starving myself to drinking and eating only natural unprocessed foods. Juicing by far was one of the worst experiences I've had.  It was also my shortest foray into losing weight.

The issue with juicing is that if you do it "properly," all you consume is fresh juice and water. While the juice should have protein powder added once or twice a day, it isn't enough. The entire day you are STARVING. It is worse than normal dieting, because you are much hungrier during the course of the regular process.

That was my experience with this new diet trend.  However, there have been people that are successful on this diet. But even then, it will not be a permanent fix.  My friends who lost the weight from the juice diet gained the weight back after they finished the process and, in some cases, they also put on a few extra pounds in the end.

The Mayo Clinic adds, "There's no sound scientific evidence that extracted juices are healthier than the juice you get by eating the fruit or vegetable itself."

In recent months, I have lost 35 pounds through hard work at the gym and counting calories. I am the thinnest I have been in years, and I continue to drop weight weekly.  

The best way to lose weight is through self-control and work.  It works every time. This is what most doctors will tell you.  Watching your intake of fatty foods, along with exercise, is the best way to not only lose the extra pounds, but keep them off after you have reached your goals.  

Weight loss is hard. It requires sweat and sacrifice. But it leads to a healthier, happier person who is likely to live longer. In my estimation, it is worth every difficulty. Let's face it, the trend diets boast how ‘easy' it is to shed pounds, but it isn't supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be hard and worth the fight.