(Harper Collins)
There's nothing like the start of a new year to reevaluate your health goals. For many of us, this includes embarking on a plan to help shed those extra holiday pounds.
While there are thousands of diets out there, Jason Vale, author of "7 lbs in 7 DAYS: Juice Master Diet," promises to help readers lose weight while improving overall health by following a fresh juice-only diet.
Along with exercise and a few motivational guidelines from Vale himself, the Juice Master Diet aims to kick-start weight loss while invigorating and energizing the body. In fact, Vale is so confident of the plan's effectives that he is inviting readers to join 20,000 others across the globe in the World's Biggest Juice Detox, which runs from January 7-13.
As the detox gets underway, we will be posting one juice recipe from Jason's collection each day during the event.
Thinking about taking the plunge but aren't sure if this plan is right for you? We went straight to the source to get the skinny. Here's what Jason had to say:
Can you clarify the difference between a juice diet and a fast?
A "juice diet" is where you live on the liquid of the plants which contain a range of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and other essential nutrients whereas a "fast" is where you live on nothing but water. A "fast" in essence is "the absence of nutrients," which a "juice diet" is clearly not. Some people talk of "juice fasting" which is a contradiction in terms. My juice diet goes one stage further by adding in essentials like blended avocado for good essential fats and fiber.
How long can I survive on juice before I need to eat?
This depends on many factors, such as how large a person is to begin with. In theory, until a person is at their desired weight. However, I would always add blended avocado and make a couple of the juices 'thicker' each day if on a program any longer than two weeks. [Illusionist] David Blaine "survived" for 44 days on nothing but water in a box above the River Thames in London, so you could "survive" on a juice diet for a long time. However, I recommend no longer than three months, and then only if you have a very significant amount of weight to loose. For the vast majority of people seven days is perfect. The average person will lose between 7lbs - 10lbs and feel amazing.
Will the juice fill me up? Does the amount of juice vary depending on body type or height and weight?
Yes, for the vast majority of people it fills them up. In fact, the most common thing people say to me is “how come I wasn't hungry?” The challenge is many people these days tend to be overfed but undernourished. Because much of the food we consume is full of empty calories and little genuine nutrients, we are under the false belief we require enormous amounts of food. The second you start feeding your body on a cellular level with “rapid nutrition” juicing, you get fed at the core and start to genuinely feed every cell in your body. The first three days some people do feel a large hunger, but that's not a genuine hunger it's “withdrawal” from what I describe as “drug food and drinks.” Once the withdrawal has gone, usually within 72 hours, hunger subsides and it becomes very easy.
What happens if I cheat? Is it all over for me or will I still reap some of the benefits of the program?
You will reap tremendous benefits from every single juice you drink, so if you replace even one meal a day with a freshly extracted fruit and veg mixed juice, you are a super success. Some people do five days, feel amazing, and then eat on the nights of day six and seven and some have the odd cheeky cappuccino and still get the weight loss and feel great. Clearly I recommend the program as it has been designed, and the best results come from this, but there is a five percent margin of error.
In your book, you mention how important mental preparation is to be successful on this program. What are some “mind over matter” tips you can share?
I am a firm believer you cannot get into the right frame of body without first getting into the right frame of mind. I highly recommend reading at least the first 100 or so pages of the book before you start the program, as otherwise you will simply be on diet mentality. The book moves you from a mind set of “I want but I can't have” (diet mentality), to one of “I can have, but I don't want to have” (freedom mentality). What people think they will dive into, and what they actually dive into at the end of the seven days, is a very pleasant surprise to them. Instead of hitting potato chips, fries and other junk, they crave salads, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
Does juicing impact men differently than women?
No. Men do tend to lose more weight, but that's true of any “diet.”
There are lots of skeptics who might not think this is a healthy way to lose weight. What would you say to them?
Yes, I hear this a lot, and it never ceases to amaze me how anyone with any rational sense can possibly think that someone, who has become fat by eating junk, is doing something “unhealthy” by drinking pure juice. I have even had people call it dangerous! However, I am at a loss to see how the nutrient rich juices from nature’s finest fruits and vegetables is dangerous?
There are many who say, “what about all the sugar in the juices?” as if the sugar in a donut is somehow the same as the sugar in freshly extracted juice. Then you'll have some saying “juices are hi G.I,” because we are obsessed with glycemic index.
Then you'll have people saying “detox” is a made up word. It is true the body naturally detoxes, and that juices do not detox the body. However, your body naturally breathes too, unless of course someone has their hands around your neck, then it becomes a great deal more difficult for the body to do what it natural wants to do.
When you remove ALL junk coming into the body for seven days, and drink nothing but freshly extracted juices, you effectively take your hands away from the neck and the body can breathe again. When you give the body the opportunity to detox efficiently it will do just that, but if it's always playing catch up you are over working your organs and it has no choice by to store fat and various parts of the body become clogged.
I always say to people, before you judge, try it for one week. I have been doing this for 15 years and I have seen some truly miraculous changes in people's health in a very short space of time. The body wants to heal, and by freeing it of junk for a week and drinking a range of juices from different fruits and vegetables, it gives the body the chance to do so — all skeptics welcome.
To what extent will this program interfere with my daily routine? Will I need to limit my activity during the seven-day period?
You shouldn’t need to, but some people, depending how much they are “withdrawing” from junkie types of foods and drink, may feel tired for a few days. The key is to make sure you DO exercise in order to wake the body up and keep the metabolism flowing. However, if someone has just gone from 20 cups of coffee a day to zero, they may well find it hard to function for the first three days. For those people they may want to make sure they get early nights!
What happens if I want to drink these juices separately and not as part of the plan? Will I see the same benefits?
YES, YES, YES! Every single freshly extracted juice in the program does you good. If all you did was swap your normal breakfast for the Turbo Charge Smoothie, and you usually eat three times a day you will have transformed over 30 percent of your diet to plant base vegan in one shot. Over 30 percent of your diet will instantly be refined sugar free, refined fat free, wheat free, diary free, additive free, and the list goes on.
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