It’s the question everyone is just dying to know. “How much juice should I drink on a juice cleanse?”
I’ll get to the answer in a later in the post, but let’s just look for a moment at the reason for asking this question.
Before you considered cleansing I’ll bet you never asked the question, “How much food should I eat in a day?” You just ate until the point at which you felt full (or sometimes beyond that point). It’s interesting isn’t it?
When you decide to get healthy or lose weight, you begin to examine your life and your past behaviors. Sometimes this isn’t pretty. And when you realize you’ve been overeating or eating the wrong foods for a number of years you begin to question every thought and every action. You begin to distrust yourself and you seek help. That’s okay. That’s a great place to begin again.
How Much Juice Should You Drink?
When you are on a juice cleanse, that’s drinking only juice for a set number of days, the juice becomes your meal. So think of it that way. Spread your juice “meals” throughout the day and aim for four juices per day.
It’s important to realize the function of the juice. It loads your body with nutrition and flushes your system of toxins. You want to drink enough to feel full. If you are getting hungry it is a sign that you need more juice.
So here it is:
A good place to start is by drinking 16 oz, four times per day. That gives you 64 oz. You may drink more or less depending on your situation and needs. For example if you are very active during the day, your body requires more fuel. Drink more. If you are hungry or feeling healing reactions (headache, body aches) drink more.
Your body knows how much juice it needs. It will tell you. Take a quiet moment and listen. You will begin to learn the ways your body communicates with you and you can begin to start trusting yourself again. Happy Juicing!
Your Turn
Are you trusting your body? How much juice are you drinking on your juice cleanse? Let us know in the comments below.
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I did my first juice cleanse the first week of the year and I’d say this fit me exactly. I had a couple of days where I got a little headachy and I knew it was because I hadn’t “eaten” enough that day. But, I chose laziness (not wanting to get up and go through all the effort to make the juice) over making the headache go away. 4 16oz glasses of juices was probably just about right for what I needed during that time.
My question is, can u drink anything else in between the juice, like water?
Yes, drink water. You could also drink herbal tea.
Thank you! I wondered this too =^)
I drink 20 oz 4 times a day. Breakfast , lunch, Dinner and my hard times were at night so I have a juice at 8:30 – 9 PM at night. I don’t get to bed until 11:30 or Midnight. I start all over at 6:45 AM the next day. Well, after I take my son to school so 7:30 or so…
I am concerned about how much salt I should have on a juice fast. I know the body needs salt. I did a fast for a week and my muscles were cramping. I was giving the advice to have salt. I don’t know how much I need on a fast. Thank u
Next time you make juice, dilute it with filtered water and add a pinch of sea salt. You can also bathe with Epsom Salts.
I am a concerned husband, asking questions about wife and juicing. She has been juicing for a week today, 24 oz 3 times a week. Being that 2 days out of the week she is literally in school from 0900-2400, she can basically juice only twice during those days. Is there a alternative for those days?
Hi Harry, You might find this post helpful. http://myjuicecleanse.com/juicecleanse/what-is-a-modified-juice-fast/ You can modify the juicing to fit your schedule or needs
I am going to be starting a juice fast this coming weekend. I am wondering if any of you other juicers have experienced any weight loss with this and how much, how quickly have you lost?
Hi. I’m thinking about trying the juice cleanse. I’m probably somewhere between Joe and Phil’s original build (closer to Joe’s, but a couple inches shorter). Although not diagnosed, I believe I may be suffering from urticaria – but mine is on my calves and ankles. I was wondering – would it be ok to take the juice (directly) from the juicer and mix it with ice in a blender to make a smoothie? I usually prefer my drink very cold.
Sure, Mike. Go for it!
i am no expert, but in my learning I have come to understand that the heat from the blender base and spinning blade can break down some off the awesome enzymes that you have just recovered. I propose you time your juicing so that you have time to put your drink in the freezer and wait for it to become your desired temperature. Let’s say it takes 2 hours to get right, then make your juice 2 hours before dinner or snack time. Also try freezing fruits and then juicing (a favorite in my omega 8004!)
Most enzymes break down from 113-150 degrees. You will not harm those with spinning blades. The blades (unlike a masticating or auger juicer) do introduce a LOT of oxygen and oxidation which speedily increases the decomposition of the nutrients. With spinning blade juicers your peak drinking time is within the first 30 minutes. Your freezer will not freeze fast enough to preserve this speed very much. Freezing, as compared to fresh, has even LESS nutrients (http://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/processing) as much as 5% less for most and 30% for vitamin C.
If using a high rpm juicer drink within 30-90 min for optimal. Refrigerate in glass air tight container to preserve longer, maybe up to a day. Use a low RPM low oxygen juicer and drink within 3-5 hours and freeze in air tight container to preserve longer, maybe two days. Just remember every tick of the clock is another nutrient that has decomposed.
Hey Mike, I am the same way. I need to have my drinks cold as ice. I would use ice in the beginning but after a while i felt like I was diluting the drink a bit too much with all the ice i was putting in my fresh juice to make a smoothie and losing the full potency of it. So what I did was i placed a bag of grapes in the freezer; turning them into grape ice cubes. so when i was done with my juicing, all i had to do was throw in a hand full of the frozen grapes and it would ice my drink. After i was done with the juice i would just enjoy the grapes after.
Diluting your juice wont matter as long as you drink all of it, you are still getting all of the nutrients.
I have a cuestion … I dink coffee every day ,can I drink the juice and the coffee at the same time or after?
Drink the juice first, however if you are doing a juice cleanse I recommend not drinking any caffeine at all
I will be starting a juice fast this weekend. I drink a lot of sweet (sweetened with sugar) decaf tea. In your opinion, how much will the sugar affect my cleanse?
I don’t know if you experamented and found an answer but I find sugar to be HORRID on my cleansing stomach. I suppose if your juice has a lot of fruit your body won’t notice a difference but I was cleansing with dark green leafy veggies and no fruit. My sugar was from a small amount of carrot in the juice. My body had rid itself of the cravings for sugar and the need and when I had some it smacked my digestion HARD and made me very ill.
Do people generally lose alot of weight on this juice cleanse? Would it matter if you had lunch each day and juice for breakfast and dinner?
That would be a modified cleanse http://myjuicecleanse.com/juicecleanse/what-is-a-modified-juice-fast/
I eat healthy and exercise..walk for 1/2 hour most days ,I have only a few kilo’s left to loose but cant seem to shift it. If I juice breakfast & lunch time but have a meal for dinner will this be OK ..as I have just seen the show on TV..FAT,SICK,NEARLY DEAD thought it was the best show I have seen to do with weight loss..PLEEZ REPLY.thank you.
Hi Rochelle,
In my experience, I lost weight having juices and smoothies throughout the day and then a “proper” dinner (as my mother would say). Quite a nice daily progression is juice for breakfast, smoothie for lunch, then a meal for dinner. I totally agree with Carey when she says “You want to drink enough to feel full.” The aim isn’t to restrict calories but to feed and fuel our bodies with high quality nutrition. 1 litre of freshly squeezed orange juice doesn’t even have 500 calories. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no danger of ever drinking “too much”.
With regards to your evening meal, it kind of depends what you’re eating. Say you have freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast and a green smoothie for lunch, you’d be looking good. But what you eat for dinner has a huge bearing on the quality of your diet. Choosing something like brown rice and steamed veggies covered with a squeeze of lemon juice and black pepper would be a great option. I eat this for dinner 4 or 5 times a week. Before you start thinking that’s boring, it’s not! Just by varying the vegetables, it’s easy to make a “different” meal every night. On top of that, steamed veggies and rice have ZERO added fat!
My husband and I just started juice cleanse this week and we love it!!! I have already lost 10 pounds! We are on day #3. My question is… I have a juicer that has a very small sieve, so there is no pulp. I will compost the pulp eventually… but for now it seems so wasteful.. should I order a sieve that allows some pulp or Do you know of any other uses for the pulp and is there any nutritional value?
Some ideas for pulp http://myjuicecleanse.com/juicing-health-tips/juice-pulp-eek-what-to-do/
Hi All, I was wondering if there are any good recipes that would help strengthen my hair and nails, I had gastric bypass and my hair is thinning from lack of protein (so says the doctor) and my nails are soft. Thanks!
An apple, spinach, beet combo might help. Also broccoli. Check with your doctor if these foods are okay for your condition. Soft nails may indicate low amounts of B vitamins, Vitamin D/magnesium, or iron. Greens can provide this plus protein.
I love you movie, fat, sick and nearly dead. That is how I am feeling. I am only 48 but i have 23 health conditions. Now I bought the machine, I have to find a great place for fruits and vegetables. I am planning to juice full time asap. We are on food stamps for 6 people so it is difficult. I know that God will provide. Thanks for the juice recipes. Back to what I know I need to do. Thanks so much.
i try to save $ on my fresh produce by:
- for apples and oranges my stores always have the best value per pound in bags at the base of shelf that the fruit is displayed on. Like, 3 lb bag of apples for 2.99.
-buy the bananas going brown and that cost less because of it. Peel, pre-cut to your prefered size, freeze. Juice these plus berries (twice through for creamier) to make an awesome sorbet/ice-cream.
-i’m in NYC and I find the cheapest produce in heavily ethnic neighborhoods (all varieties)
and in general, try to bring your own re-usable bags or re-use plastic bags. Not $ saving, but certainly will make an impact on the environment. So you can feel good about that for free
Thanks for making the documentary. My wife and I watched it the other night and thought it was fantastic. Loved Joe’s personality! I’m starting the juice fast today, and am thinking of taking a supplemental multi-vitamin to ensure I’m getting all the additional vitamins and minerals the raw juice may not provide. I also have to take medication for bi-polar, so I can’t leave that out. Lastly I’m planning to take Omega 3-6-9. Any opinions on the additional items? Do you recommend taking a multi-vitamin of any variety? -thanks
In the movie the men had just juice for 60 days and it seemed they were working out, especially toward the end. Is there enough protien in just juice while working out or should something be added to the juice and or diet? My regular life requires moderate exercise and I do light to moderate exercise/workouts regularly as well. I am still overweight, bordering on obese and I want to do a 60 day just juice diet. Any help would be appreciated.
Sara, If you’re exercising moderately you may want to drink more juice.
My husband and I are smokers, how will juicing for a 7 to 10 day fast effect us?
Is it okay to take an all natural metabolism booster (pill) with this all juice cleanse?
I would first suggest some light exercise such as walking or rebounding.
I drink Decaff Diet coke…Can you drink it while on the Juice Cleanse program ??
Sharon,
Unfortunately sodas, especially diet sodas contain unhealthy and even carcinogenic (cancer causing) ingredients. I know from experience that diet sodas also cause joint pain and weight gain. You could improve your health greatly by just getting off the diet sodas altogether. At the same time start by drinking once fresh juice in the morning, then eating a healthy lunch and dinner. This will help you get over the soda withdrawals.