Juicing

So last week my brother, who is very supportive of me, asked me to watch the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. If you haven't seen it please do it's very inspirational and informative. Anyway, since then I have been researching the benefits of a mainly plant based diet. The health benefits are astounding. You can absolutely get all of the needed protein through plants and juicing. All the research I have read and watched shows amazing cardiac benefits, cancer healing properties, and joint pain reduction. So, as you know I am currently pre-op and have to lose 100 pounds before they will do surgery. So I have decided for both weight loss and the amazing health benefits to add 2 fresh, organic, green juices to my daily routine. I get my juicer tomorrow and am going to get my veggies. I was wondering if any of you have experience with juicing, and if juicing is something I can continue after surgery. I have quite a few health issues as you would imagine from having my highest weight being 504 lbs. So my primary focus for juicing is health not weight loss. I'd love to hear from you all about this. Thank you

I don't know of any reason you could not keep juicing after surgery, but I don't think you would be able to get enough protein after surgery if that was your main food source.  You need more protein after surgery than you do now.

It's a great movie. I was juicing prior to that, although not fasting. As soon as I'm onto regular diet, I plan to test out juicing again. I have no idea if the minimal amount of fruit in there will cause an issue for me or not. I'm also huge into green smoothies, which I hope to be able to incorporate again soon.

At some point I plan on going vegetarian, maybe vegan, but will have to wait until I heal a bit more.

I'm just curious.  Why do you have to heal more to become a vegetarian? 

oh no correlation i suppose.  i just was going to wait until i could eat more then 1/4 of food at a time to start experimenting with more animal free products.  i thought it might be easier to stick with what i know now.  

 I have not seen the documentary, but I have looked at the protein counts of all sorts of non-meat foods, and I am extremely skeptical that, even if you did NOT have a small pouch instead of your normal stomach, you could consistently get in over 60g of protein every day (and 60g is the minimum for us post-op).  With a tiny pouch, I cannot see how it would be possible.  Have you put together an actual  menu to verify that you can get in the needed protien given the volume of food that you can consume?

Also, excessive carb intake is one of the leading causes of both weight loss stalls AND re-gain, and -- as much as I am a proponent of RNYers not being carb-o-phobic and eating a balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables -- you will need to be very careful that you do not consume too many.  Unfortunately, with our small pouches, we have to make certain concessions to our diets that we would not make if we had a normal-sized stomach.

(edited to correct stupid iPad autocorrect nonsense!)

Lora

Good for you.  Where did you get the documentary; I would like to watch it.  In 1984 I purchased a juicer.  At that time, I paid over $300 for it.  It is amazing.  Every now and then, rarely actually, I will get it out.  In spite of not using it on a regular basis....I absolutely love it when I juice, and I do feel better. I think I am lazy about having to clean it.  

 When I was pre-op I asked my NUT about juicing.  She told me "do not drink your calories" and was actually negative about it.  It confused me.  I disagreed then, and I disagree now.  When I regularly drank carrot, apple and beet juice I was amazed at how much better I felt and how much better my skin looked.  I think I will get it out.  Dr. Garth Davis of Big Medicine agrees with a totally plant based diet - to the consternation of some of his patients.  I know a lot of people don't agree with that approach, but the less meat I eat, the better I feel.... hands down.  Best of luck to you on this endeavor.

I have a vitamix and LOVE it. I'm 11 months out and have a green smoothie every morning. Because of our need for protein protein protein, I also add a scoop of unflavored protein powder. For me, I just didn't feel like I was getting enough fruits and veggies in my diet...not much room during a meal for anything after I get my protein in. I start with a base of baby spinach and then add from there. Have fun experimenting...just be careful not to make them too big -- after surgery, portion control is very important, especially when it comes to a meal like this in liquid form.

Good luck on your journey! 

Does the Vitamix juice kale, collards, and other various greens well? I'm looking into getting a juicer and don't know which one to buy.  I had a RNY in 12/2009 and want to know if my pouch will allow me to absorb the nutrients from green juicing?  Since, water and liquids go through my pouch like a funnel. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Brenda Martin

Thank you all so very much for your responses. I was also thinking of putting the unflavored protein after surgery to be 100% sure that I get all of my protein in. There are many plant sources that have quite a bit of protein: Black beans-15.2, Chickpeas-28.6, Quinoa-5, Peas-4.8, Kale-2.2, etc. Each "Mean Green" juice that I will mostly be drinking already contains 19.8 grams of protein. So even on a juice fast this would be enough for the day, but like I said I may add some unflavored protein as well just to be on the safe side.
I wish I could say I was being noble and trying to leave a smaller footprint, but really I'm being selfish because I just want to feel better. Ive read countless reports of people who drink fresh, organic juice, even if it's not a fast just a supplement to their diet, feel a million times better, and they have a glow about them. I want that. I want to feel good not lethargic all the time like I do now. I hope that I get the same results that others have had with their health. I probably won't start out with a fast, but I would like to juice fast at some point soon.
Oh, the video is on Netflix if you have that, or you can buy it at www.fatsickandnearlydead.com
Thank you all again for your thoughts. I will be going out for fresh, organic veggies today. I can't wait! Hee Hee. Who knew one could get this excited about veggies lol. I'll letcha know how it goes and how I feel.