Will it give me gas?

Ha!

I'm sorry, I just had to give it that title.

See, its still Question and Answer time about Juicing, and as long as the questions keep pouring in, I'll keep answering them.

And Beatriz asked the million dollar question. Will it give me gas?

Yes.

Next question. :-)

Seriously, though, yes. But a little gas is fine, when you're in your skinny jeans, right? And getting fewer colds! And feeling better!

Catherine asks: "Do you juice in the morning or evening or...."

I'm an evening girl. I do this for a few reasons.

1. I'm lazy in the morning.
2. I like coffee first thing.
3. I tend to eat junk mainly in the evening, while watching TV. So having juice first thing when I get home "curbs" the mindless eating.

Heres why. This is key to weight loss: Our bodies are smart. They know when we are giving them empty calories. Our bodies will continue to give us the "hunger" signal until they feel like we've given them enough nutrition. (Kind of why a Lean Cuisine seems like a good idea for dinner until you're hungry 10 minutes later.) The juice is amazing this way. You give yourself 12 oz of fresh carrot, cucumber, beet, celery and apple (plus a little snap of fresh ginger and lemon) and VIOLA - you feel full. Your mind says "satisfied! Thanks for the nutrition!" Plus, since there is very little sugar in the juice (I use a Granny Smith apple - lowest sugar) - it helps curb other sugary/carby cravings.

Dana wanted to know: "For weight loss, did you replace one of your meals with the juice? Or did you just add it to your regular diet?"

Such a good question, and the answer is complicated. Remember how desperate I was at that point? Stuck in a rut feeling like there was no way out? I was in a depression, to be completely honest. And in a depression, not only can you not see a way out, but you almost don't even care anymore. That was me.

So, I wasn't really into the whole "pull myself up by my bootstraps" kind of thing. I was not getting a plan together involving diet and exercise. The idea of the gym made me nervous. I thought to myself "I need to be in shape to go to the gym!" and had no plan to put on sweatpants and make a fool of myself on the treadmill.

The ONLY thing I could think to do was dig out that juicer from under the counter and plug it in. I could only handle one thing at a time, or I knew I would get overwhelmed and give up. So heres how the timeline went.

1. put juicer on counter
2. made juice
3. felt full (and a little queasy. it was day one, after all.)
4. didn't eat much else that night
5. woke up next morning, thought "just make the juice at one point today. thats all."
6. made juice that evening
7. felt full. felt proud Id done it two days in a row. Hated taste. Gulped it down.
8. didn't really feel like dinner that evening.
9. woke up next morning and hated my new routine. Thought "just do it one more day."
10. made juice that evening.

the only change between then and now is this: eventually I quit resenting the fact that I was making the juice. Then I began to actually enjoy it.

So to answer your question Dana, yes, at first I replaced dinner. But not on purpose. It was because I felt full. Had I been hungry, I would have had a little something. But usually (and my other juicing friends agree with me on this) the juice is a wonderful meal in-and-of itself.

Last question for today goes to Eva who wants a specific recipe for my favorite drink:

4 large carrots, well scrubbed
1 cucumber
1/2 beet (with greens if you're brave! tons of magnesium in there!)
3-4 stalks of celery
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 lemon, pealed
tiny amount of ginger

That is what I make (or my husband makes) everyday. I drink one full glass, and theres usually enough for my husband to have 1/2 a glass.

Hope I got all the previous questions answered. Did I miss you? Leave it in the comments and I'll get to you again.

And for those of you who are saying "Enough already! No more juice!" well, I'll try and mix it up on here in the next few days. I need something else to post about though....

How about:

1. Our plans for Valentines Day (trick question, we have none)
2. How is Tom doing with the fact that he's gonna be a dad in 5 months?
3. Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman
4. More embarrassing things about me so you can know my life isn't perfect!

Your choice makes the next blog entry... let me know!