Welcome Crieels!

I use both a juicer and a blender. As you probably know there is a huge difference between the two: the blender uses the whole vegetable/ fruit, so you will get all the fibres, while the juicer extracts all the juice and leaves the pulp behind.

Now the problem with the juicer is, that a) it is expensive as you need a fair amount of vegetables/ fruits to extract the juice and b) the juice is not very filling. The other issue is that most of the stuff that gives you lot’s of juice also contains a lot of sugar, I.e. carrots. On the positive side, all the nutrients go pretty much directly into your bloodstream with very little digestion required.

The blender has the advantage that you use the whole vegetable with all it’s fibres. This is particularly of advantage if you do not like to eat a lot of veggies. It is easy to blend I.e. one apple with spinach and kale as it makes it a bit sweeter and easier to “tolerate”.

Now the way I use both: I make once or twice a week a juice from a small amount of carrots (sugar !), celery, beets (sugar), perhaps a cucumber and one apple. This is my “base” for my smoothies: I take a small glass of my juice, put it in the blender with spinach, kale, some almonds or home made peanut butter (small amount) and a spoon of protein powder. Sometimes I also put my leftover veggies into the blender with the above, such as brussel sprouts, cauliflower and/ or broccoli.

The whole smoothie comes to around 500 cal and I sip from it from breakfast until dinner on my non fast (!) days. It gives me all the nutrition I need and some more!

On my fast days, I do not eat anything until dinner time and I drink tons of tea or water during the day. In the evening it is quite often two soft boiled eggs, some veggies and some Ryvita “bread”, followed by a Greek yoghurt.

Anyhow, if I had to decide between a juicer and a blender, I would definitely go for a blender as you can do so much more with it and you get all the fibre from your veggies. (I use mine at least twice a day) As said, beware, a lot of veggies, leave alone fruits have a very high sugar content and you will reach your calorie goal very quickly!

Hope this helps a bit?

Best of luck
Stef.

yes welcome to the forum–it’s a great eating plan , a great way of life–for all newbies the sound advice is to read the book or watch the programme so that you have a good idea about the health benefits–that it is not a speedy weight loss programme but all up a slow and steady way of losing weight and gaining alot of other health benefits. For me I found the recipe book to be a god send, lots of easy and tasty meals so it has helped me make changes on non fast days too.
I gave up my juicer because of the lack of fibre and high sugar content. I’m with Stef the blender is much better because–use less fruit (hence less sugar) and you get the fibre.
all the best and oh remember to take your measurements–the scales are not always our best friend !!

@crieels if the blended stuff is too thick, why not add a small amount of water while it’s blending. You’re really better off having the fibre of the veg/fruit as it helps keep your blood sugar levels from spiking (can’t remember right now where I read the medical research article on that).

As far as whether your meal plan is under 500cals, you’ll need to measure the items & calculate it. Your idea of a portion size isn’t going to be the same as someone elses. There are plenty of online calorie counters you can use to see if it is. Cos this is something you need to be educated on as you’re the one responsible for your choices.

I’ve not had a headache on a fast day, and I get lots of headaches compared to some. Neither has anyone I know in real life who’s doing 5:2

As said above, blend your pulp with some water or unsweetened Almond milk. Actually, any liquid will do!

Stef.

Crieels:

I have no idea where you received that ‘information’ from, but it is wrong.

This will explain how every diet works: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/

Good Luck!

Crieels:

All that thread refers to is simple water retention. The body can vary two or more pounds daily in either direction as a result of water retention or dehydration. This is the major cause of ‘weight gain’ by people that are doing their diets as they should. Fat is still burning off, but the resulting weight loss is masked by the water retention. This can go on for several weeks, and some then claim they are on a ‘plateau’. As soon as they get on a scale at a time when the body is at a more or less normal water level, they see a weight drop.

For starters, all you need to do is eat 500 calories or less twice a week. Do that for at least a month before deciding if you need to do anything else.

Good Luck!

Good luck Crieels….coffee and water suit me, but the lovely thing about this way of eating is find out what works for you..I know loads save their 500 calories for evening meal, but I like having a small breakfast.
As for weighing yourself, I would just say don’t get obsessed with it. I know I am a good few stone overweight….I also know my weight can fluctuate a good pound or two in a day, so once a month suits me.

I tend to weigh on a Saturday morning, after I have fasted the previous Tuesdays no Thursday….I believe the key is to weight the same time each time every time to get a good comparison.

The thing is it just works this system….it really does. And while I didn’t believe it to start with, I really quote enjoy fast days because I know I can do it..I know it is working and I kinda feel I have conquered hunger…it really doesn’t kill you!

@crieels – this is an example: eat a normal dinner on Monday night – if 7pm is your usual time that’s fine. On Tuesday eat/drink only 500calories (if you’re a woman, 600 for men). You can eat 5/6 x 100cal meals or 1 x 500/600 cal or nothing but water. Whatever is easiest for you is what is right. On Wednesday eat a normal breakfast, and continue to eat normally until your next fast day.