So I got a juicer and just started using it. I wanted a way to get my vitamins and minerals in more naturally. Today I juiced a carrot, 2 stalks of celery, a big hand full of spinach and a small apple. It tasted great, filled me up and made me feel so healthy! BUT>>>there was no protein in it. I am 8 months out and at goal. Am I making a mistake by trying to get some good nutrition this way?? I still plan to drink my protein drinks -3 per day- to make sure I am getting my protein in.

Any words of wisdom or warning are much appreciated!!

Living the dream,

Laura

It sounds good to me - I've been having various salad veg along with meats for several months (about 8 months out and goal range here, too) and have recently started adding some V8 juice to help boost my potassium intake (the low salt version is particularly good on that count) - I'll have to play with making my own blend sometime. Protein has rarely been a problem for me, but adding in enough other things to balance out the nutrition within our capacity and a sane calorie count has been. One can always add some of the unflavored protein powder to the mix if more protein is needed, but I don't fret about getting protein in with every meal or snack (tho most are decent in protein content, even if the meal goal is more carb oriented.)

I've been wondering about that too! I used to make "green smoothies" which were primarily nutrient rich veggies and a fruit to sweeten it up. Dark leafies are high in calcium too. Raw almonds have a lot of calcium too. Can we have those?? They can be thrown in the blender with the veg. Is this ok to do?

Laura you look fantastic! Juicing is a great option, but sometimes it can cause some weight gain. There is nothing wrong with increasing our diets to a more healthy, nutritious and great tasting. I fear for myself that I would over indulge and gain weight back. Then again, I'm mind is playing tricks on me. I am holding back from going out and buying a size 8 slacks for work. I just can't believe I'm in an 8. I am working my way up to it.

Laura you look fantastic! Juicing is a great option, but sometimes it can cause some weight gain. There is nothing wrong with increasing our diets to a more healthy, nutritious and great tasting. I fear for myself that I would over indulge and gain weight back. Then again, I'm mind is playing tricks on me. I am holding back from going out and buying a size 8 slacks for work. I just can't believe I'm in an 8. I am working my way up to it.

I think that it's like anything else with our sleeve (or an RNY or banded pouch) where we have to be careful about drinking our calories. With fruits you have to be careful about the amount of sugar in the fruit - I was amazed when making smoothies for my wife after her WLS how much strawberry it took to get the flavor into the drink! That's probably less of an issue with juicing veg, but it still pays to keep track of what's going into it. I don't mind things that are sliders as long as they are nutritionally dense relative to their calories.