I'm drinking about 12-15 oz (I forget how much is a medium LOL! this time around I'm buying my juice.) of:

equal parts apple/carrot
then either beet or parsley.

Juicing can help you lose weight, but the best thing I ever did for weight loss was liver flushing! I had jsut turned 40 and found I could not lose those last 5 pounds no matter waht I did, and I am the calorie counting queen. I've studied every diet (I'm a research-aholic heh) and taken chemistry of nutrition.

The missing link in all diets is the liver. The liver metabolizes fats!!! If it's clogged, weak, it just can't do what it's supposed to do. And the standard american diet isn't very nice to the liver; even a healthy Diet isn't perfect. The liver is a filter, it needs to be changed now and again! ;)

Read www.liverdoctor.com for more info and start flushing! :)

Also, if you are constipated, that's a sure sign o fliver problems plus, not getting enough good oils in your diet. Start taking flax seed oil 1-3 times a day, you'll have many more BM's I guarrantee it.

Here are my notes on constipation/bowel management (I have others LOL!) :

when you first add fiber, as in P&B shakes, your colon is a bit weak, probably has constricted areas (thin stools=constrictions and/or moving too fast) AND probably coated with mucus. The mucus, altho bad, has a good side effect - it helps things pass quickly!

The fiber starts taking off the mucus, so it slows down your BMs for awhile until your colon strengthens!

This is why when you first start bowel management, you want to do....

1. either do the fiber PLUS laxative for about 1-2 weeks, not more or you get dependent. There are fruit-based laxatives that are better if you can find them, such as Triphala. These *strengthen* the colon rather than create dependency so you can take them over a longer period of time. Start with only 1 P&B shake a day, gradually increase dosage until you're doing 3 a day. Follow each P&B shakes with a glass of plain water.

Take the P&B shake 30 minutes before meals if you're trying to lose weight. Or take them 1-2 hours after the meal. Do not take with supplements, take the supplements 30 min before fiber, or with meals, or 1 hour after fiber.

You can take probiotics safely while you're drinking P&B shakes and doing enemas.

If your new fiber stools are too compacted, you're not drinking enough water.

2. Start off with a series of colonics. colonics will reduce mucous AND exercise the colon too!

3. slat-board exercises (see Dr. Jensen's book), walking, yoga, basically do AB exercises which in turn strengthen your colon and increase circulation.

4. Experiment with different fibers if you get too much diarrhea. Some people don't do well with psyllium. Most do, but some are better off with flax seeds, green apples, etc.

5. Start each morning with a large cup of very warm but swallowable water. This induces a bowel movement quite effectively.

6. End each night with this drink: a cup or so of milk simmered for ten minutes with 2 whole cardamom seeds, 1/2 inch fresh ginger root cut or grated, 1 stick cinamon, 3 cloves. This is basically Chai tea without the tea. Pour into a mug with a tsp or so of honey. This will hlep you sleep, increase your digestive powers, take out toxins from stomach and small intestine, is a natural laxative, and it tastes fantastic too! :)

7. 1-3x a day take 1 tablespoon of olive oil. This will force the liver to give up some bile, and bile stimulates peristalitic action! :)

8. Avoid all constipating and mucous forming foods such as deep fried, cheese, most dairy (except milk if cooked or low-fat. Some people do well with yoghurt and cottage cheese.). Eat more nuts and fruits (preferably apples, pears, berries), but eat fruits alone as a fruit meal, never combined with anything else. Avoid animal protein for a couple weeks. Eat more veggie stews with Quinoa, Basmati Rice, Lentils, Garbanzo Beans, instead.

9. Purchase and study Dr. Bernard Jensen 's "Tissue Cleansing Thru Bowel Management." A real life saver.

10. Eat hot cereal for dinner occasionally. Very comforting. Get a mixture of grains, pref. no wheat, like Bob's Red Mills 5 Grain Cereal from the health food store. Flavor with flaxseed oil or butter, cinnamon, maple syrup.

Also: You'll know your bowels are healthy and strong and clean when:

You have as many BMs as you had fiber-rich meals the day before, and no fewer than 1 bm daily unless fasting.
Stools are at least 1 inch in diameter, are formed but not hard packed, uniform brown color. Should be at least 6" long, preferably 12", but of course it depends on how much fiber you eat. Eat more fiber rich meals if they are short. If they are very thin, then you either have constricted areas in your colon or they're moving very fast through your system (diarrhea or IBS).

If they totally float on the surface of the water you had a high-fat meal. They should sink, but be light still, if you know what I mean. :)

When your bowels seem to be moving regularly, but perhaps you're still not completely up to par, look into liver management next. A strong liver produces more bile.

Hope that helps! :)