You’ve bought a juicer and unpacked it. You have some fruit and vegetables. You can’t wait to start juicing!

But what should you make first? What’s the best way to get started?

The answer depends on your goal.

If you skip this step, your juicer may end up collecting dust in the back of your kitchen cabinet, or out on a table at the next garage sale.

Because juicing, like anything else you may do for your health, requires some time and effort. It doesn’t need to take a lot of time, but it is something new that you are adding to your routine.

You’ll need to have the reason you are juicing clearly in mind. This will keep you going when you may feel tired or inclined to skip it.   

In this post, I’ll help you identify your goal, and supply you with quick-start guidance to make your new juicing lifestyle a success.

I’ll also provide you with free downloadable recipes.

What’s Your Juicing Goal?

While you may want to dive in and start making juice, the first step to successful juicing is determining what you want to get out of the juicing lifestyle.

Do you want to lose weight? If so, how much?

Do you want to lower your cholesterol or improve some other health condition?

Do you want to detoxify?

Are you just looking for a way to improve your nutrition?

Okay, let’s go deeper.

Why do you want to lose weight, lower your cholesterol or [insert your reason here]?

• How will your life be different?
• How will you feel?
• What will you be able to do that you have trouble doing now?
• How will that improve your mood, relationships or career?

Your answers to these questions will help you get clear on the reason you juicing, and this will go a long way in helping you make juicing part of your new, healthier lifestyle.

Your goal will also determine the kinds of juices you may want to make, and how much juice you consume each day.

Juicing for Weight Loss

If your goal is to lose weight, I recommend green juices. These juices are mostly vegetable with a small amount of added fruit and/or lemon for taste. They are low calorie and low sugar – but provide maximum nutrition.

Ingredients often include cucumber, celery, lemon, cabbage, green apple, lemons, limes, ginger, parsley, and jalapeno.

Click here to download your free Tasty Green Juice Recipes

Even if you are not wanting to lose weight, green juices are a fantastic way to get dark leafy greens into your diet.

Juicing for a Health Condition

You may be interested in juicing to help reverse a health condition such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

If you have elevated cholesterol, I recommend juices that are proven to help remove LDL cholesterol, reduce oxidation of LDL cholesterol, and reduce inflammation.

Ingredients include carrots, apples, broccoli, kale, lemons, oranges, and grapefruit.

Click here to download your free Juice Recipe Cards for High Cholesterol.

If you are wanting to lower your blood pressure, juices that include beets like this Beet Cucumber Cleanse Juice can be helpful.

Juicing for Detoxification

While your organs do the work of detoxifying your body every day, certain fruits and vegetables are known for supporting those organs and boosting your body’s ability to jettison the bad stuff.

Click here to download your free Detox Juices for Optimal Health.

How Much Juice?

Now that you know what juices you want to make based on your health goals, it’s time to decide how much juice you want to drink.

You may be tempted to start with a full-on multi-day juice cleanse. That’s what you see “everyone” on the internet doing.  

I do not recommend this to a beginner. Diving into a full-blown juice cleanse or detox with no preparation (physically and mentally) is often a set-up for failure. Or at least some serious detoxification symptoms.

Start with just ONE juice a day.

Yep. Just one.

Drink a 16 ounce juice first thing in the morning, before your coffee or tea, and wait at least 20 minutes before eating anything.

Your body will immediately put all of that powerful nutrition – more than most people get in an entire week – to work in your body.

No time in the morning to juice? No problem.

You can make juice the night before, fill your jar to the rim, cap it and store it in the lower portion of your refrigerator where it is the coldest.

You may also find that a fresh juice is the perfect afternoon boost. So much better than those sugar laden coffees.

Mix it Up

Experiment with different juice combinations, and you will quickly find your favorites. I personally never tire of a cucumber-celery-kale-green apple-lemon-ginger juice!

Once you have your daily juice practice established as part of your normal routine, consider adding in more juice depending on your goals.

For weight loss, this can be a second green juice mid-morning or for lunch in place of a meal. Juicing till noon is one of my favorite ways to lose a pound or two a week.

For more detoxification and weight loss, try consuming 4 juices over the course of a day with a small veggie dinner. I use this method with clients in my 6-Week Juicy Plant Based KickStart program.

There are lots of options for harnessing the power of juice in a healthy plant-based lifestyle.

By determining your goal, and starting with just one juice a day, you can set yourself up for a lifetime of successful juicing that brings you all of the weight loss, healing and energy you want for a happy and full life.  

Don’t forget to download your free juice recipes.

Tasty Green Juice Recipes

Cholesterol Lowering Juice Recipe Cards

Detox Juice Recipes for Optimal Health

So what are your juicing goals or questions? Please post them in the comments below.