Juicing or not?

I've been watching a ton of health related movies since getting a Roku which gave me access to Netflix, Amazon and a bunch of other channels. I usually watch them as I'm walking on the treadmill. It makes me feel virtuous to do double-duty, plus it motivates me to keep on moving.

It's been very interesting and educational. I've watched "Food, Inc.", "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", "Vegucated", and other similar movies.

After watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead I decided to experiment a bit with juicing.

I don't really need to lose a ton of weight although I wouldn't mind dropping some. My main reason for wanting to try juicing is to get a few more veggies in my system. I'm also a bit concerned about my joints as I've had issues off and on for years since I pushed myself too hard and fast when training for a marathon. Long story but the end result has been an inability to run marathons...or for any length of time.

Tale after tale of people getting of medications, reversing diseases or chronic conditions sparked a strong interest. I'd like to prevent going down the path of doctor visits, prescription medications lined up on the counter, poor health, lack of energy, obesity, brain-fog, and all those other negatives that are so prevalent these days.

I'm a vegetarian, been one since my teens. I don't eat sugar of any sort except, horrible I know, Splenda in my hot tea in the morning (more on that sinful choice at some other time). I stopped with the gluten long before it became a fad. Despite all of those so-called "healthy" food choices I know I am addicted to carbs. Give me a choice between a piece of toast and a stalk of broccoli and guess which one I'll grab?

I have a Nutribullet and had been using it for smoothies but I thought juicing might be a better option. I get plenty of fiber so ditching the natural fibers isn't that big a deal for my intestines, but I am not thrilled with tossing all the good stuff out.

My daughter-in-law loaned me a juicer. She had tried it, said it was messy, a hassle, she'd done it a few times and given up.

I just tried my first juicing. It's messy, it's kind of a hassle and something I may or may not do again! I made a kale, strawberry, apple concoction. It was good. If someone else made it and handed it to me I'd love it.

Right now I have a bunch of glob-filled things in my sink waiting to be cleaned. And the residue on my little glass is not appetizing. My teeth may be green also. 

I'm kind of thinking that maybe I'll just stick with the Nutribullet. I can toss all the same stuff in it, whir it a bit and have a filling, fiber-rich, vitamin-rich drink.

I did learn a few things during the process though. I have been making my smoothies completely backwards. I've been fruit heavy.

I just watched a video on YouTube by Elizabeth Rider (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45XdMtaig1E) about some common juicing mistakes. I watched it thinking she was going to tell me how to do things so I didn't have such a mess (ha ha). I need to make sure my smoothies are green. More kale, fewer bananas, mangoes and strawberries.

If you're interested in more on juicing here are a few YouTube videos that caught my attention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt3bxyKcCI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDeTKomY4P8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKzng1_byMY

Here a trailer for a movie/documentary I'm going to watch if it's on Netflix/Amazon, etc. :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQNNX2Oo7Kk&list=PLDB08EB984B46CB4D

On a side-note: I saw a number of videos lamenting major weight gain after going off a juice-fast. I think if someone slowly goes back to eating HEALTHY foods, makes veggies a platform of a normal diet rather than the little exclamation point on the platter, and has done their juicing correctly that shouldn't be an issue. I didn't watch any of the videos as I wasn't going to do a juice fast like Joe Cross or others who tout the benefits.