Intermittent fasting 6:1 with Smoothies and Juices
We found it - our favorite fasting method: Intermittent fasting in a 6:1 rhythm. This means once a week we put the brakes on and consciously start a fasting interval for 24 hours. However, we do not eat nothing, we fill the day with green smoothies and freshly squeezed juices. If we get hungry, we eat raw food in all variants. Once a week, we give our digestive organs, which are very busy these days, a little break and cultivate a kind of relief ritual. This is not only good for us, it also gives us something to work towards to.
Maybe you'd like to try our Intermittent Fasting - on this page you´ll learn how it works, how much juices and smoothies you should drink, where to find suitable recipes and everything else you need to know:
Intermittent fasting 6:1 - topics at a glance:
- What is Intermittent Fasting?
- How does Intermittent Fasting 6:1 work with smoothies and juices?
- 3 advantages of our Intermittent Fasting method
- For Beginners: An exemplary Intermittent Fasting day
- Can I drink coffee, black tea and/or green tea on Intermittent Fasting day?
- How much juice and smoothie do I need to drink on Intermittent Fasting Day?
- Important tips for your Intermittent Fasting Day
- What is the best way to prepare juices and smoothies for Intermittent Fasting 6:1?
- Can I lose weight with the weekly Intermittent Fasting day?
- Svenja's experience report: Intermittent Fasting once a week
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an alternative to the classic diet, it is differenciated by the fact that you switch between eating phase and fasting phase in a certain defined rhythm.
Prominent examples are the interval fasting 5:2 or the 16:8 method. The 5:2 method describes a form of interval fasting in which you eat 5 days "quite normally" and reduces the portions to only 25 % of the usual on the other 2 days. The second example became well-known in germany cause of Eckart von Hirschhausen as the "Hirschhausen Diät" and describes a daily rhythm: no food for 16 hours of the day and in the further 8 hours "everything is permitted". For example, meal times can be between 10:00 am - 6:00 pm or 1:00 - 9:00 pm, according to your personal rhythm.
How does Intermittent Fasting 6:1 with smoothies and juices work?
We've tried pretty much every form of fasting - from water fasting to alkaline fasting to smoothie fasting. It hasn't turned into a regular habit for a variety of reasons. It's also just very hard to do with kids in the house.
We found it very easy, to reduce it to a weekly relief day, on which we only eat freshly squeezed juices, smoothies, raw vegetables, salads and fruits. The idea of Intermittent Fasting 6:1 with smoothies and juices was born.
3 advantages of our Intermittent fasting method
- Without hunger!
You reduce meals almost completely to easily digestible liquid foods, but you don't have to go through a time interval where nothing is eaten. If smoothies and juices do not saturate you, simply prepare a salad or nibble on carrots & co. - Suitable for everyday use - only 1 x a week
In our experience, interval fasting is easy to do one day a week. No matter if you are training, working or have a family to take care of. We wanted this relief day to turn into a routine, thats why we choose the interval 6:1 - only one fasting day per week. - Alkaline, vegan, vegetarian, raw food, gluten and sugar free
Unbelievable - We don't just do intermittent fasting with smoothies and juices - we also make this day completely alkaline. (more about the importance of alkaline nutrition here) We only eat raw vegan food without gluten and sugar, therefore we are vegetarian for one day. This sounds extrem, but it is easy to stick to it for a day. Find out more about how good it is for you and your body: Svenja's experience report.
For your start: An exemplary Intermittent Fasting Day
First, decide which day of the week is best for an intermittent fasting day. In our opinion, this is Tuesday. The week has already started, the first to-dos are done, Monday was time for grocery shopping - usually the evenings are free, you can go to bed early.
Before you go grocery shopping for your intermittent fasting day, plan the smoothies, juices and raw food meals. Once you have done an intermittent fasting day with smoothies and juices several times, you will get more routine. Juice recipes can be found here; simple smoothie recipes can be found here and here.
To get you started, we've put together an example Intermittent fasting day for you:
- Directly after waking up: ½ liter of lukewarm lemon water
Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods of all. You can easily take advantage of this, in order to get your acid-base balance to a good level, start your day with lukewarm lemon water. Simply squeeze a lemon and ad about 400-500 ml of lukewarm water. You can make this your daily ritual, but you should protect your teeth from the citric acid. This can be done with a glass straw. - 1st breakfast: 500 ml of freshly squeezed juice
On our intermittent fasting day, we treat ourselves to a double breakfast. We start with a freshly squeezed juice - preferably a green juice such as celery juice. You can mix it with other juice ingredients, or drink it pure. You can find a small selection of our favorite celery juice recipes here.
If you don't have a juicer at home, you can also prepare your celery juice in a blender. Read the guide for preparing celery juice in your blender here. - 2nd breakfast: 700-1000 ml Green Smoothie
About 1 to 2 hours after the juice, we drink a green smoothie as a second healthy breakfast. This is definitely more filling. It contains all the fiber that gets filtered out when juicing. The digestive organs are now well prepared. You can find beginner-friendly recipes here. - For lunch: 700-1000 ml smoothie or 300-500 ml juice
If you are very hungry at lunchtime, prepare a second smoothie. Either a green smoothie or a vegetable smoothie. We have created 4 delicious vegetable smoothies - one of them is a hearty tomato smoothie, which can be eaten just like a soup. If you're not hungry, you can also just have another juice. You can find juice recipes here. - In the afternoon: raw food snacks or 300-500 ml of freshly squeezed juice
For many people it is very important to drink coffee or snack on something sweet, especially in the afternoon. You might not even get into such a slump on your Intermittent Fasting day, since your body uses less energy for digestion, you have more energy available for other activities. However, if you still feel like having a snack, prepare your favorite vegetables to nibble on: Peppers, carrots, cucumbers, celery, etc. - or somr fruit. If you don't feel like eating anything solid, prepare yourself a juice, especially if you had a smoothie for lunch. Here are some of our juice recipes. - For dinner: 700-1000 ml smoothie, 300-500 ml juice or a raw food meal
For dinner, you are free to choose. If you go to bed early, we would recommend a vegetable juice or even better: a probiotic juice made from fresh sauerkraut, spinach, apple and some lemon. On the next day, you can have a hearty breakfast.
But the is nothing wrong with starting the day with a smoothie again - you can find easy smoothie recipes here. A raw vegetable plate with vegetables, salad, sprouts etc. is a good option for dinner as well. - Throughout the day: Still water and/or herbal tea
During your intermittent fasting Day, make sure that you only drink still water and/or herbal tea besides smoothies and juices. If you mainly drink a lot of freshly squeezed juice, the additional amount of liquid will not be that much. Nevertheless, it is good to drink plenty of fluids to flush the body properly.
Can I drink coffee, black tea and/or green tea on Intermittent Fasting Day?
We recommend avoiding coffee, black tea and green tea. Besides smoothies and juices, you should only drink still water and herbal teas. This way, your intermittent fasting day will also remain an alkaline day. However, if you get an immediate headache as a side effect of, for example: coffee withdrawal,you should have your coffee in the morning after the lemon water. You may be able to give it up at some point. There is no point in overexerting yourself!
How much juice and smoothie do I need to drink on Intermittent Fasting Day?
This depends on your individual needs, we can not give exact details. But looking at the exemplary intermittent fasting Day shown above, you will come up with 1.2 to 2 liters of juice combined with 2.1 to 3 liters of smoothie, depending on your choice of meals.
Important tips for the Intermittent Fasting Day
Adapt the Intermittent Fasting Day to your needs
Of course, you can deviate from our intermittent fasting day recommendations at any time, increase or decrease smoothie and juice amounts; drink only smoothies for an entire day or juices in combination with raw foods. We have designed our intermittent fasting Method so that you can vary.
Preparation is everything
Especially if you don't work from home or are out of the house during your intermittent fasting day, prepare your to-go juices, smoothies and raw food units the night before and refrigerate them overnight. When you get back home, prepare the rest of your meals à la minute - that way the nutrient content is the highest.
Green smoothies and green juices for stable blood sugar
The more green content your smoothies and juices have, the more stable your blood sugar will remain. If, for example, your smoothies are very sweet and contain a lot of fructose, as is the case with fruit smoothies, you may get very hungry or hypoglycemic. Therefore our intermittent fasting day follows the rule: The greener the juice or the smoothie, the better!
Just go to bed early
If it is possible for you, just go to bed early - at the latest at 10 pm. Your body can regenerate while you sleep and you may avoid a late night appetite. To be able to close your eyes earlier, find a relaxation ritual for the evening of the intermittent fasting day. This can be a warm, alkaline bath with about 3 tablespoons of baking soda, a sleep-promoting herbal tea with chamomile, lavender and hops or a relaxation exercises of your choice.
What is the best way to prepare juices and smoothies for the Intermittent Fasting Day?
Smoothies and juices are best prepared fresh. To prepare green smoothies, we recommend a high-speed blender that is capable of finely pureeing leafy greens such as herbs, lettuce, collard greens or spinach. This is simply how green smoothies turn out the creamiest and the tastiest.
To prepare freshly squeezed juices, we use a slow juicer.Slow, high-pressure juicing with a slow juicer ensures a high juice yield and maximum nutrient content. You can also juice leafy greens with slow juicers, several tests and our experience have shown us that this is not possible with centrifugal juicers. However, you can use them to prepare freshly squeezed celery juice. We recommend the following models as high-quality entry-level blenders and juicers:
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Where can I find the right recipes for Intermittent Fasting 6:1 with smoothies and juices?
Smoothie recipes
You can find simple recipes for green smoothies, for example, at our TOP 10 Green Smoothies Recipes for Beginners. It's best to choose the recipes that are in season. You should definitely try our evergreen - this recipe is always successful, all ingredients are available all year round and the result tastes wonderfully mild and refined at the same time.
Celery juice recipes
If you want to prepare celery juice, you can find 6 celery juice recipes here - you have a wide variety: from pure celery juice to mixed celery juice with apple, lemon, cabbage or cucumber.
More juice recipes
For more recipes or inspiration for freshly squeezed juices, check out our TOP 10 Juicer Recipes. Here you´ll find freshly squeezed juices from fruit, which you can use for the Interval Fasting Day. These recipes go well with leafy greens of your choice.
I don't have a juicer, can I just drink smoothies?
Of course you can do that. It's even less effort, because green smoothies are prepared faster. 3 smoothie portions (1000 ml) can be enough to set you up for a full day of intermittent fasting. If you still feel hungry for something solid, you can eat raw vegetables or some fruit.
I don't have a blender, can I just drink juices?
This is also possible: You simply drink as much freshly squeezed juice as you want and can prepare. Since freshly squeezed juices are free of fiber, we at least have one larger raw food meal on a juice day. Depending on how it fits into the daily schedule - at noon or in the evening. In between there are also vegetable snacks. You can also try fasting only with juices for a day - this is definitely an advanced version of our 6:1 intermittent fasting method, but it is best to do it on hot days in the summer.
Can I lose weight with the weekly interval fasting day?
Our Intermittent Fasting Method with Smoothies and Juices 6:1 is primarily about giving the body and its digestive organs a breather once a week. We see this interval fasting day as a relief ritual. Losing weight is not in the foreground. To what extent, losing weight while interval fasting succeeds, we can not give a general answer. We can only tell you about our experiences. Read more about this in Svenja's experience report.
Svenja's experience report: Intermittent fasting once a week
Someday I'll do a real fasting cure, detox, relax, meditate and yoga: daily! Or at least a few weeks of vegan raw food with lots of exercise and sleep. Or at least no sugar, no eating after 6pm and sleeping early...
These thoughts are in the back of my mind parallel to my daily life and have made themselves at home there, a good feeling that this is coming soon. In fact, years could pass and the thoughts seem new and innovative every day, but they dont become reality.
Changing habits takes something proactive; making is like wanting, only more blatant.
Lasting change happens in small steps!
Eating habits in particular are often dearly held and attached to emotions, and changing them seems depriving. Intermittent fasting turned out to be a good way for me to change habits slowly and in the long term, without abruptly or dogmatically throwing everything overboard that was current until now.
Lasting change happens in small steps! Who jumps off as a tiger, quickly lands as a bedside rug and gives up. I have often made the experience that too ambitious attempts to change habits - be it sports, nutrition, coffee or sugar - fail. Excuses are readily available: four children, the household, social situations, the weather, and so on.
One day of interval fasting with living food instead of a 4-week detox cure
If you want to, you can find ways. We started picking one day a week to only eat smoothies, freshly squeezed juices, and raw foods instead of a big four-week detox. One day a week has been our relief/intermittent fasting day for a few months now. On this day we only eat live foods, vegan raw foods like fruits, vegetables, leafy greens and sometimes a few nuts or avocado.
The relief of the digestive organs brings a lightness to everyday life
Relief day - in our case Tuesday - always looks a little different. Sometimes there are smoothies and juices until the evening, sometimes a big salad for lunch and sometimes mono-meals from particularly delicious fruits.
On this day we eat, as on all other days, without paying attention to how many calories we eat. Intermittent fasting with raw food may be suitable for losing weight, but it is not related to it in our case. The relief of the digestive organs brings a lightness to everyday life, which always motivates us.
Our meals on interval fasting day:
Warm water with or without lemon juice
We (Markus and I, the children according to their condition) start with 0.5 - 1.0 liters of warm water (sometimes with lemon, sometimes without) or herbal tea. In the beginning, I usually drank coffee as well, because not drinking it gave me a headache, which I wanted to prevent. In the meantime, I have weaned myself off coffee because I no longer liked the dependence on it.
Celery juice pure or mixed
The first meal is a freshly squeezed green juice, 0.5 - 0.8 liters. The juice is either a pure celery juice or a mix of celery, cucumber, leafy greens (endive, palm kale, kale, spinach, wild herbs), apple, lemon and ginger. Depending on which leafy green looks attractive, there may also be parsley, dill or wheatgrass at times. However, the base is always celery and / or cucumber, so that the juice does not taste too harsh.
Berry smoothie with soaked cashews and almonds
Depending on hunger, the second meal is often a smoothie (0.5 - 1.0 liters) around lunchtime, usually based on berries, as the desire for greens is satisfied. If we want this smoothie to be particularly saturating, we supplement the berries, bananas and water with a few soaked cashews or almonds.
Colorful salad with sweet and juicy fruits and leafy greens
Another meal is usually a colorful salad. The base is lettuce leaves, plus all kinds of fruits and vegetables such as mango, khaki, papaya, cucumber, tomato, carrot or bell bell pepper. Due to the juicy fruits, there is actually no need for dressing, but if there is one, I usually prepare it oil-free, for example, from orange juice and avocado, lemon, a little garlic, salt and pepper.
Tomato salad with olives and onions
Another popular salad in germany is a pure tomato salad. If there are tasty tomatoes, we perpare a big bowl of them, diced with a few rings of red onion, a handful of olives, some sea salt and oregano.
Carrot snack with soaked almonds
A side dish fo the salad can be a raw vegetable snack. It doesn't have to be complicated to taste very good. I have a special memory of a meal of three peeled carrots and a handful of sprouted almonds. The carrots were sweet and crunchy, the almonds went along perfectly with them. The meal was ready in two minutes.
Lukewarm soup from the blender
In the evening we often eat a fresh, only lukewarm soup from the blender with a handful of sprouts or even fruit, light and easy to digest in the evening.
What has changed as a result of Intermittent Fasting?
Generally more raw food
The decision to regularly have a relief or interval fasting day has led us to generally incorporate more raw foods into our daily routine. The way the body feels on the day of relief and the day after is so positive and light that it becomes more and more appealing to repeat this procedure. On the day of intermittent fasting, the diet causes the energy level to be much more steady. There are no lows that would normally occur due to the digestive activity of heavy food. The mind also is clear and the mood is much more positive, which obviously brings a number of benefits.
More mindfulness in dealing with food
We find it easy to stick to this routine because it only involves one day a week. Yet, over months, it has added up to several weeks of 'raw food only' without needing any strong changes. This small change draws many more small changes. Ideas about what meals should look like, how often and in what quantities to eat, or what foods to combine have become more flexible. I often enjoy eating a meal of one ingredient, such as: four khakis or three pears. A new awareness of the body emerges, as I am able to observe more closely which foods are providing energy and which extract energy out of my body. Food takes on a different value; I choose it more wisely and appreciate it more.
Focus on living food
Our diets are as individual as we are as people, and there is not one diet that is right for everyone. But it will be similar for most, living food creates a living body and mind, with which it is more pleasant to live.
Have you ever done Intermittent Fasting? How do you like our 6:1 method with smoothies and juices?
What do you think about Intermittent Fasting? Can you imagine a day with only smoothies, juices and raw food?
We appreciate your Feedback!
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200 | Comment(s)
I have been doing 16:8 intermittent fasting for years. In the spring, I also do gentle fasting and enjoy fresh-pressed green juice. Since January, I have lost 11 kg through dietary changes. I recently purchased the Sana Juicer 707 and I am thrilled. In the future, I plan to experiment with 6:1 juicing and smoothies.
Best wishes,
Erika
thank you very much for your comment. We are curious to know how you like our fasting method with smoothies and juices - feel free to let us know.
We are delighted to hear that you are so satisfied with the Sana 707.
All the best to you,
Carla
First of all, thank you very much for your great work and all the inspiration for a change in mindset.
Can you please tell me which brand the wonderful simple glass bottles with silicone lids in different colors are from? I think they are fantastic, but I can't seem to find them anywhere.
Thank you and warm regards,
Isabel
thank you for your comment and for the lovely feedback!
The Retap bottles that you saw in the pictures can be found in our shop, here.
You can not only choose the color of the lid but also the size: We offer them in volumes of 300 ml, 500 ml, and 800 ml.
Warm regards,
Carla
Having varied recipes (e.g., more vegetable-heavy for lunch, a bit more fruit in the morning, and a nice light recipe in the evening) allows you to treat yourself to a lot of healthy food - especially after the indulgent days of the Christmas season!
Wishing you a Happy New Year and a healthy start to the new year!!
Thank you for your comment. We feel the same way. After the big celebrations at the end of the year, it's good to have a day of relief with smoothies, juices, and raw food here and there.
All the best to you too!
Carla
I would love to see more smoothie ideas, and maybe occasionally some tips for an overall healthy lifestyle. Exercise, muscle building, prevention, weight reduction, various insights. Motivation, discipline, or whatever comes to mind for you. I believe that relief and movement go hand in hand. What do you think about it?
Warm regards,
Anita
thank you for your comment. I completely agree with you that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for me as well. And of course, you can easily combine a relief day with physical activity. It's best to do it outdoors - whether it's running, walking, jumping rope, etc. Exercise is just as important as healthy eating.
Wishing you all the best for the new year.
Warm regards,
Carla
that sounds great, and your age and fitness level confirm that you are taking good care of yourself!
All the best to you, and thank you very much for your comment!
Carla
I think intermittent fasting is great.
That sounds good and piques my interest. So far, I have been having a smoothie in the morning, a warm meal for lunch, and bread with various toppings and salads in the evening. After celebrating my 88th next week, I will start with your 6:1 method. I will keep you updated.
Wishing you a Happy New Year 2024.
thank you for the well wishes.
With warm regards, all the best for 2024,
Karl-Heinz
that sounds fantastic. After Christmas and the Advent season, I always feel like I need a little relief :)
So, an extra day of relief is more than welcome for me.
I'm curious to hear how it goes for you. Wishing you a wonderful birthday and a happy, healthy New Year!
Warm regards,
Carla
thank you for your feedback. Give it a try and feel free to let us know how you made your relief day.
Kind regards,
Carla
Looked closely at the text on Monday and picked out some recipes for my Lenten Tuesday.
Decided on the recipe with oranges, apple, date, ginger, cinnamon in the morning. Instead of Postelein I took dandelion... I still had frozen.
There was, from the quantity a lot and was delicious.
As a lunch smoothie, I made this with tomatoes, peppers, celery, scallions, avocado, thyme, olive oil, vegeta, sun dried tomatoes.
Very tasty and filling.
In the evening we had a salad, with the remaining ingredients and olives.
Next Tuesday I will make this again...until Easter.
It's really fun and I felt like I had vitamins for a week ;-).
Kind regards,
Ute
how beautiful is that!? Great - that motivates me even more for my relief day. Thanks for sharing your relief day :)
Love,
Carla
that sounds very good to me!
Will do the same. And Tuesday is a good day for me too...might have to do some shopping and can do it on Monday.
Have been drinking smoothies for a long time. I have also benefited from your newsletter for a long time.
Thank you very much at this point.
Is it possible to get the instructions and recipes and co. as a PDF?
Kind regards.
Ute
thank you very much for your nice feedback and your interest in our Intermittend Fasting Method.
Since you can freely design this relief day, we have not yet developed detailed instructions with recipes and shopping list. However, we refer to our juice and smoothie recipes in the text.
We wish you a great relief day and are looking forward to your experiences!
Love,
Carla
thank you very much for your comment. Let us know how the relief day went for you. I also think that fasting from alcohol and sweets is great.
Best regards and all the best,
Carla
i've been doing the 16:8 for a few years now, I'm fine with it. I live vegan, often drink smoothies, in the morning I have 700 ml of lemon water. I tried celery juice for weeks. Unfortunately it does not work at all. Smoothie and raw vegetable sticks are ok for me.
I will actually do this relief day. I think it's good. Since I can eat anyway only from noon what, that will certainly facilitate the matter.
Warm regards,
Karo
thank you very much for your comment. We are curious how you spend your relief day and how you feel about it. I also think that it will be pretty easy for you.
Love,
Carla
The best form for me, however, is the 23:1 form or OMAD (Note: OMAD = One Meal a Day) called.
I have more than halved my weight in the 3 years (now I weigh 70 kilograms), so I have lost 76 kilograms and what was even more important: I have conquered several diseases.
Of course, everything in conjunction with sports, so I would say - for me everything done right
Congratulations on overcoming illnesses, it's the best thing ever. I sincerely wish you good health and that you feel well. I believe you have found a wonderful path. Thank you for sharing it with us, it gives me courage to give it a try too.
thank you very much for your comment. Very interesting and great that you are doing so well with one meal a day!
All the best for you,
Carla
For the past 3 weeks I have started to feed on smoothies and juices 3 days a week. I'm home late on those 3 days and don't have to cook lunch, which makes it a lot easier. And in the evenings, when the family is at the table, I drink tomato juice. It's surprisingly easy for me, which I never would have thought. And when a pang of cravings comes, I make a deal with myself: on Thursday you can eat as much of it as you want. And on Thursday, I usually have no interest at all and look forward to a balanced lunch.
To try this out, I bought all the juices and smoothies. But since it's going so well and I'm sure I want to keep it up, I've now ordered a juicer and blender from you guys. I'm super excited about the new possibilities! And the kids are looking forward to ice cream and almond mousse. I'm excited.
thank you for your insight into Intermittent Fasting. We are very happy to support you with the right blender and juicer :)
Best regards,
Carla
Best regards
thank you very much for your comment. We are curious how the relief day will be for you. Let us know with pleasure.
Until then, kind regards,
Carla
I can only recommend to try it.
Best regards!
thank you for this interesting insight into your Intermittent Fasting method. Great that you feel so good with it. No matter in which time windows you eat now, I think it's totally important to give your body time for digestion. Quite automatically you don't overload yourself.
Best regards,
Carla
As I said, try it out and enjoy the ease and freedom it brings. And thank you for the report. Kind regards Angelika
thank you very much for your comment and your interesting remarks about the advantages of our fasting method.
We see it the same way as you - especially also that it is nice to share the experience with someone.
All the best for you,
best regards,
Carla
Thanks for the tip
R. White
we are curious how you spent the relief day and how you got our interval fasting method, feel free to let us know.
Best wishes,
Carla
thank you for your feedback and input.
What about a colorful Buddha Bowl as a recipe idea, for example? You can also vary this quite simply....
Kind regards,
Carla
many, many thanks for your beautiful comment. We are very happy to inspire you with our posts and ideas :)
Love to you,
Carla
The other intervals 2-5 or 16-8 already make me panic just thinking about them. I don't handle hunger well.
But if I can always supply myself with "greens," it makes me brave to try it.
Warm regards and thank you very much for the report.
Thank you very much for your comment.
This method is exactly for people like you. I also don't like to deal with hunger.
I'm curious how your detox day went.
Warm regards,
Carla