What is it?
The Lemonade Diet is a weight loss fad diet that claims it can detoxify and cleanse the body. It’s also known as the Master Cleanse Diet, and it became popularized by the celebrity Beyoncé who also used it.
Only liquids are allowed and it claims it’s able to promote an improved digestive system for more energy, vitality, happiness, and overall health improvement. It was originally mentioned in a book but there have been numerous variations on this diet. Our review experts have researched many different dietsand the most effective for weight loss was found to be the 18Shake Diet. It combines an appetite suppressing meal replacement alongside a fat burning diet pill. Both have natural ingredients with no cheap fillers, stimulants, colors, preservatives, or artificial additives. Read more about the benefits of the 18Shake Diet by clicking the link here.
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Lemonade Diet Ingredients and Side Effects
For 10 days the goal is to only drink the following:
• Salt water mixture: 2 full tablespoons of non-iodized salt and a one quart of slightly warm water. First thing in the morning one has to drink this on a completely empty stomach.
• Lemonade drink: 10 ounces of spring or purified water are mixed alongside 2 tablespoons of either lemon or lime juice, a tenth of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. A minimum of 6 to 12 glasses need to be drank each day.
• A laxative or peppermint tea: The herbal laxative is needed for those who can’t have a normal bowel movement. It’s preferably drunk before bedtime in order for it to process fully by the body. Peppermint tea is also recommended as it can help reduce any bloating, stomach cramps, and nausea.
Under no circumstancesare there any other kinds of food allowed. This is to properly detoxify the body so it can flush out toxins and rejuvenate itself. After the full 10 days are done and weight loss results are achieved, it’s then advised to slowly introduce light foods such as soup, juice, raw fruits, and raw vegetables.
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It’s mentioned that side effects are possible, and that’s why they allow for peppermint tea and the laxatives. Possible side effects revealed by the official diet are:
• Nausea, food cravings, headaches boredom, nausea, and lack of a normal bowel movement.
It’s claimed that these kinds of side effects are normal, as it’s the body flushing out harmful toxins. This is not proven however. These same kinds of symptoms are possible from eating a diet that is rich in sugary maple syrup, acidic lemon or lime juice, and a diet high in sodium. It may also be due to the lack of sufficientvitamins and minerals.
A Dr. Hansa Bhargava adds:
“If weight loss is your goal, it may work temporarily. Anytime you limit your food intake, especially this drastically, you will lose some weight”
Other issues mentioned by the doctor are:
“problem is, you will losemuscle mass. This diet puts you at risk for nutritional deficiencies, too”
As far as sustained weight loss the doctor saw no benefit:
“you will likely gain the weight back really quickly once you start eating normally”
These are serious issues which show that this diet has not enough nutrition, calories, and an unlikelihood of promoting positive weight loss results. This is why this fad diet has not been proven to be safe and effective. The doctor finally recommends:
“it is better to lose weight gradually with a balanced diet that makes sure you get the nutrients you need. Cross this one off your list”
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Exercise is not mentioned by this diet, but it's unlikely with a 650 calorie limit that it would be advised. Health US News.com adds:
“it may even be dangerous to exercise when you’re consuming so few calories. Ask your doctor before exercising while (on this diet)”
This can also potentially make it difficult to perform regular tasks as the caloric demands for both men and women are around 2,000. The Lemonade Diet offers less than half of the advised daily amount for maintenance and proper physical functions. This can potentially lead to issues such as fatigue and brain fog.
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Lemonade Diet Quality of Ingredients
While lemon or lime juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup can be healthy in moderation, relying on theingredients for weight loss is not a good way to lose weight. There are far too many potential issues with this mixture, as it does not have enough vitamins and minerals.
There’s also a need for laxatives in order to promote a bowel movement, as no solid foods are allowed on this diet. The fact that one cannot rely on their own body for a natural process shows how potentially unsafe this diet is.
There’s also a salt flush which can contain a large amount of sodium which can promote water weight gain. The extreme limit by eating only 650 calories is also another issue which can cause many side effects.
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The Price and Quality of Lemonade Diet
The price will likely be cheap since the bulk of the diet is limited and relies on the same basic foods. Howeverthere’s no evidence that sustaining oneself on these kinds of foods would be safe and effective for weight loss. Health experts have also agreed that this is simply another fad diet lacking in sufficient nutrition and calories.
Due to the many potentially side effects which can damage the body, there’s far too much risk involved with this diet.
Business of Lemonade Diet
The diet was first mentioned in a book called the “The Master Cleanse” which was published in 1976 by Stanley Burroughs. The creator has not provided any proof showing whether or not this is a safe and effective diet.
He has also been charged in many lawsuits for proving false and ineffective nutrition and health advice. He was a specialist in natural medicine, which is a field of medicine which his not accepted in the medical community.
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Customer Opinions of Lemonade Diet
Featured below are some reviews from users of the Lemonade Diet:
“This diet is very restrictive”
“I was miserable. I had no energy… felt like I wassuffering from a rare disorder”
“It’s mostly nonsense from those who don’t understand physiology or any aspect of medicine”
“The cleanse is not the best way to lose weight”
People often had extreme hunger pains from a lack of solid foods. There were major complaints as well from those who lose some weight but managed to pile it back on as soon as they ate normally.
The majority of users had trouble not thinking about food, and once they resumed eating they felt like they had to binge. Some failed to lose any weight at all.
Common symptoms were listed by users including nausea, headaches, fatigue, low blood sugar, mood swings, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and low mental performance. Some also experienced serious issues such as extremely low blood sugar and depression.
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Conclusion - Does Lemonade Diet Work?
The Lemonade Diet is similar to other fad diets which suggest limiting oneself to just a few foods. Only liquids are allowed, and the diet suggests only using it for 10 day periods. Since the caloric limit is 650 a day, this will likely result in weight loss. Any extreme caloric deprivation like this is known to promote weight loss. The issue is that it’s not sustainable. Many people have experiencedseriousside effects, and they also mentioned how all the lost weight returned as soon as normal eating continued. The diet has also not been proven to be safe and effective. There are health professionals who have concluded that this diet is not safe or effective. It enforces a strict lack of calories with very little to no nutrients.
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User Feedback
(Page 6 of 18, 343 total comments)miki
+Cleaned out my system, hand rash that I have been living with for 4 years and a couple of warts have gone away, and have lost 10 lbs but my husband who was 45 lbs overweight lost 17 lbs.
posted Jan 7th, 2011 10:12 pmRandy
I did this cleansing for 10 days a coupl eof yeas ago to cleanse my body of aspatame. My high blood pressure was immediately returned to normal and my hyperthyroidism was gone with surgery averted. This fast completely changed the way I think about food so the lifestyle change listed under "con" is a "pro" for me. good side benefit is that I also went from 242 lbs to 225 lbs. It works.
posted Jan 2nd, 2011 10:50 pmYazmine
i want to start on the cleanse, i am 15 and i go to school. i was wndering if i can do it during school, and i also play soccer is tht o0kay? im just afriad that i will like fart out of no where, or go to the restroom during class, and i dont want to faint whiloe playing soccer. so can i do it during school?
posted Dec 31st, 2010 1:44 amcat
+i am on day three and so far so good,i avent weighed my self yet but i can feel the changes,my tongue is groslly white,headaches,i felt weak in the morning but am now cool.am looking forward to rid my body off the junc food ave been having the last 12months
posted Dec 14th, 2010 1:15 pmLisa
Day 1!!! havent done the salt water flush thinking about it tonight but have a massive gag reflex!! any tips??! also can i have some success tories with a start and after weight? im 136llbs (9st 10) wanting to get down to about 8st 7 so to loose about 17llbs. has anyone of the same size managed to loose much on this diet?!
posted Dec 7th, 2010 10:43 amThanks :)
fabio
Am on day 7 on the lemon detox diet.
posted Nov 28th, 2010 12:35 pmNow, I don't feel weak and I dont have a strong craving for food yet.
PRO: I feel light ,I can concentrate more clearly and I have good energy balance.
CON: Day 1 was the worse for me with big headaches and vomiting. From day 2 it started to feel better and better.
Now I feel a bit down as I was a foodlover and it started to be all a bit dull.I just think that at the end it'll all worth it. By the way not a big weight loss yet,maybe 2 or 3 kilos.
Amy
+Hey! I'm on day one and i havent eaten all day. i took one small bite of a protein bar out of weakness but i hope to do better. I did eat 2 hard boiled eggs, is that bad?? ahh someone help me haha.
posted Nov 15th, 2010 11:39 pmday one and day 2 are definitly gonna be the hardest! :(
MARISOL
I LOST 10 POUNDS IN 5 DAYS..
posted Nov 9th, 2010 9:08 pmmarisol
+i been in this diet for 5 days and lost 10 pounds ..i love it....
posted Nov 9th, 2010 9:06 pmBKM
My husband started the diet today. This is the 4 the time he is doing it. He loves it. He says that he feels great when he does this cleanse. I decided to do it with him. I couldn't go past 4pm =(. I decided to eat at 4 now I wish I didn't. I am going to try starting again tomorrow. I am really praying that I won't give into eating this time and i will go through with this.
posted Oct 11th, 2010 7:14 pmchristina
+End of day 5:-] days 2 and 3 were the worse especialy the evening of day 3.i was tempted to give up and eat had a bad headache but im glad i kept going day 4 was much better and today i felt great lots of energy(exercised on minitrampolin).no hunger.got a few spots though on my face and neck but i know this is a sign of the toxins being released through the skin.i lost 5 kilos so far :-0) sweating a lot so have to shower at least 2/3 times a day.half way there! 5 more days to go.good luck to all who are doing it or are thinking of doing this detox.dont give up its tough for a few days but when you get to day 4/5 you will start seeing results and feel great.i will come back in the next few days to report on the progress.
posted Sep 7th, 2010 6:04 pmchristina
I did the lemon detox a year ago for 8 days and lost 8 kilos.the first days are the hardest but by day 4-5 i had a lot of energy.i walked for an hour everyday while doing the detox and felt fine.its so amazing to see the transformation from bloated to toned in such a short period of time.im doing it again, today is day 1.for those who dont like the cayene pepper you can use ginger instead.you can drink as much water as you like as well as the lemonade.and you can drink herbal teas, in the book it recommends taking peppermint and camomile.but you shouldnt take any vitamins or supplements..when i completed the diet last year i started juicing(using recipees from Jason Vale's juice yourself slim) and a healthy dinner and kept the weight off.its a great diet to do if you plan to continue a healthier lifestyle afterwards.it worked for me.i didnt do the swf i take a laxative tea in the morning and one at night.it will work if you do it.read the book if you can and prepare yourself before starting.i use 'madal bal' maple syrup.hope it helps.
posted Sep 3rd, 2010 4:51 pmHaron
+Hi everyone!!! Im 15 years old, I know yall are all prob thinking im kinda young to be doing this but I dont care! I really want to loose weight before school starts : ] Im on day 3 now and already lost about 6lbs! And the crazy thing is im not hungry at all,I just have cravings when i see or smell food. And i also work at McDonalds so its really hard for me.The first 2 days of the cleanse I did have a migrane but alot of enegry, but today on day 3 It is gone. I plan on doing this diet untill September 9th,which is the first day of school! My start weight was 226, And I wll be back with me results September 9th! And good luck everyone, you all can do!!! LOSE THAT WEIHT!!! : D
posted Aug 9th, 2010 5:03 pmLina
+Yes. This cleanse works. I have just completed day 10 of this detox. And have gone from 172lbs to 160 lbs. But now the hard part is coming off the cleanse. But first let me explain how I came about this cleanse.
posted Aug 1st, 2010 8:00 amOk, so I have struggled with my weight for awhile. And one day I saw this "master cleanse" diet on the television show "The View" and they mentioned that many celebrities have gone on this cleanse and experiences tremendous amounts of weight loss. I couldn't help but think, "duh, of course they did, there not consuming any food". Later on after doing some research on this cleanse. I realized this is a detox cleanse, not a 'diet'. This diet should not be done for fast weight loss. As you can't just follow the cleanse for 10 days and then jump right back to eating food. After 10 days of the cleanse you can only consume fruits and vegetable juices for the first couple days, then raw vegetables. And after 4 days you start to consume small of amounts of meat. If you rush into eating large amounts of food, you can interrupt your digestive track and may cause it problems. It is very important that everyone is aware of that.
Cherylina
I purchased the book and planning on giving this diet a try. I have a bad feeling out being able to follow through. I tried Atkins and couldn't make it past the 4th day b/c of the migranes I was getting. Is it ok to take OTC products during the cleanse? Just some advil or something to help get through it. I imagine that OTC stuff would be toxic as well and not allowed.
posted Jul 23rd, 2010 5:18 pmfalki
i want to start this diet, but i cant find cayenne pepper anywhere. does anyone know a substitute for it.
posted Jul 13th, 2010 3:09 pmEmile
I was wondering, If you take the cayenne caplets instead of the pepper in the drink How many a day do you take?
posted Jul 10th, 2010 9:04 amsidhu
hey guys ! i know a lot of you prb wont care BUT im going on my diet tmrw ! and im so excited cause im going to vegas in 10 days ! so i hope i can do ATLEAST 7 days, and im planning on starting the gym right after ! thaaanks - nav :)
posted Jul 7th, 2010 12:11 ammj
+i did the lemonade diet for 15 days and i went from 63kg to 55kg. which is 8kg, which is about 16pounds. But i had my moums cooking 2 days after the diet, then i gained 5pounds in three days, but now im maintaing my weight at 57.5kg. will start gym too. My skin is looking fantastic.
posted Jun 8th, 2010 10:38 ammeghan
Hi Im thinking about doing this diet and I was wondering if I had to read the book before starting it, just so i know what to do and what not to do!?
posted Jun 2nd, 2010 1:53 pm