Master Cleanse! aka Lemonade Diet .. My 30 day story.

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Replies

  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Great post. Back in the day, when I was a journalist, a local health food shop tried to persuade me to do the Master Cleanse for 30 days and write about it. It sounded too good to be true... because it was.

    After doing my research I declined. Not only is it basically a very low calorie diet (not a fast as the maple syrup contains calories) but the idea that you can get essential nutrients from maple syrup (even the expensive high-grade stuff they try to persuade you to buy to do the 'cleanse') is laughable.

    All journalists and bloggers out there should do their readers and themselves a favour and not buy into potentially dangerous fads just because they are promised big results and getting something for free.
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
    This really needs to be a sticky!

    Now if only we could get at least one person to post something similar about raspberry ketones, HcG, Body by Vi, and every other fad diet out there...

    YES YES YES, PLEASE.

    OP, it took a lot of courage to share your story. I hope SO many people read this!
  • robsgurl
    robsgurl Posts: 97 Member
    This really needs to be a sticky!

    Now if only we could get at least one person to post something similar about raspberry ketones, HcG, Body by Vi, and every other fad diet out there...

    I have had a bunch of people try to push the body by vi stuff to get me to buy it so they can get their free month supply. I tell them sorry I can't afford $200 a month for that stuff and they tell me to get 3 people to join and I can get a free month supply. No thanks...=) I am sure it works great helping you lose weight but what happens when you stop drinking the shakes guess what you gain weight back and sometimes more cause you go back to eating the way you were when you started to drink the shakes and the weight just come right back.
  • MarieKG77
    MarieKG77 Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks for sharing your story. I guess I knew that this whole cleanse business was a ridiculous waste of time but I am glad I happened upon this link before being too tempted to give it a try. I have lost 31 pounds over the last 3 months on MFP by monitoring my calories and exercising. Losing weight the right way is working for me, but I guess it's still human nature to want to find some miracle answer that is going to get me to my goals more quickly.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    This really needs to be a sticky!

    Now if only we could get at least one person to post something similar about raspberry ketones, HcG, Body by Vi, and every other fad diet out there...

    YES YES YES, PLEASE.

    OP, it took a lot of courage to share your story. I hope SO many people read this!

    Agree! So glad you shared this story!!

    Stickey please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    BUMP. Thank you so much for posting this! There's so many people out there doing diet fads, and this is probably one of the worse ones because the body is getting almost zero nutrition. I'm glad you're healthy again, and are using your story as a warning to others who may try and venture down that same path.
  • danabali
    danabali Posts: 6 Member
    I am currently doing the master cleanse now, and am on day 4. This is my second time doing the cleanse, the first time being for 10 days.

    I will agree with the majority of you here on one thing only - the master cleanse is a terrible diet. If you are using it to lose weight, you are doing it wrong.

    The OP had a rough time on it. 30 days is a long time to fast, that's for sure. Her experience though, is the exception to the rule.

    I have done a huge amount of research in preparation for my first cleanse and leading up to my current one. What I have noticed is that 95% of the people who have saw the master cleanse out to the end, report positively about the experience.

    Similarly, 95% of the people with negative things to say about it, have never tried it.
  • That doesn't sound like effects of ketosis, sounds more like you were starving.
  • Davina_JH
    Davina_JH Posts: 473 Member
    Congrats on learning the real thing. Thank you for posting so people can see how dangerous this fad stuff is! Best wishes :)
  • RhineDHP
    RhineDHP Posts: 1,025 Member
    bump
  • ThisGirl2013
    ThisGirl2013 Posts: 220 Member
    Yikes!
    Cleanses never made sense to me because unless you make changes to your lifestyle, you are just going to gain it all back anyway.
    Plus, the ingredients kinda freaked me out *lol*
    I am sorry you had this experience! :(
    Your body was created to be able to cleanse itself.
    Eating right will definitely help your body properly accomplish this.
  • CactusF1ower
    CactusF1ower Posts: 174 Member
    I am currently doing the master cleanse now, and am on day 4. This is my second time doing the cleanse, the first time being for 10 days.

    I will agree with the majority of you here on one thing only - the master cleanse is a terrible diet. If you are using it to lose weight, you are doing it wrong.

    The OP had a rough time on it. 30 days is a long time to fast, that's for sure. Her experience though, is the exception to the rule.

    I have done a huge amount of research in preparation for my first cleanse and leading up to my current one. What I have noticed is that 95% of the people who have saw the master cleanse out to the end, report positively about the experience.

    Similarly, 95% of the people with negative things to say about it, have never tried it.

    Did you just create a new profile so that you could post this? If it's something that you are proud of, why not just own it with your real profile? :huh:
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    I am currently doing the master cleanse now, and am on day 4. This is my second time doing the cleanse, the first time being for 10 days.

    I will agree with the majority of you here on one thing only - the master cleanse is a terrible diet. If you are using it to lose weight, you are doing it wrong.

    The OP had a rough time on it. 30 days is a long time to fast, that's for sure. Her experience though, is the exception to the rule.

    I have done a huge amount of research in preparation for my first cleanse and leading up to my current one. What I have noticed is that 95% of the people who have saw the master cleanse out to the end, report positively about the experience.

    Similarly, 95% of the people with negative things to say about it, have never tried it.

    Did you just create a new profile so that you could post this? If it's something that you are proud of, why not just own it with your real profile? :huh:

    Either that or the poster has not returned.

    I've yet to see a poster come back with long term successes with these things. Most state they are doing this cleanse and then you never hear from them again. I think that's pretty telling.
  • musycnlyrics
    musycnlyrics Posts: 323 Member
    BUMP!

    I know a bunch of people who tried this cleanse and they lost a few pounds and then gained a bunch of pounds...I took one sip and was like "this tastes like crap" and never tried it again...

    I've heard anyone report positively on this; they are always:
    excited the first week, they lose 5-10lbs
    lethargic and starving the second week, staring at everyone else's food like ravenous wolves
    binging the third week (making up for lost time)
    gained everything back by the 4th week and continue to gain for weeks to come

    then they look for the next fad...its a terrible cycle

    on another note, I HATE the body by vi people, even though I use their shakes for breakfast. I never sell it or even tell people about it unless they ask me what my plan consists of. I pay 50 bucks a every other month for 1 bag of shake mix and use it to have breakfast shakes. I never eat breakfast because I am always on the run, and this helps me have something nutritious every day.
    I, in no way, believe that these shakes MAKE me lose weight. Nor do I plan to use them forever. I make healthy choices daily, I watch my cals and macros, I now know what it takes to lose weight. I swear those body by vi people are like cultists or something. their product works because the shakes (make with skim milk and no fruit) have less than 200 cals per shake. Of course you lose weight drinking 2 of those a day. If you learn no good eating habits, when you stop the shakes, you gain weight. This wont happen to me because I know better. sadly, this happens to alot of people who try these things and dont learn how to live their lives without them...Thats why i wont sell or promote them, but i dont mind admitting that they are a helpful tool for me.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    BUMP!

    I know a bunch of people who tried this cleanse and they lost a few pounds and then gained a bunch of pounds...I took one sip and was like "this tastes like crap" and never tried it again...

    I've heard anyone report positively on this; they are always:
    excited the first week, they lose 5-10lbs
    lethargic and starving the second week, staring at everyone else's food like ravenous wolves
    binging the third week (making up for lost time)
    gained everything back by the 4th week and continue to gain for weeks to come

    then they look for the next fad...its a terrible cycle

    on another note, I HATE the body by vi people, even though I use their shakes for breakfast. I never sell it or even tell people about it unless they ask me what my plan consists of. I pay 50 bucks a every other month for 1 bag of shake mix and use it to have breakfast shakes. I never eat breakfast because I am always on the run, and this helps me have something nutritious every day.
    I, in no way, believe that these shakes MAKE me lose weight. Nor do I plan to use them forever. I make healthy choices daily, I watch my cals and macros, I now know what it takes to lose weight. I swear those body by vi people are like cultists or something. their product works because the shakes (make with skim milk and no fruit) have less than 200 cals per shake. Of course you lose weight drinking 2 of those a day. If you learn no good eating habits, when you stop the shakes, you gain weight. This wont happen to me because I know better. sadly, this happens to alot of people who try these things and dont learn how to live their lives without them...Thats why i wont sell or promote them, but i dont mind admitting that they are a helpful tool for me.

    it's because they are losing and re-gaining water weight.

    anything that dehydrates you will cause your scale weight to decrease, but it's not sustainable. eventually your body will reacquire and retain that water. you cannot survive in a dehydrated state. eventually, you'll die from it.
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
    I've never really believed in long cleanses like that. 7 days maximum is the most I'd find appropriate, and even then just as a "kickstart" sort of thing.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    I am currently doing the master cleanse now, and am on day 4. This is my second time doing the cleanse, the first time being for 10 days.

    I will agree with the majority of you here on one thing only - the master cleanse is a terrible diet. If you are using it to lose weight, you are doing it wrong.

    The OP had a rough time on it. 30 days is a long time to fast, that's for sure. Her experience though, is the exception to the rule.

    I have done a huge amount of research in preparation for my first cleanse and leading up to my current one. What I have noticed is that 95% of the people who have saw the master cleanse out to the end, report positively about the experience.

    Similarly, 95% of the people with negative things to say about it, have never tried it.

    You chose that as your first post? Seriously? Looks like troll, smells like troll, TROLL!

    OP, thank you for sharing your story, I agree with the majority that this should be "stickied"
  • April_Christine
    April_Christine Posts: 66 Member
    ThAnk you for sharing this story! I bought the master cleanse book after the holidays and had considered doing it. Not for weight loss but purely to clean my body from toxins, almost had my husband convinced to do it with me. Thank you again and I hope this post reaches other people before they make that decision to "cleanse"
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Sorry you had to learn the hard way :(
  • milkyskinn
    milkyskinn Posts: 126 Member
    Thank you for this post! I've seen it happen to one of my friends and despite the agony and gaining her weight back, she wants to do it again- I should really direct her here :) Happy to hear your healthy again!

    You also mentioned your body becoming dependent on senna; I'm currently on senna tea daily as I've been having the worst GI problems, any tips how to cope or what is the best way to stop using it? I've been terribly scared to go cold turkey on it because even a little bloating makes me feel like I'm about to die!
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    I am currently doing the master cleanse now, and am on day 4. This is my second time doing the cleanse, the first time being for 10 days.

    I will agree with the majority of you here on one thing only - the master cleanse is a terrible diet. If you are using it to lose weight, you are doing it wrong.

    The OP had a rough time on it. 30 days is a long time to fast, that's for sure. Her experience though, is the exception to the rule.

    I have done a huge amount of research in preparation for my first cleanse and leading up to my current one. What I have noticed is that 95% of the people who have saw the master cleanse out to the end, report positively about the experience.

    Similarly, 95% of the people with negative things to say about it, have never tried it.

    You chose that as your first post? Seriously? Looks like troll, smells like troll, TROLL!

    OP, thank you for sharing your story, I agree with the majority that this should be "stickied"

    I don't think that person was a troll. I think it was a catfish account used to debunk the OP without drawing attention to their main account. I know a few people that have done this and I hope that MFP seriously starts monitoring and investigating accounts with duplicate IP and create some button or better system to report profiles for review.

    And OP, I hope since your post you've continued to kick butt and feel/do better. Thank you again for posting your experiences and I hope they educate and inspire others who might be in danger of walking the same path.
  • smichelle65
    smichelle65 Posts: 45 Member
    Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with the Master Cleanse. It is generally recommended to start with just a 2-3 day cleanse if you're doing it for the first time. I think the maximum recommended duration is 14 days. Also, I wonder if you might have had so much digestion trouble because you didn't follow a gradual ease-out after the cleanse.

    This post has "shill" written all over it! :laugh: Hmmm..."SoniaTMC"..."TMC" wouldn't happen to stand for "The Master Cleanser", would it?
  • Melli_81
    Melli_81 Posts: 13
    Very interesting... Thanks for sharing!
  • Falenea
    Falenea Posts: 263 Member
    I cleanse every day between meals by drinking tons of water. :laugh:
  • charovnitza
    charovnitza Posts: 689
    Everyone wants to hear the "success" stories of cleansing and disregard the actual stories of how they don't teach you anything about eating correctly, exercise, etc.

    Thanks for your feedback.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    What he said!
  • ami5000psu
    ami5000psu Posts: 391 Member
    Thanks so much for sharing, OP!
  • Reinventing_Me
    Reinventing_Me Posts: 1,053 Member
    Thank you for sharing your story.
  • Babeskeez
    Babeskeez Posts: 606 Member
    I tried this years ago. It was awful and disgusting.

    My mom claimed it cured her IBS. :huh:
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    Thank you for sharing the personal details of your experience. It is so important for everyone to hear.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
    Thank you for being so open and honest about your experience. That took guts.
This discussion has been closed.