Master Cleanse/Lemonade Diet
Replies
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This is usually done for 10-14 days. Basically your entire intake of calories consists of the this "lemonade mix." It is 8 oz water, 2 tsp fresh sqeezed lemon, 2 tsp grade B organic maple syrup and 1/10 tsp cayenne pepper. You drink anywhere from 6-12 glasses of that per day. Each evening you take a night time laxative or herbal laxative tea and then in the morning you do a Sea Saltwater flush. It is basically a detox cleanse to clean your system out and with fasting also comes with weight loss. I am just trying to get rid of everything yucky in my body and then revamp the healthy eating at the end of it.
honestly, if all you're looking for is a detox and a cleanse, talk to your doctor, schedule a colonic and up the water you're drinking. there's no need to do something as drastic as this.
if you really want to feel like you're detoxing, that chinese foot bath thinger - whose name escapes me atm - is pretty decent.0 -
Unfortunately though my gallbladder only performs at 12% the normal level so it doesn't produce the bile needed to properly digest my food.0
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Oh yes! I plan on doing that for sure! I used MFP for a few months a while back loved it. I ended up going thru some family personal stuff and got off track though. In the meantime I found out that I have some gallbladder problems and a "cleanse" was reccomended.
If this was recommended by your dr, than please call and discuss with your dr.0 -
I've tried it a couple of times myself and don't recommend it. After going for so long without any proper nutrients, I began to feel really weak and tired. It made it impossible to get through a work day and I became really snappy with my kids. That was back when I was looking for a 'quick fix' and there just really isn't one. You gain all the weight back that you lose on it.0
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I do a cleanse at least once a year; I think it is great. Done right it is not so bad. Day three is the worse, but then you'll start to feel better. I usually go for 7-10 days. I always feel amazing when I am done. I reccommend a sea salt bowel flush so you don't have to worry about the embarrassing dirrhea that can happen at any time. With the sea salt flush you drink a liter of water with 2 tablespoons of sea salt in it. Drink it all at once (it's aweful) and then about 15-20 minutes later you will feel a rumble. Stay in the bathroom for a while. For me I think the whole liter shot out of my butt over the next 30 minutes. I did that for the first three days until the water that came out was practically clear. After your done in the bathroom it should be safe to leave the house and enjoy your day.0
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It's utter nonsense (and that is me being charitable...)
Link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/276038-lemonade-diet-danger/
Look, if it kicks starts your weight loss and cause you to transition onto a safer approach following completion then I suppose it serves some purpose.
You will lose mostly water and waste products but little fat. The health benefits to it are non existent and purposefully irritating your GI tract doesn't seem to be the greatest idea in the world but hey there are worse thing to do I guess.0 -
So.... while I agree with people saying not a good long-term solution, I do think there is something to the lemon-water. I was doing a doctor supervised program in the beinning of my weight loss journey and it involved, among other things, drinking lemon-water 5 times a day; first thing in the morning, before meals and at night. When I asked my urologist about it he said, while he didn't know why it was being recommended, that lemon-water is good for your kidneys and helps to protect against stones which are not uncommon with weight loss. I also think it is supposed to decrease hunger??? So maybe that part is something good to augment the rest of your program
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The best way to get rid of toxins in your body is to not eat toxic food or put toxic ingredients on your skin (check labels on skincare, lotions, etc). Make some organic green smoothies and nuts. There are much healthier ways to detox than giving yourself lemonade and maple syrups.0
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Been ther. Done that. Actually like the taste. Had no long term effect on weight loss, however.
Exercise and a balnced diet are the only way to achieve healthy long lasting weight loss.
There is a billion dollar industry that says different, though.0 -
I do a cleanse at least once a year; I think it is great. Done right it is not so bad. Day three is the worse, but then you'll start to feel better. I usually go for 7-10 days. I always feel amazing when I am done. I reccommend a sea salt bowel flush so you don't have to worry about the embarrassing dirrhea that can happen at any time. With the sea salt flush you drink a liter of water with 2 tablespoons of sea salt in it. Drink it all at once (it's aweful) and then about 15-20 minutes later you will feel a rumble. Stay in the bathroom for a while. For me I think the whole liter shot out of my butt over the next 30 minutes. I did that for the first three days until the water that came out was practically clear. After your done in the bathroom it should be safe to leave the house and enjoy your day.
But is that really worth it?0 -
Here's a thought: why not cut out the drinking and smoking? You really don't need it to have a good time and from the health problems you mentioned, you aren't doing your body any favors.
It's awful to think you just want a quick, temporary fix but refuse to change real problems (the toxins in your cigarettes and alcohol)
Healthy food isn't the enemy. Your lifestyle vices are.0 -
If you have gall bladder problems, you need to talk to your family doctor, or a specialist, about the best way to treat them. Nobody on this website knows your medical history and I wouldn't suggest deciding whether to do a potentially harmful "cleanse" based on the experiences of other people who don't have your medical situation.
You must understand that plans like this can be risky for your health. A fast is short term, intentional starvation. And while fasts may have their place for certain people in certain contexts, a fast combined with laxatives is even more dangerous. The claim that lemon juice and cayenne pepper have all the essential nutrients your body needs is simply not true. If you want to fast and use laxatives, at least don't fool yourself into thinking you're doing something healthy.
The best cleanse is water + time. If your gall bladder condition adds complications, then your doctor is the one to see.0 -
Personally this sounds like a home version of Polyethylene Glycol. I'm so not looking forward to doing that cleanse, but it's a must for the procedure. WHY ON EARTH would you purposely do something like that? This boggles my mind!0
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My husband has done it several times. Always loses about 10 pounds, always gains it back--- as with any fad diet.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/the-truth-about-fad-diets
ETA: A lot of the weight you're losing is just feces.
Wrong.
No. Don't waste your time, money or health. The body does an excellent job of "cleansing" itself. Just treat it right and it will treat you right. There is no "cleanse" as effective as simply eating well.
"The best way to 'detox' the body is simply to let your body do its job. Unless you have a medical problem, your body takes care of itself quite nicely, experts say.
"The liver and kidneys are nature's best-kept secret, because they are the weapons to eliminate toxins from your body," says Gerbstadt. "If you are concerned about certain substances in your diet, it is easier and safer to simply eliminate [those substances] rather than engage in unhealthy detox plans."
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64306
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths
According to Chau Che MD, with New York University:
"Despite evidence to the contrary, the idea that colon cleansing is therapeutic by removing impurities, lives on. However, these claims largely fail to consider normal physiology. The digestive tract has inherent properties that work to clean our colon. After food ingestion, the small intestine absorbs nutrients and contracts to move indigestible residue into the colon. The colon continues the digestive process by absorbing and secreting electrolytes and fluids while its resident bacteria ferments the undigested food products. These are just some of the many mechanisms in which the digestive tract works in order to ensure that the colon does not become encrusted with fecal matter as some products claim. The black, rubbery material passed on a colon cleanse is actually a byproduct from the supplements and fiber in the colon cleansing product as opposed to old fecal material, in which consumers are led to believe."
http://www.clinicalcorrelations.org/?p=1605
Reviewed by Michael Poles MD and Fritz Francois MD, NYU Division of Gastroenterology
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390150-should-i-do-this-cleanse
Apparently you did not read the link I posted, or my comment at all, or you would understand I was saying it was a bad idea.0 -
Not only is this program hard to follow, and the drink hard to swallow, it is potentially dangerous as well. You are inhibiting your immune system, as well as your ability to process food.
Purposefully irritating your gastro-intestinal tract is never a good idea, but salt water flushing actually removes healthy, helpful bacteria from the lining of your colon. By engaging in this practice for an extended period of time, you are effectively wiping out one of your first lines of defense against infection and sickness.
In addition, prolonged fasting has many negative side effects, including all the symptoms that go along with malnutrition: insomnia, cravings, nausea, depressed mood, hair loss... the list goes on. Proponants of the Master Cleanse will tell you that these are signs that the toxins in your body are being eliminated, but you would experience the same symptoms on a water-only fast.
Once you start eating again, you may suffer bloating, constipation, and/or acid reflux, as your body is unused to processing food and has to re-learn how to digest it.
The creator of the Master Cleanse, Stanley Burroughs, was plagued by accusations and lawsuits for his entire career. One patient, whom he convinced to ignore his doctor's advice for 30 days, actually died under his care. Burroughs was convicted of second-degree felony murder and felony practicing medicine without a license.
(http://maddieruud.hubpages.com/hub/Master-Cleanse-Lemonade-Diet)0 -
When I asked my urologist about it he said, while he didn't know why it was being recommended, that lemon-water is good for your kidneys and helps to protect against stones which are not uncommon with weight loss. I also think it is supposed to decrease hunger??? So maybe that part is something good to augment the rest of your program
To be fair that is true.
Citrate which is present in lemons and other citric fruit is useful for the prevention of kidney stones as far as I know. As a bolt on to a reasonable fat loss / health programme it could be useful but as a main driver? Not so much...0 -
I do a cleanse at least once a year; I think it is great. Done right it is not so bad. Day three is the worse, but then you'll start to feel better. I usually go for 7-10 days. I always feel amazing when I am done. I reccommend a sea salt bowel flush so you don't have to worry about the embarrassing dirrhea that can happen at any time. With the sea salt flush you drink a liter of water with 2 tablespoons of sea salt in it. Drink it all at once (it's aweful) and then about 15-20 minutes later you will feel a rumble. Stay in the bathroom for a while. For me I think the whole liter shot out of my butt over the next 30 minutes. I did that for the first three days until the water that came out was practically clear. After your done in the bathroom it should be safe to leave the house and enjoy your day.
This sounds wonderful. Sign me up!0 -
Oh yes! I plan on doing that for sure! I used MFP for a few months a while back loved it. I ended up going thru some family personal stuff and got off track though. In the meantime I found out that I have some gallbladder problems and a "cleanse" was reccomended.
I had gall bladder problems around 2 years ago, the doctors were pretty sure i would need keyhole surgery to have it removed, i was in agony everytime i ate, one of the nurse practitioners told me to go on a very strict diet, plenty of fruit and veg, basically cut out all processed foods and keep everything fresh and keep fat down to a minimum and drink plenty of water, it was very hard as you'll know that anything with any fat in results in you being in agony for hours after eating it, it took a lot to learn what foods and drinks were low in fat but by the time i got round to my ultrasound scan (8weeks after the problems started) they said my gall bladder wasn't blocked or inflamed and that down to the healthy eating i had reversed any problems i had, i also lost about half a stone. So i agree with everyone else on here that says healthy eating and plenty of water is the best form of detox!0 -
Here's a thought: why not cut out the drinking and smoking? You really don't need it to have a good time and from the health problems you mentioned, you aren't doing your body any favors.
It's awful to think you just want a quick, temporary fix but refuse to change real problems (the toxins in your cigarettes and alcohol)
Healthy food isn't the enemy. Your lifestyle vices are.
Forgot to mention that I am quitting those.0 -
Tried it many years ago... Only made it three days. It was a living nightmare... The salt water made me vomit and to this day I can't look at maple syrup the same way
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ETA: A lot of the weight you're losing is just feces.
Wrong.
No. Don't waste your time, money or health. The body does an excellent job of "cleansing" itself. Just treat it right and it will treat you right. There is no "cleanse" as effective as simply eating well.
"The best way to 'detox' the body is simply to let your body do its job. Unless you have a medical problem, your body takes care of itself quite nicely, experts say.
"The liver and kidneys are nature's best-kept secret, because they are the weapons to eliminate toxins from your body," says Gerbstadt. "If you are concerned about certain substances in your diet, it is easier and safer to simply eliminate [those substances] rather than engage in unhealthy detox plans."
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64306
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths
According to Chau Che MD, with New York University:
"Despite evidence to the contrary, the idea that colon cleansing is therapeutic by removing impurities, lives on. However, these claims largely fail to consider normal physiology. The digestive tract has inherent properties that work to clean our colon. After food ingestion, the small intestine absorbs nutrients and contracts to move indigestible residue into the colon. The colon continues the digestive process by absorbing and secreting electrolytes and fluids while its resident bacteria ferments the undigested food products. These are just some of the many mechanisms in which the digestive tract works in order to ensure that the colon does not become encrusted with fecal matter as some products claim. The black, rubbery material passed on a colon cleanse is actually a byproduct from the supplements and fiber in the colon cleansing product as opposed to old fecal material, in which consumers are led to believe."
http://www.clinicalcorrelations.org/?p=1605
Reviewed by Michael Poles MD and Fritz Francois MD, NYU Division of Gastroenterology
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390150-should-i-do-this-cleanse
Apparently you did not read the link I posted, or my comment at all, or you would understand I was saying it was a bad idea.
I was just pointing out that it is not in fact fecal matter that is being expelled0 -
There is nothing healthy about this. There's cleansing your system (water will do it) and then there is damaging your system by dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea.
I've had gallbladder issues: stones and then finally had it removed and was never told to make myself sick drinking lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for two weeks.0 -
Did the doc recommend this cleanse?Oh yes! I plan on doing that for sure! I used MFP for a few months a while back loved it. I ended up going thru some family personal stuff and got off track though. In the meantime I found out that I have some gallbladder problems and a "cleanse" was reccomended.0 -
I was just pointing out that it is not in fact fecal matter that is being expelled
Gotcha. :flowerforyou:0 -
Here's a thought: why not cut out the drinking and smoking? You really don't need it to have a good time and from the health problems you mentioned, you aren't doing your body any favors.
It's awful to think you just want a quick, temporary fix but refuse to change real problems (the toxins in your cigarettes and alcohol)
Healthy food isn't the enemy. Your lifestyle vices are.
Forgot to mention that I am quitting those.
So you'll be giving up drinking, smoking and food all at once?0 -
this is a good article...helpful info on any cleanse!!0 -
I used to do the master cleanse. Initially I was lured in by the health claims and thought it would be a great way to drop weight and "detox".
Any weight that was lost during the cleanse was always gained back, and in the end, all I got was an eating disorder. (I may have eventually developed the disorder regardless, but doing the cleanse triggered me to start binging and purging, and it took me years to recover.)
At the end of the day, fasts like these are not healthy and the weight loss is temporary. You are much better off by sticking to a healthy diet and exercise program. The body is really quite good at detoxing on its own if you drink water and eat well.0 -
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS. Just stick with regular water to clean your system. There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.0
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what results are you expecting, other than pooping your brains out? Any weightloss achieved by this is purely temporary as soon as you eat, you'll gain it back.0
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There isn't anything "yucky" in your body, that your liver and kidneys aren't perfectly capable of dealing with.I am just trying to get rid of everything yucky in my body and then revamp the healthy eating at the end of it.
What can I say? It's idiotic, don't do it.0
This discussion has been closed.
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