The Master Cleanse is also called the Lemonade diet because while you are on it, lemonade mixed with syrup is the main 'meal' you will eat. Add a laxative to the mix and you have the jist of this diet. It is dangerous, and if you the first thing about dieting or your health, the description alone is enough to sway you. The cleanse works by eliminating foods from the diet, replacing with the beverage instead. It can be performed for a weekend or longer, depending on your needs. It is deigned to cleanse the body of toxins and helping to shed unwanted pounds. There are a ton of problems with this diet. First, it is hard to maintain the diet because the hunger pains are great. Another problem is that taking a laxative every night can cause serious damage to your health. And third, the weight is going to return once you start eating again. There is very little research on this diet as well. There are tons of diets out there, but this is one that you should avoid at all costs unless you want to harm yourself.

agrace03

Nashville, TN

The Master Cleanse [Or lemonade diet, beyonce diet, and about 10 other names] consists of consuming a lemon juice, maple syrup, water and a cayenne pepper drink mixture for 10 days. It got famous when Beyonce claimed to use it and lose a vast amount of weight quickly. Of course I had to try it. I wanted to lose that much weight super quick too! Easy to mix together. First thought upon taking a drink "well this tastes like...[i won't finish that sentence!] Eventually I kind of got used to it and it wasn't THAT terrible to drink. It is very difficult to stick to. For me my mind was just like "you need to chew something". If you have somebody doing it with you that you guys can offer each other support, I recommend that. So, if you stick to it, you're going to lose weight due to the low calories and well there's no solid food [Oh and you may be using the bathroom quite frequently for both reasons] The problem I've seen is people gaining weight once they get off the cleanse. You can't just jump from only liquid to eating just normal. Start off slow. Have a few days of maybe just fruits and veggies. Start incorporating some lean meats. Resume eating with a HEALTHY diet or you are guaranteed to put all the weight back on. Overall, the cleanse works for weight loss, but if you resume bad eating habits right after you get off the cleanse you will gain the weight back.

evlmidget

Undisclosed

The Master Cleanse Program (also known as the lemonade diet) was not successful for me at all. The whole idea of it is cleansing your body. You detox your digestive system so you will feel more energetic and better. I did not, however. I felt tired and weak and could not do a whole lot because I was not taking in the proper nutrients. The entire diet consists of three different drinks (because it is solely a liquid "diet"): a lemonade-like beverage, salt-water drink, and herbal laxative tea. Sure, I lost a few pounds after the ten days, but I not only lost fat, I also lost muscle and water. The weight immediately went back on after I started eating real food again. There is no way I could have continued on the "diet" without seriously damaging my body. I liked the lemonade drink alright, the salt water was pretty nasty, and I never really liked the tea either. I strongly recommend anyone considering this diet to really think it through. There is no way I would endorse The Master Cleanse.

tpbball31

USA

My college roommate suggested I try this diet with her. Supposedly if you're not having bowel movements everyday then you're harboring anywhere from 5-25 lbs of waste inside your colon and digestive track. The idea behind this diet seemed sound as far as cleansing out your colon and body and getting a detox of all the impurities, however, only drinking salt and citrus for 10 days seemed like an idiotic idea. I decided that we would do this diet for three days. It's supposed to be done for 10 days, and up to even 20 or 30 but I thought 3 sounded best because I knew that it wasn't healthy to not eat or drink properly. The diet literally consists of drinking lemonade from fresh squeezed lemons. All you do is squeeze lemon into water, add cayenne pepper and maple syrup and drink. This was a stupid idea. I made it two days before I felt nauseous and dizzy. I was hungry, cranky, irritated, and the only reason I lost any weight was because of the laxative tea it recommends you drink. Basically the master cleanse is close to anorexia. Anorexia means you consume less than 500 calories per day and with this diet, that's exactly what you're doing. Sure you lose weight, but it comes back on within a matter of days and you damage your body and your organs. This diet is not a good idea. I wouldn't even recommend doing this for a day or two. Effectiveness This diet makes you dizzy, hungry, and it can cause heart palpitations. Side Effects This diet can damage all of your internal organs. It can cause irregular and fast heart beats. It can also dehydrate you and lead hypoglycemic like symptoms. Ease of Use This diet is harmful and expensive.

clinen11

USA

This is an amazing diet if instead of lasting results you want a cleaner healthier you. This is how it works. The first day you eat only fruits and vegetables you can not add salt, sugar, or butter just natural herbs. The second day you have only fresh squeezed juice. It's super helpful to own an electronic juicer for this diet. It is so nice! On the third day you start the cleanse. It is a combination of fresh lemon, grade B organic maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The mixture is delicious. I know it sounds strange but it is wonderful. You only drink this mixture for a minimum of three days. Then once your done you have to ease back into a healthier lifestyle. I felt so healthy after this diet and my body felt so clean! I did feel hungry during this diet but it was so worth it! I noticed I didn't have any constipation issues anymore also I was not craving sugar like I used to. It is something I think everyone should try. Side Effects The worst side effect is feeling hungry.

Lairsonj1

USA

This diet isn't for the faint of heart. You must fully commit to it in order for it to work. You also must follow the instructions perfectly otherwise you may experience some not so pleasant side effects from it. With that said, in my opinion, the benefits from this diet outweigh the unpleasantness of it. I do the master cleanse once a year. For me it is not a tool to lose weight, but rather to fully cleanse my system and get me back on track. The lemonade drink itself is actually pretty tasty. The salt water flush though is not so tasty. I am not a salt fan, but I drink it anyway because I have read of very unpleasant side effects from those who skipped this part. The hardest part of this cleanse is the first few days, especially if you are around others who are eating. After 4 or 5 days of it doing though, you kind of get use to it and each day you complete motivates you more to follow through. Let's face it, 10 days out of your year isn't asking too much.

rexyb1213

USA

In theory, this diet sounded so easy to follow. In fact, I was excited because I liked the ingredients involved in the cleanse. But honestly, it got harder and harder to get myself to drink it each day. I did lose weight quickly the first few days as my body detoxified itself and got rid of a lot of junk. But unlike the plan promised, I did not master my desire to eat. I actually thought about food and all the things I couldn't have even more. I do love how natural the ingredients are. You don't have to purchase any strange or expensive supplements. I always used fresh lemon juice. I have read about cayenne pepper being a great metabolism booster, and I love maple syrup. I did not purchase the actual kit, but used the ingredients I had at home to make the drink. I like the way that it eases you into the cleanse by eliminating processed foods. For many people, I imagine that much of the weight loss comes from healing an impacted colon. For me, though, I need to get control over when and how much I eat. I eat when I'm stressed, bored, or upset. Having to drink the concoction makes me take time to truly evaluate why I'm eating and then eat only when I'm actually hungry. Effectiveness I dropped weight quickly. Side Effects Prepare yourself by reading about all of the side effects before you embark on this one. You will spend some time in the bathroom. The pepper burned my throat a bit and gave me indigestion-like feelings. Ease of Use Pretty simple to mix. It really is a mindful approach.

lhudd

USA

This diet cleans you out and you will have a lot of bowel movements during the process. You will literally feel empty inside. It may be just my opinion but the taste is horrible, and I would hardly call it lemonade, that's insulting to lemonade! Effectiveness It helps you clear out your colon so you lose pounds. You can easily get rid of ten pounds. But once you're off the diet you gain those pounds right back. Side Effects I felt sick to my stomach when I was on the diet. You cannot eat or drink anything else besides for the drink. They say that the concoction has all the nutrients your body needs but I felt that I needed far more than that to be healthy. I don't know how some people do it longer than 10 days and not to mention, don't go to far from the bathroom, you'll be using it regularly. Ease of Use The drink is really easy to make and you can make it for the whole day in advance and just carry it around in a jug for convenience if you have to go to work.

Mrndamoo

USA

After watching so many infomercials on The Master Cleanse Program, I decided to give it a try. This is a ten day minimum system. After the first two days I started to notice that I was feeling horrible. The Master Cleanse Program is nothing more than a long ten day laxative. This program is supposed to detox your system and make you feel better. You definitely do detox your system but can get the same effects as if you used laxatives instead and would be much cheaper. Along with this program, you are recommended to eat lots of citrus fruit. Too much of anything can be bad, such as citrus foods. I myself do not feel as tho the Master Cleanse Program is a safe product to use. I was only able to use it for four days before I decided that is was rather dangerous for my body. I will never again use a "cleansing" program for weight loss and would definitely not recommend this program to anyone. There are easier and much safer ways of losing weight.

ghobbs1

USA

I was prompted to try this diet after my third baby and that pesky baby weight was a huge "weight" on my shoulders. I was told by my mother that I needed a good cleanse to help jump start my metabolism. This cleans incorporates fresh lemon, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water. Sounds like a weird combination but it really helps. cleansing our systems is needed to keep impurities at bay. Effectiveness Very effective cleansing ingredients with some sea salt that helps to get the impurities out. This is good for blood pressure issues and fluid retention. Side Effects The cleanse is all the food one would eat all day in orde for the cleanse to work properly so this could be a hazardous situation for some people. It could cause dizziness and hunger pain headaches. But after getting use to the cleanse the side effects should subside. Ease of Use The only part of the cleanse that may be a little bothersome is making it every morning. It can be a pain to squeeze all those lemons without a juicer. Also the maple syrup Is not purchased in a regular supermarket you may have to go to a specialty store to purchase.

BFreeThompson

USA