Colon cleanses provide rapid weight loss, but they also can slow your metabolism. Sacrificing food and purging your bowel virtually guarantee slimming results. But your body's sense of self-preservation will object, causing you to burn calories slower and put on pounds faster than before you began the cleanse. You should not begin a colon cleanse or any weight loss plan without first consulting your physician.
Expectations
You can buy books about colon cleanses, search the Internet for detox diets or join the 3 million Americans who visited some 5,000 colon irrigation clinics to get a professional start on a pounds-shedding plan. No matter what method you choose, you can expect similar results: initial glee as you find yourself easily fitting into once-tight clothes and disappointment when, weeks later, the outfit is snug again. Beyonce provides a good example of this. She lost 20 lbs in 2 weeks following the Master Cleanse, a liquid diet that includes spicy lemonade, salt water and laxative teas. She boasted about her success in losing weight in preparation for her role in "Dreamgirls," but has since said she regained all the weight she lost on the diet. Oprah has similarly enjoyed success and disappointment with colon cleansing diets.
Professional Cleanses
You can kick-start your diet without harming your metabolism if you get a professional colon cleanse rather than follow a fasting diet. A professional colon cleanse works similarly to an enema --- forces liquid into your bowel to evacuate its contents. If you opt for a professional cleanse, carefully choose the facility and practitioner. Dr. Michael Picco, of the Mayo Clinic, says to make certain a hydrotherapy center uses disposable equipment to avoid the risk of infection. He also says to find out what herbs are contained in the enema liquid as some may be harmful.
Limit Diet Duration
Another way to enjoy the benefits of a colon cleanse without harming your metabolism is to limit a fast to three days. Some colon cleansing diets for weight loss last up to 28 days with severe dietary restrictions that permit you to consume fewer than 900 calories a day, less than half of what you need to maintain your current weight and 600 fewer than recommended on moderate weight loss diets. Your body can handle a couple days of a liquid fast but, by the fourth day, your metabolism will slow, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The problem for dieters is that it doesn't quickly speed up when you resume normal eating, and more of the calories you consume get stored as fat.
Nutrition
If you still want to follow a colon cleansing diet for weight loss, careful planning can help you meet most of your nutritional needs. While some cleansing diets gain most of the calories from sugar, you could add protein to a cleansing diet by drinking chicken or beef broths and vitamins and minerals by pureeing fruits and vegetables in a blender. You could drink 16 cups of broth --- 240 calories --- to meet your daily need for protein and drink the juice of six servings of fruits and vegetables --- 200 to 300 calories, depending on your choices --- to meet your needs in these categories. Dr. Elson Haas, author of "The New Detox Diet," says it's acceptable to eat some solid foods, including cooked cereals, on a cleanse diet. If you added six servings of cooked cereals to the broths and juices, you would meet all of your requirements except those for dairy and fat, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Pyramid.
Considerations
Despite the fact that colon cleansing diets include a lot of liquid, you run the risk of dehydration because you will also be expelling a great deal of fluid. You may experience nausea, headaches, irritability and hunger pangs during a cleansing diet. Continuing one longer than several days may also cause kidney damage. Although the temporary weight loss advantage of cleansing diets is undisputed, experts disagree about whether the detoxifying effects of a cleanse provide health benefits.
References
- "Newsweek"; Diet Trick; Stop Eating; Karen Springen and Anna Kuchment; Nov. 3 2008
- "The New York Times"; I Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine; Lola Ogunnaike; Dec. 10 2006
- "The Mirror"; Demi's Deep Clean Diet; Caroline Jones; Aug. 31, 2010
- Mayo Clinic: Colon Cleansing
- "Natural Health"; Detox in 7 Days; Judy Bass; April 2003
- "Sydney Morning Herald"; Straight Flush; Bronwyn McNulty; Feb. 12 2009
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