The lemonade juice diet, also known as the Master Cleanse, is a liquid-only diet that promises rapid weight loss and detoxification while providing energy, clarity and focus. It's a 10-day diet that can be extended for up to 30 days. You will lose weight on the lemonade diet, but it will be mostly water weight, which you will regain quickly once you resume normal eating habits.
The Lemonade Diet and Weight Loss
"The Master Cleanser" was written by Stanley Burroughs in the 1940s as a detox program, not a weight loss regimen; the book itself explains that at least half of the weight lost will be immediately regained. Many people use the diet incorrectly, strictly for weight loss. Whether you need a detoxifying cleanse at all is debatable -- your kidneys and liver already filter and remove most of the toxins from your body. The Master Cleanse lacks essential nutrients, vitamins, protein and fiber. In the long term, the lemonade diet may cause more harm than good, says Susan Moores, R.D.
The Diet
There are three components to the diet -- the lemonade drink, which you consume between up to 12 times daily, a laxative tea and a salt water flush that involves drinking a quart of salt water on an empty stomach every morning. The lemonade is made from purified water, freshly squeezed lemon juice, grade B maple syrup and cayenne pepper. The majority of your calories are coming from maple syrup -- which is basically sugar, although grade B maple syrup has some nutrients that more purified syrups do not. Each glass of lemonade has between 80 and 100 calories; expect to consume about 1,000 calories daily.
Calories and Weight Loss
Losing weight requires you to eat fewer calories than you need, which will cause your body to convert stored fat into energy. However, in the absence of protein, your body also converts lean muscle mass to energy -- which isn't good. Loss of muscle slows down your metabolism and your ability to store glucagon -- excess glucose which isn't used for energy right away. This means that after stopping the lemonade diet it will be easier for you to gain weight then before you started the cleanse.
Healthy Weight Loss
The National Institutes of Health says that long-term weight loss is achieved by exercising more and reducing caloric intake; but that women need a minimum of 1,200 calories daily and men need 1,500 calories each day. Making sustainable lifestyle changes such as decreasing portion size, avoiding foods high in fat and sugar, not eating out of stress or boredom and reducing alcohol intake. The NIH recommends avoiding fad diets that limit food choices and may not be medically or nutritionally sound.
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