While the lemonade master cleanse is gaining new popularity, it is by no means a new diet. This diet method was initially developed in 1940 by Stanley Burroughs, who practiced alternative health and medicine, as a cure for ulcers. Thirty years later, Burroughs published a book describing the benefits of this liquid diet not only as a cure for stomach ulcers but also as a way to cleanse the body and shed excess fat within a few weeks.
In 2004, Peter Glickman compiled the information from Burroughs’ book into a new and easier-to-read manual called “Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days.” Glickman’s book, updated and far more organized than Burroughs’ original manual, caused the liquid cleanse to gain popularity again.
Purpose of the Lemonade Diet
- To melt away and remove toxins and clogging that has accumulated inside your body
- To purify your digestive system and kidneys.
- To cleanse your cells and glands
- To eradicate all unused excess and crystallized salt in your joints.
- To ease irritation and pressure in the arteries, blood vessels, and nerves.
- To create a clean blood stream.
- To keep the natural elasticity of your skin thus helping you look younger beyond your years.
What Is Master Cleanse detox?
The lemonade master cleanse requires you to drink only specific liquids for 10 days; then, after your body has officially shed its toxins, you can slowly reintroduce other foods. There are three components of the lemonade master cleanse.
To be able to complete the Master Cleanse successfully, you need to do following
Ease-In and Ease-Out:
Ease-In: Before starting the Lemonade Diet, it is highly advisable to prepare your mind and body three days before you begin the detoxification phase. Below are suggestions on how to do the Ease-In phase:
- The first day involves removal of processed food from your daily food consumption.
- The next day is the introduction of liquid diet like soups, broth, and juices.
- On the third day, you will only need to consume orange juice and plain water
While this phase can be skipped altogether, many dieters who tried the Master Cleanse diet admit that doing the Ease-In stage helped them stick to the program until the end.
Ease-Out: This phase is just like the reverse of the Ease-In phase. It assists you to prepare your system to eat regular food again slowly. This step will be discussed in details later in this article.
- The first day involves consuming orange juice and plain water only.
- The second day is all about juices, soup, and broth.
- You can slowly introduce food like fruits and raw vegetables on the third day.
The Lemonade Diet:
For ten days, you will only ingest lemonade created with specific ingredients as a part of the Master Cleanse diet. It said that you would lose weight quickly and feel great about yourself in only ten days. It is a simple, cheap, and effective detox and healing program popular today.
Everyday Detox:
This includes The Salt Water Flush and Detox Tea. It is the process involves a daily natural detox method to get rid of your accumulated waste from consuming processed food.
Three beverages that you need to prepare for the Master Cleanse diet:
The Lemonade Drink
A mixture of lemon juice, water, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup, this drink is meant to jump-start your metabolism and give you enough calories and carbohydrates to get through the day. Cayenne pepper is a metabolic booster, while maple syrup is an unprocessed, natural sugar which provides your body with energy. And because lemons contain antioxidants, they help to flush toxins out of your system.
If you don’t want to add cayenne pepper, here are cayenne pepper alternatives
Start with your choice of Maple Syrup
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Salt Water Flush
Mix following and drink the entire quart – first thing in the morning.
Two teaspoons (not tablespoons) of non-iodized salt
Full quart of lukewarm water
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The theory is that the salt water helps to stimulate the bowels and flush out the system.
NOTE: This has to be taken on an empty stomach – no exceptions.
Learn more about Salt Water Flush Recipe
Organic Peppermint Tea / Herbal Laxative Tea
Peppermint tea can be drunk throughout the day as a way to calm any nausea you may be experiencing. Mint is excellent for soothing the belly if you’re experiencing any unpleasantness due to the cleanse.
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An herbal laxative tea can be used with the cleanse as well. This tea is meant to be taken right before bed, to continue stimulating the bowels and cleansing the system.
For how long should we do this master cleanse?
Traditionally, the lemonade master cleanse is meant to be followed rigidly for 10 days; after ten days, you can begin reintroducing other foods – juice and vegetable soup at first, followed by raw fruits and vegetables. If you continue following the literature of the lemonade master cleanse, you’ll likely be expected to cut out all meat and dairy products for a length of time.
Many people who go on the Master Cleanse are looking to lose a considerable amount of weight in a short time frame, such as going to a party or event. The diet can help you look your absolute best in just a few weeks.
How to Make Lemonade Diet Detox water
Master Cleanse- Lemon Detox Recipe
Mix the following items in a container
- 2 TBSP lemon juice – preferably freshly squeezed.
- 2 TBSP pure Grade B maple syrup. Please note that U.S. Department of Agriculture revised their grading standards and now have four new classifications of Grade A syrup now. Kindly see product recommendation below. (Please don’t use artificially flavored syrups)
- 1/10 TSP of cayenne pepper (powder form)
- 8 OZ warm water (purified or spring)
Molasses and Agave Nectar are good substitutes if grade B maple syrup is not available. Since molasses and Agave Nectar are low in glycemic index, these are prime options for people with diabetes doing this cleanse. But if possible, stick to the original version of the diet.
Tips:
To make it easier for you to extract the juice from lemons manually, you should firmly roll the lemon between the counter top and your palm. Apply enough pressure as you roll the lemon back and forth under your palm. This process makes the lemon soft enough to extract the juice more efficiently.
Please note that artificial syrups like Aunt Jemima and others are not valid substitutes; they are filled with artificial flavors, preservatives, and often are made of high-fructose corn syrup.
How much Lemonade should you drink during daily?
Your lemonade consumption will depend on your caloric requirement, your aspiration to lose weight, and how much you can tolerate the mental and physical desire to eat. Ideally, you are allowed to drink six to twelve glasses of lemonade daily. However, some people can consume as much as twenty-six glasses every day. It is better to drink more than less. In our personal experience, it is perfect to drink at least the minimum required water consumption daily which is eight glasses.
When is the ideal time to utilize the Lemonade Diet?
- When you developed acute and chronic condition
- When your digestive system requires a cleansing and rest.
- When your obesity already became a problem.
- When you need to improve your body’s ability to repair and heal its muscles and tissues.
How many times in a year can you do this diet?
The standard duration of the Master Cleanse diet is ten days. However, some individuals go beyond the minimum ten days and could go for forty or more days depending on the seriousness his or her case. This diet contains all the nourishment needed during the duration of the detoxification. Some people undergo this diet three to four times in a year to keep their body in a normal healthy state. You can perform this detoxification process more often depending on the seriousness of your need.
Dietary restrictions while being on Lemon Detox Diet
Lemonade Diet: What Can I Eat?
Solid foods are not allowed while being on this detox diet.
It is vital to maintain the strictly liquid diet to flush the toxins adequately out of the body and the digestive track system.
Master Cleanse Diet: Am I allowed to eat Fruit?
In short – No.
To maintain an efficient detox process, it’s not allowed for solids to enter the digestive process; No fruit, including pulp and fruit fiber.
What Else Can I Drink While On This Diet?
This particular diet also allows for the enjoyment of peppermint teas as they do not inhibit the effectiveness of the cleanse. Mint tea has incredible purification properties that are very beneficial in the detox process. No other supplements should be consumed during this cleanse. This also applies to black coffee. Most often this is difficult for our dieters to cease from drinking. We strongly encourage sticking to the strict diet to get the best results. Since the diet is designed to cleanse the body from toxins, it’s good to cease all another non-regimented liquid intake. Coffee contains additive properties through caffeine that is not helpful in this process.
Master Cleanse Side Effects
During the extent of the cleanse, it is okay to experience light fatigue and possible breakouts. This is a natural response to your body releasing and flushing toxins from your body. We recommend increasing the duration of common showers and increasing the number of face washes to assist your body in removing the oils and toxins that are being excreted through the skin.
Pro Tips:
- Fresh, organic lemons are critical, as they are known to provide the most enzymes for body’s detox. They are best out of the fridge, though if you are buying in bulk, this may not always be possible. Try to take them out of the fridge as far in advance as possible.
- You should drink 6-12 glasses of lemonade each day.
- Drink when you feel hungry to help curb cravings.
- Drink it as soon as you make it, to prevent the pepper from “steeping” and making the drink too spicy.
- Consider adding a natural laxative to help the body detox. Try sea salts or herbal tea.
- Ease into the diet with non-processed foods that don’t include meats or dairy.
- Ease out of the diet the same way to get your body used to whole foods again and to prevent nausea.
Typical Detox Symptoms to Expect During the Master Cleansing Diet
Detoxification is a procedure of removing toxins from your system. You will start to feel healthy, energetic, and happy once the toxins are removed from your body. These toxins are the cause of our tiredness, unhappiness, irritability, mental confusion, depression, and illnesses. You should try doing a detoxification diet to get rid of all these maladies.
However, the actual removal of toxins can cause discomfort and foul mood making you want to quit the cleansing process mid-way. That is why you need to have an understanding of what symptoms to expect during the detox procedure so you can be prepared. Be sure to drink the salt water mixture and laxative tea to fast-track the removal of those toxins.
Here is the list of what to expect when detoxifying:
- Cravings One out of four people experience hunger while on the Master Cleanse diet. You can usually deal with your hunger pangs by drinking more lemonade drink or water. But some people experienced a craving for the unhealthiest food while detoxifying. Food like pizza, meat, pastries quickly comes to mind while on detox. To be able to test whether what you are experiencing is just cravings and not hunger, try imagining a large bowl of green salad. If you do not have the urge to eat it but still wants to eat the pizza, then what you are feeling is cravings and not hunger.
- Tiredness, The body, starts to focus its energy on the healing process when it is in the course of eliminating toxins, whether from infection or detoxification. This leaves you with not enough energy for working or playing making you feel tired all the time.
- Hot bowel movements The burning feeling comes from the acid toxins that are being expunged from your system. Though not everyone can experience this, you might find it helpful to know that it’s a normal feeling. It is just a confirmation that you are removing toxins from your body.
- Physical pains, vomiting, nausea These are more adverse side effects of the Master Cleanse diet. These symptoms usually take place when the person doing the diet has too many toxins in his or her body. However, not everyone can experience this. Luckily, these maladies are usually gone after a day or two into the diet.
- Irritability Being short-tempered and boredom are to be expected when on this diet. You will also have a feeling that of wanting to chew solid food.
Additional Note about Headaches
Those people who have caffeine addiction like coffee, soda, tea, etc. are most likely to experience headaches for the initial two to four days into the diet.
How much weight will I expect to lose while on the Master Cleanse?
The weight you will lose while on the Master Cleanse diet differs from case to case. It is usually affected by your weight before cleansing, and by how much lemonade will you consume. If you drink more lemonade, you will lose less weight while drinking less lemonade can make you lose more weight. However, it is not advisable to drink less than six glasses to lose more weight fast. Weight loss should happen naturally. It is wise to drink the lemonade whenever you feel hungry or when you are showing signs of lack of energy like mild shaking and weakness. These symptoms will be addressed immediately by drinking a glass of lemonade drink. For beginners, you should start with twelve glasses of lemonade. You can make adjustments as you go along with the diet.
How to Ease-Out of the Master Cleanse diet
So now you have completed the Master Cleanse 10 day diet. Before resuming your normal eating habit of processed food, it is highly advisable for you to slowly ease out of a fast like the Master Cleanse to avoid severe digestive problems or gaining all the weight you lost immediately. This process is similar to the Ease-In but only in reverse. Follow this stage to a T to get the ideal result you always wanted out of fasting and to be on the safe side.
What is the importance of Easing-Out?
This phase is the most crucial part of the Master Cleanse. There are chances that you will become nauseated if you started eating regular food right away. However, you do not need to be intimidated by this part too. You can avoid experiencing the adverse effect of Easing-Out phase if you just follow its simple process. You can always consult a doctor if you want to be assured that you are doing the right thing.
And as pointed out by Tom Woloshyn in his book, “The Complete Master Cleanse on the Easing-Out,” this phase is an essential shift from the lemonade drink to solid food, so your stomach won’t be overwhelmed after the fasting. He gave such vivid example that you wouldn’t run a marathon after sitting all the time for three years; you also would not stop a fast by jumpstarting it with full-set meals right away. You might prefer giving your digestive system enough support so you can start with a clean slate.
Post Cleanse – How to Sustain a Healthy Way of Life after Cleansing
Once you completed the Master Cleanse, you will have to opt for a healthier way of life by choosing what you eat wisely. There are so many people who did the Master Cleanse but failed to maintain a healthy diet. Most dieters return to their emotional binge eating right away to handle their stressful everyday lives. We highly suggest that you eat healthy so stop the weight from going back. It is very likely that you will gain all the weight you lost and maybe more if you continue eating the way you do before the Master Cleanse diet.
You should start taking Probiotics after cleansing so as to replenish the good bacteria that were flushed out of your system during the diet. Probiotics are good bacteria that are beneficial to your essential bodily functions and a healthy digestive system.
Please share your experiences and questions here for lemon water detox.We are here to help you succeed.