Lemonade Diet aka Master Cleanse

[jyl]

Thought I'd mention something that might be interesting.

My wife decided to go on the so-called "Lemonade Diet" aka "Master Cleanse" for a week or two. Some of her friends did it, usually as a way to kick off a weight loss effort, and recommended it. So, she's been on the diet for 13 days now, and is about ready to come off it. She has been bouncing with energy, feels great, has lost something like 18 pounds, although presumably some/most is just water loss.

Naturally I looked into the diet aka cleanse. I am highly skeptical of the purported cleansing effects. I think it is basically just a partial fast - you're consuming 600-800- calories/day, all in liquid form, and most of that is sugar and carbs. But I don't see anything wrong with a brief fast. After all, homo sapiens used to subsist on whatever roots, bugs, fruits, berries, small rodents, etc he could forage - surely a lot less than 800 calories/day - between successful hunts or lucky scavenges.

So, I decided to try the diet too. I'm on day three.

Not much to say yet about the physical effects, if any. The psychological ones are more interesting.

It turns out that eating is one of the main ways I pass time and mark time's passing. Without meals and snacks, I'm not especially hungry, I'm simply bored.

Also turns out that cooking is one of my main recreations and relaxations. With nothing to do but make kids' meals, I have too much time on my hands.

However, I did find that even simply making mac and cheese was pleasurable. The sight and smell of food was satisfying. I've decided that, just because I can't eat, doesn't mean i can't have fun cooking. So I'm off to buy a deep fryer and make some tempura.

Well, I'm interested to see what happens over the next week or so.

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by jyl

It turns out that eating is one of the main ways I pass time and mark time's passing. Without meals and snacks, I'm not especially hungry, I'm simply bored.

This is why methheads and smokers lose weight.. people get fat because they are really just bored and eating to do something, not because they are hungry. If you get your fix some other way, you don't need food.

A full grown person can get by on ridiculously small amounts of food.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Schumi

This is why methheads and smokers lose weight.. people get fat because they are really just bored and eating to do something, not because they are hungry. If you get your fix some other way, you don't need food.

A full grown person can get by on ridiculously small amounts of food.

So, so true...

I'm a fairly *food oriented* person, which is to say that I get a fair amount of pleasure from food and eat as well as I possibly can. I look forward to eating every day. Hell, I look forward to my iced americano and really good multi-grain scone @ Peets coffee shop every morning. Five dollars a day every morning of my life and I don't regret it for a second. It's sometimes the best 15 minutes of the day.

That said, I've always noticed that when I'm doing something really interesting or fun, I can completely forget to eat and not miss it one bit. I mean all day long. A lot of busy days, I have to stop and think; "when was the last time I ate?" It's a way to pass time and something pleasurable to look forward to every day at certain times.

I've known lots of people, (my cousin and one close friend come to mind), who could care less about what they eat and to my mind would not know dog food from filet mignon. They eat Wonder bread and mayonaise, crap like that. Lousy fast food on occasion, who cares? Food is just something they have to eat to stay alive. Greasy, under-cooked french fries are just as good as perfect brown crispy ones to them. I don't get it but that's what makes a horse race, as the old saying goes. They think of me as a finicky eater and I think of them as garbage bins.

Sorry if that was straying off the topic but to me it's all related.

[scottmandue]

John, I have heard of this, so what is the diet? You just drink lemonade all day every day?

Lemonade = Lemon juice + water + sugar?

Just curious.

[TerryBPP]

I did it before spring breakl last year to cut a quick 10 lbs. 1st few days are cake. Day 5-10 are pure insanity, light headed, irritable, weak. I quit on day 10. Lost 13 lbs.

Good luck!

[Rick Lee]

How does this diet work if you tend to exercise 4-5 days a week?

[jyl]

scott, the Lemonade Diet has different variations.

It was initially proposed by some guy named Burroughs many decades ago in a book about his version of healthy eating and living. I think he was a quack, personally. Since then, different versions have been espoused by different people. I think there is a website, "master cleanse" or something like that, which preaches the full-on version complete w/ all the supposed science behind it. My wife is doing the full-on version, I am not.

Here is the full-on versions and what parts I'm doing.

1. Mix 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, 3/4 grade B maple syrup, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. This is a concentrate, put it in a handy bottle. When you are hungry, mix 1 part concentrate with 5-6 parts water and drink. Also, drink additional water as needed. No other "food" but take mutivitamins if you wish, as there are essentially none in the the concentrate beyond "C". That bottle of concentrate contains appx 600 calories, almost all from the syrup, and almost all of that is carbs and sugar. I seem to be going through 1.5-2 bottles a day, so appx 900-1200 cal/day.
2. Drink salt water (2 tsp dissolved in 2 cups warm water) every morning and evening. This is supposed to flush your body and lead to, ahem, vigorous elimination and cleansing. I'm doing this, but have noticed no effects. I don't actually believe in "colon cleansing" but I think you need salt.
3. Give yourself a salt water enema occasionally, to encourage more elimination. I'm not doing this.
4. Drink laxative tea. I'm not.
5. No caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, etc. I'm ignoring this rule too.

As I said, I think this is basically a very low-calorie diet that gives you energy through sugar/carbs. You do it for a week or two or even three. (Two seems most common). I don't think it hurts the average healthy person - sure, there's not much nutrients but most of us have ample "reserves". Whatever cleansing/detoxifying effects it does or doesn't have, it does seem like a quick way to jumpstart weight loss. 1 pound of fat is 3500 cal so if you are getting 1000 cal/day and "need" 2400 cal/day, you should in theory lose 1 lb every 2-3 days. Plus water weight loss too.

Terry, I'm already irritable! Of course its probably this damn iMac problem.

Rick, I'm not sure this diet works if you're working out hard.

[herr_oberst]

• shouldn't you be working on your Vanagan/ford conversion?

• I've never done this diet, but for a while I was taking a Tbs of whole husk Psyllium each day. I can tell you from experience that salt water has nothing on the so called natures broom. I had to quit taking it.

• See you at the Taproom.


•

[masraum]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

John, I have heard of this, so what is the diet? You just drink lemonade all day every day?

Lemonade = Lemon juice + water + sugar?

Just curious.

My wife has done this several times.

Lemon Cleanse

[jyl]

• shouldn't you be working on your Vanagan/ford conversion?

• I've never done this diet, but for a while I was taking a Tbs of whole husk Psyllium each day. I can tell you from experience that salt water has nothing on the so called natures broom. I had to quit taking it.

• See you at the Taproom.

I am plugging away on the conversion. Vanagon's motor/trans is out, Ford is on the hoist getting converted, I am waiting on parts.

Taproom? When?

[herr_oberst]

April 8 5pm Beers and Burgers

[speeder]

OK, you had me thinking this was something new by calling it "lemonade diet". This is the age-old *Master Cleanser* that's been around since the cavemen. That schit ain't lemonade. More like nasty water w/ cayenne pepper, molasses and a small squeeze of lemon, as described above.

If it was actually lemonade, I could possibly do it. I love lemonade!

Some people believe in fasting, I've never done it voluntarily. I can say that when I did it involuntarily, (after major surgery in hospital), I did feel "cleaned out" and lost a lot of weight in a hurry. Most of us could live for many days off the fat on our bodies.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by jyl

Not much to say yet about the physical effects, if any. The psychological ones are more interesting.

It turns out that eating is one of the main ways I pass time and mark time's passing. Without meals and snacks, I'm not especially hungry, I'm simply bored.

Also turns out that cooking is one of my main recreations and relaxations. With nothing to do but make kids' meals, I have too much time on my hands.

However, I did find that even simply making mac and cheese was pleasurable. The sight and smell of food was satisfying. I've decided that, just because I can't eat, doesn't mean i can't have fun cooking. So I'm off to buy a deep fryer and make some tempura.

Well, I'm interested to see what happens over the next week or so.

Do you realize you understand your relationship with food better than about 99% of people do? Your awareness of the place food fills in your life is huge. So many people just eat and never think about why (something I'm often guilty of). Inspiring thoughts. Thanks.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Do you realize you understand your relationship with food better than about 99% of people do? Your awareness of the place food fills in your life is huge. So many people just eat and never think about why (something I'm often guilty of). Inspiring thoughts. Thanks.

You apparently missed the thread on knife sharpening! This man knows his steel.

[Tobra]

I like lemonade, the stuff you describe is not lemonade.

I used to fast every week or two, drink lots of fluid, skip eating for a day, never hurt me any. All those wacky diets, Atkins, Grapefruit, Cabbage Soup, bah.

You are better off just eating healthy and exercising every day.

[jyl]

Progress report. In day 6.

Feel fine, physically. Boredom etc less of a problem during the week when I'm busy anyway.

I think I'm consuming about 600 cal/day so in theory I should be losing 0.5 lb/day. I assume everything above that is water.

Going to stop after 10 days, because we're hosting Easter brunch again. Wife will stop then too, it will be three weeks for her.

Plan is to come off the diet and begin learning Japanese cooking. I love Japanese food and have always wanted to learn something about the cuisine. The focus on fish/veg, small portions carefully arranged, not much oil/dairy/fat use, seems perfect. Happily reading my Japanese cookbooks.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jyl

Going to stop after 10 days, because we're hosting Easter brunch again. Wife will stop then too, it will be three weeks for her.

Plan is to come off the diet and begin learning Japanese cooking. I love Japanese food and have always wanted to learn something about the cuisine. The focus on fish/veg, small portions carefully arranged, not much oil/dairy/fat use, seems perfect. Happily reading my Japanese cookbooks.

I'd say, make sure you take a day or two to get back into regular food before the brunch. I'd think that your system might be shocked if your first meal is bacon, eggs and buttered bread or something else really heavy.

I agree, the Japanese cooking is a good way to go. This is an interesting book about Japanese cooking and health.

[TechnoViking]

Any idea what percent of the weight lost on these fasting diets is fat vs. muscle?

[masraum]

Is muscle loss mostly in the absence of carbs or calories or what? I'd think mostly fat, but I couldn't say and don't know that much about weight loss. What I know is that if I minimize sugar intake and regulate the volume of food that I eat, I lose weight.

[creaturecat]

Diets absolutely never work.
Positive lifestyle changes always work.
Plain and simple.