There are so many different diets out there these days to be tried. Among the abundance of diets, there is the master cleanse diet. The master cleanse diet is also known as the lemonade diet. I have to say, this is a strange diet. However, it does provide results. This diet was used by Beyonce Knowles prior to her role in Dreamgirls and lost twenty-two pounds in total at the end of the diet.

Basically what the lemonade diet is, is a colon cleanse. This diet has a very different goal than most diets. Instead of trying to lose fat, this diet’s main goal is to get rid of the plaque that is sticking to your intestines. This diet will help to cleanse your body of harmful toxins.

The master cleanse diet is not a long-term diet. Instead, this diet only lasts for a duration of ten days. However, the diet is completed in three different phases. The phases of this diet include Ease-In, The Lemonade Diet, and Ease-Out. It is not a requirement to do the diet in all three phases, but it can be helpful. The Ease-In phase prepares your body for less food, so although you can skip it, it would probably be wise not to so your body doesn’t go into shock.

The first three days of the master cleanse diet are dedicated to the Ease-In phase. During this time, you can gather all of the ingredients you will need for the rest of the diet. These ingredients include:

• Bio-Metric Measures (body fat ananlyzers, PH meters, scales, and any other devices to measure the progression and results of your cleanse)
• Journals (to record your progress, challenges, achievements, and more)
• Juicers (hand or electric)
• Laxatives (to promote daily bowel movements for your detox)
• Herbal Teas (natural and decaffeinated)
• Sea Salt (used for The Salt Water Flush)
• Measuring Spoons

Day 1: Living Food Diet

The first day of the Ease-In phase is referred to as the Living Food Diet because you will only be consuming live foods. You will not be eating processed foods, meat, or dairy. Instead, you will be eating fruits and vegetables. However, you want to limit your fruit intake as fruits are high in sugar. You will generally want to stick to a 15:10 ratio of vegetables to fruits.

Day 2: Juicing, Blending, Soups, and Broths

During day two, you will be preparing your body for a liquid diet. This step will deliver macro nutrients into your bloodstream quicker. When foods are broken down into liquids, they hit our bloodstream quicker. During this step you will begin to enjoy the juicing of fruits and vegetables. You will also begin to enjoy smoothies. However, to get away from the drinks; there are also the options for making some delicious soups and broths for you to enjoy.

Day 3: Orange Juice

You can never have enough orange juice, right? Well, during day three you sure can’t! During day three, you need juice enough oranges to make two liters of orange juice! You can mix your orange juice with water to taste if you wish. Also, if you would like to increase your caloric intake on this day, you may want to consider mixing in a little Maple Syrup.

As you are getting into The Lemonade Diet, you will want to flush out the toxins you are eliminating with this diet. There are two acceptable options for this since you won’t be eating foods that contain fiber to help you create a bowel movement. So, you can either take a nightly laxative or do the Salt Water Flush. If you chose the nightly laxative method, you should have taken your first laxative the night before day 1. However, if you have chosen the Salt Water Flush method, you do not need to do the Salt Water Flush on your first full day so you can begin drinking your lemonade right when you wake up.

Once you have completed the first three days of the Ease-In phase of the master cleanse diet, you can then begin the main phase of the diet, which is called The Lemonade Diet. You will wake up each morning and make your fresh lemonade. If you are doing the Salt Water Flush for your Daily Detox Bowel Movement, then you should consume your first glass of lemonade after your first bowel movement.

It is advised that you don’t pre-mix your lemonade. The longer the lemonade sits, the more enzymes die. You will be drinking anywhere from 6 to 12 glasses of lemonade a day. However, some people have consumed as many as 26 glasses in a day. How many glasses you drink depends on your calorie needs, your urges to eat, and your desire to lose weight. If you drink more, you will lose less weight. However, it is not advised to drink less than 6 glasses per day.

Lemonade Diet Ingredients:

Mix the following ingredients together in a tall glass.

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1/10 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 8oz. pure water

Aside from drinking your lemonade, you will also want to drink pure water throughout the day. This will cleanse your palate of the lemonade. Not only that, but consuming water will also continue the illusion that you are full. You can drink just as much pure water as you do lemonade. All of the liquids you consume during this diet is the reason why the diet is successful. Most people are dehydrated and eat when they are thirsty because they can’t differentiate between the cravings.

The Detox of The Master Cleanse Diet is done mainly through bowel movements. Therefore, inducing a bowel movement either by using a laxative or by doing the Salt Water Flush is vital to this diet. If you choose to go the Salt Water Flush route, you take a BPA free water bottle and mix in two teaspoons of sea salt to your pure water. Keep in mind that the Salt Water Flush must be done on an empty stomach. Shake up your mixture and chug! You don’t want to stop in the middle because you will then taste the sea salt, which will trigger your gag reflex. You need to keep the mixture down or it won’t work. Once you have finished the mixture, in under an hour you should produce a bowel movement. So, standby.

When it comes to the duration of the Lemonade Diet, it really depends on your goals, wants, and needs. The recommended minimum is 10 days. However, some people choose to go for longer. Keep in mind that the longer you continue the Lemonade Diet, the more challenging it will be. Two weeks is definitely more than sufficient, but the longest recorded is 372 days by Tom Woloshyn. Something some people do is 10 days on the diet and 10 days off for up to 2 months. This is called cleanse stacking.

When it comes to the Ease-Out phase of the Lemonade Diet, it is the exact same as the Ease-In phase. The only difference is that it is in reverse. You may be tempted to breeze through this phase, but it is advised that you don’t do that. If you rush into eating too soon, you can become nauseous. While you do the Ease-Out phase, it is important that you drink a lot of water. This will help to keep you from becoming constipated as you begin adding the fruit and vegetable juices back into your diet. So, go back to the Ease-In phase and perform it in reverse to complete the Ease-Out phase.

The most important thing you want to keep in mind once you complete the Master Cleanse Diet is to eat healthy. If you don’t eat wisely, you will only re-gain all of the weight you just dedicated yourself to losing. That will mean you will have just wasted your time and energy just to gain it all back. So, stick to a healthier lifestyle.

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Nikki Elkins wrote 15 articles on this blog.

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