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This was what I did, and this was what happened…

First of all, a BIG disclaimer: Do your research before you do this – this is called the Lemonade Diet or Master Cleanse system, and you can easily google it. Make sure you know the advantages and disadvantages, the pros and cons, the positive and negative feedback before you try this… what may work for me may not work for you, so please do not sue me if you suddenly experience anything you’re unhappy about… I’m sharing this because people have been asking, and I would like to make it more convenient to me and them by just linking to this note on Facebook

I’m no expert on this, and I won’t claim to be, but all I’ll do is tell you what I know about it, what I did, what I felt, and what the results were.

WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO DO:
Without going into all the scientific mumbo jumbo, this process is supposed to cleanse your system, by getting rid of the toxins that accumulate in your intestines through the years. A couple years ago, someone once told me that the crap in your system contributes a lot to your weight… it wasn’t until a few months ago that I realized he was inadvertently speaking literally.

The benefit of this system is that it cleanses your body, gets rid of the toxins, and makes you less susceptible to diseases and other sicknesses. And the side effect of this is, of course, losing weight. You’ll be losing 1/2 to 1 pound each day with this if you don’t cheat.

(For those in the know, treat this as kind of like Glutathione, wherein its primary purpose is to essentially make the liver healthier, and the side effect is skin whitening, haha… you know what I mean!)

WHAT IT DID FOR ME:
I did this diet when I took a two-month vacation to Santa Fe, New Mexico with my brother (June 23 to August 21). I was 210 lbs when I weighed myself on the first day of this thing (June 29), and six weeks later I was 174 lbs (August 15). So essentially I lost 36 lbs total in six weeks before I went back to normal eating.

WHO SHOULD NOT DO THIS:
If you have a heart condition, or have acid reflux disease, or pretty much have an ailment that prevents you from drastically changing your eating habits, DO NOT DO THIS. 

Ingredients for the Lemonade Diet

INGREDIENTS:

(Note: This is my daily preparation)

(2) Lemons or Limes *
(14) Tablespoon maple syrup **
(1/4) Teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
(2) Liters water (preferably 2 1-liter bottles)

(Optional daily) ***
(2-3) Teaspoon Seasalt
(1) Liter water
(1) Glass herbal laxative tea
Adult Diaper (hehe)

* Do not use bottled or canned lemon/lime juice. Use “freshly squeezed”, as in squeeze it yourself
** Use “genuine” maple syrup, not maple-flavored sugar syrup, etc. And see if you can get Grabe B syrup – if not, it doesn’t matter
*** You can prepare this if you want the full cleanse effect (and if you can handle the taste… I couldn’t, so I didn’t do it everyday). Use Seasalt, not iodized salt, and only drink that seasalt solution when you have nothing else to do, because you’ll be making frequent trips to the toilet every 15-30 minutes. You can drink herbal laxative tea before you sleep so you won’t be interrupted by continued bowel movements. And the adult diaper? Well, this is just in case the bowel movements do not wake you up

DIRECTIONS:
1.) Mix the lemon/lime juice with 14 tbsp maple syrup and ¼ tsp cayenne (red) pepper in a large container, then pour 2 liters of water in it. Stir and mix well. If it has seeds, you can remove it.
2.) Pour the solution into 2 liters worth of bottles (i.e. 1 2-liter bottle, or 2 1-liter bottles, or 4 500-ml bottles, etc).
3.) This lemonade solution will be all you will drink for the whole day. NO SOLID FOODS, NO JUICE, NO SODA… and NO CHEATING!
4.) You are allowed to drink regular water during the day but nothing else.
5.) I found it best to prepare this the night before so you can refrigerate the lemonade solution. Do it before you sleep.
6.) It is best to drink the lemonade solution when you feel hunger pangs. Otherwise, just try your best to make the 2-liters worth of lemonade last you the entire day until you sleep… drink regular water to pace yourself.
7.) Do not watch the Food Network or Cooking shows, hehe.

WHEN AND HOW OFTEN SHOULD I DO THIS:
You will need to prepare and drink this solution during the weekdays (Mon-Fri), and eat regularly (but sensibly) during the weekends. I myself ate only chicken/turkey breast, soup and cantaloupe. And try your best to avoid eating RICE or BREAD.

The minimum time to do this is 10 days (two weeks), and the maximum is 40 days (eight weeks). I did it for six weeks and lost 36 pounds total (210 to 174). Your results may vary.

WHAT DO I DO AFTER THIS:
After you have finished this diet, you would need to eat very sensibly and watch what you eat, otherwise, the pounds you lost will come back REALLY fast. I stuck with my chicken/turkey breast, soup and cantaloupe meal for two weeks following this and I only gained back about 2 lbs before I started doing P90X.

Continue avoiding rice or bread the best you can, and stay away from soda. Consider this as a starting point, a blank slate, and what happens from here is up to you.

CAN I WORK OUT WHILE DOING THIS:
I would strongly suggest against it, especially if you want to do some strength training and rigorous cardio. This diet won’t give you enough protein, carbs, calories, etc and your body will need it when you work out. Hence, if you try working out rigorously while doing this, you might crash or your body will start eating into your muscle mass coz it can’t find anything else to eat… 

So what can you do? I walked about 2-5 miles a day when I did this… walked, not ran… 

IS THIS A STARVATION DIET OR A PLACEBO DIET:
Since you’re basically supplying your body with the needed nutrients and nothing else, it isn’t technically a starvation diet. As for being a placebo diet, you don’t need to “think” you will lose weight in order for this to work – your body will do it for you. As I said, weight loss is just a side effect, not the purpose of this diet…

IT’S TOO HARD or IT TASTES GROSS or I DON’T SEE ANY CHANGES:
Iif you begin to feel sick or it starts affecting your work or daily activities, consider STOPPING the diet. The first week will be the hardest, so if you can “survive” the first week, the rest will be easier… As for the taste, it is like sweet lemonade with a pepper aftertaste, nothing you will barf (at least, I didn’t). As for the changes, as I said, your results may vary. If you are more than 30 lbs overweight, you will see MORE changes than if you were only 10 lbs overweight.

LAST WORD:
Again, try this at your own risk. Do your research. Google it. Hell, try to contradict or debunk me, I don’t care. I know it worked for me, and I’m telling you what I did. If it works for you, congratulations. If it doesn’t, at least you tried. If you think it’s too hokey to try, then don’t. It’s a free country.

Post a comment if you have any questions or if you think I missed something. And GOOD LUCK!

Technorati: cleanse, diet, lemonade, master