Angel, don't worry about it. It was probably just messed up tags. It happens. The hyperlink was so long it forced the page to display so wide most people had to scroll from side to side to read each line in each post. Whatever did it is gone now, so thanks. This is an interesting thread.

Bella82, I'm not siding with or against anyone, but did want to mention that you can't prove a negative, which may be why there are no scientific studies to prove the benefits of the master cleanse. They know they can't prove that it is any more beneficial than changing to a healthy diet. You say that the good health you feel afterward is just as important as scientific medicine, and I agree, but a placebo can create the same feelings of wellness in people who are told they are being given a magic pill for their ills.

I tend to think anything that is being sold without evidence to back up it's benefits, is pretty much a magic pill and all marketing...but then I'm very cynical about marketing and hype. But maybe some day they will do the tests to prove the MC helps. And maybe it does help...just as much as three or ten days of eating and drinking healthy, as photo chick stated.

Let me start by saying my father was extremely overweight. He learned about master cleanse from a person in Colorado, read the book and new it would take something drastic to get him started down the right path.

He did the entire program to the exact instructions of the book, lost around 40 pounds at the end of the program. He kept to the program somewhat, eliminating all meat, cheese and some carbs from his diet. In the end he lost 75 pounds and has kept it off.

My father will tell you that it is not for everyone, and is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to stick with. You are basically limiting your calorie intake to around 500-800 a day, which would make almost anyone lose weight.

I will say this, my father swears that eliminating meat from his diet was the best thing he has ever done for his body. For him, it was what he needed to get started down a path which has ultimately led to a healthier lifestyle. Again, I would say it is not for everyone, you have to be mentally prepared to fast for 10 WHOLE DAYS. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Good luck!

Just to add angel, you said your grandmother has colon cancer (sorry to hear it) but I'm guessing she is over 50 at least, and the rate of having cancer increases from when you turn 50 Which is why you know when you turn 40 you have to start doing regular mammograms and I believe it's 50 when they say you should get a colon exam and so on

I did that 48 hour miracle diet once- I lost ilke 7 lbs, but gained it all back after time- I'm sure it's cuz not eating for two days totally cleaned me out!

I don't think these cleanses and so on do much except to make the natural process go a bit faster for a day or two. Your liver and kidneys are excellent at keeping your body "clean." As long as you are regular I'd say don't worry about it- but if you'd like to do a cleanse to get started on your program then go for it- I did the fat smash diet 9 day detox (you get to eat food) and I lost like 5 lbs in 9 days- it was great

Boy is this a can of worms.

I did a 14-day cleanse a couple of years ago. I do think there is something to it. When you aren't eating solids for two weeks but still have solids coming out... I think that says something...

I know this is an old thread, but I will chime in as a detox advocate.

I was diagnosed with IBS, which is really code for "we don't know what the **** is wrong with your colon, but good luck with that." I usually oscillate between diarrhea and constipation. I have found detoxes to be helpful *to me*.

But, the Master Cleanse and taking clay supplements? No f'ing way. Good old fashioned organic fruits and veggies, no meat, hot water with lemon, and fiber supplementation (ground flaxseed) works wonders for me. I usually add back in starches and meats, but do "detox" about 4 times a year. I also get colonics once a month, but won't get started on that. I know y'all will have a field day with those... :-)

I don't mean to copy something I've said before but it sums up my feeling on the matter and why you don't need a 'detox'.

I think you can 'detox' by eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, basically just an overall healthy diet.

If you are having constant bloating, constipation, etc, then that is an issue. If you are eating a 'clean' diet, it could be that something in your diet is causing it such as dairy, wheat gluten, etc. Oftentimes when people do a total elimination detox diet, they feel better because they aren't eating something they are unknowingly allergic to. I've never had constipation but I have had some bloating and can link it back to specific things I ate.

Has anyone here tried it? I've been doing a lot of research about it and it seems like there's not that many negatives or bad experiences that I've heard of so far. It's not only a diet, but also a cleanse, so I'd supposedly be detoxing my entire body of toxins and getting rid of old POOP. lol.. One of the websites I've been reading that has a lot of information about the cleanse is TheLemonadeSite.com.

If anyone has done it and wants to share there experience, I'd be greatful..

My mum did this and found herself feeling really light headed and ill because of how low her calorie intake was. She did it for 3 days and gave up on the 4th when she almost passed out at work.

I personally don't like the concept of it as a diet simply because, it's not something you can maintain for very long plus it promotes the use of laxatives! I find it quite dodgy that they want you to drink 2 cups of laxative tea a day, to be honest I would rather have a high fibre intake

HOWEVER, I do in actual fact have a glass of the master cleanse (cayenne pepper, lemon juice and grade b maple syrup) every morning before I leave the house. But I'd never do the 'diet', & prefer to detox my body by eating whole foods.

Well... if I can be blunt... why not just flush your money directly down the toilet?

What do you think you'll do when you're finished with this? If you go back to your regular eating, any weight lost will pop right back on.

I generally stay away from all of these "cleansers" and diet aids. In my experience they do very little, and weight loss is really about changing eating and exercise habits.

Jay

Hi! That was the last diet I tried before I started my WL journey. I ws headed to Mexico and wanted to shed some pounds and even though I only managed 3 days I did lose weight. I also weighed more when I got back from Mexico than I left......So I went to Weight Watchers

I'm a little embarrassed to say that i did try this once- a lot of people around me were doing it as a "cleanse." After 3 or 4 days i had a wicked yeast infection- my friends told me it was part of the cleansing, like my body was getting rid of this excess, built up yeast- just crazy! maple syrup and lemon juice is not a balanced diet, and throws your body out of balance! your body gets rid of its "poop" quite well on its own- its designed to do that- and healthy eating- veggies, fruits, fiber- will support that better than a fast or extreme "diet." your body gets rid of "toxins" just fine through elimination, sweat, etc. healthy foods dont add toxins, so taking them away doesn't help anything.

i think it is appealing because it is extreme, and we tell ourselves, "oh, once i get all this out of my system, ill be healthy and start fresh." but we haven't done anything to change our habits or learn how to eat well in the long term. my friends who did this "cleanse" went right back to drinking, smoking, partying, eating crap. most of them don't make it past 4 days, even though they insisted that they felt GREAT doing it.

anyway, i don't mean to be harsh- as i said, i've been lured by the appeal of extremes. with this "diet," you don't have to make any decisions about what you eat- you just drink this lemonade, that's it. that seems like it will make it so easy! too easy. really, this doesn't work for health or long term weight loss. there is no magic formula to lemon and maple syrup.

but if you decide to try it, it won't kill you- but don't expect too much, and keep the monistat handy! and really, good luck with your weight loss goals!!

The first 3 or 4 days of any diet is usually a great whoosh as far as weight loss. In the few days as you have been "researching" this lemonade diet, hopefully you have reduced your calories and moved a bit more, because the results will be probably the same...and for FREE!

I did the master cleanse twice actually first time I did it for ten days and the second I did it for eighteen. The first time I went on it I lost about twenty pounds and the second time I only lost ten. That was at the beginning of this year and surprisingly I have only gained back like four pounds. I didn't get light headed or really feel sick at all and I actually felt light and energetic.It does work but it takes a lot of discipline and you can't just go back to eating like you used to. I did it to cleanse my body because I was going vegan again and that's the important part it's a cleanse not a diet. It's not really aimed for weight loss but that is one of the better side effects hahah. It's funny though when it comes to extreme things like the master cleanse or going vegan I can do it but dieting is a nightmare for me.

I did the master cleanse too, and given another chance I wouldn't have done it takarixvx is correct in saying that it's more of a cleanse than a diet. What are your goals? If u view it as a diet, everyone else is right, you are better off with exercise and watching what you eat. Save for some rare cases, you do gain everything back, as the weight loss especially for the first 3 days is water loss. Good luck on your plan!

Your body is self-cleaning - cleanses are unnecessary if you're eating a balanced diet, especially if you're eating plenty of natural fiber from fruits and vegetables (fiber is sometimes called "nature's broom," because it DOES keep the digestive tract clean).

Also, researchers have found no signs of the so-called "toxins" excreted by these cleanses. There's been no difference in the compositiion of the sweat, urine, feces, saliva or livers of people using the cleanses and the control group.

Your liver is your detoxing organ, and your body does a fine job of using it.

Cleanses do little but clean out your wallet. Yet many people who have taken them swear by them, and why? Because they often feel "better" during and afterward. Some report feeling "lighter," and having more energy, and just feeling "cleaner" inside.

There are rational explanations for this. Perhaps the most powerful is the placebo effect - people believe they work, so they "feel" them working. Studies have shown that the more a person pays for a "cure" (in terms of money, time, effort...), the more likely they are to experience what they expected to. A couple other phsyiological explanations are endorphin release. Making any very dramatic change in diet or exercise, releases endorphins (the body's natural narcotic). Because the body experiences the change as an "attack," pain-relieving chemicals are released, resulting in a mild euphoric state. Some cleanses actually cause physiological damage, which releases even more endorphins - so the sign that the cleanse is "working" may actually be a sign that it is hurting you. It's a mild enough damage, that generally a person has no lasting ill effects, so it reinforces the idea that the cleanse "worked" and was a good thing.

Another physiological effect that can seem "good" at least when it's mild, is light-headedness (usually caused by the very low caloric intake). It can feel pleasant until it is extreme enough to affect balance or turns into dizziness or nausea.

People who have had good experiences with cleanses, are very difficult to convince that the cleanses are at best worthless, and at worst harmful. They can't believe that it didn't do something terrific for them. And maybe the psychological effects are worth it to them, so maybe I'm being overly cynical. But, because some of them are actually dangerous, I think it's extremely important to be very suspicious and skeptical of "cleanses," especially those that involve opening your wallet.