Have you ever heard of the lemonade diet? Or The Master Cleanse? They are one in the same, but a few years ago when prepping for our wedding I decided I wanted to give it a try. If you’ve ever wondered what the heck The Master Cleanse is, then today you’re in luck. I’m talking about what it is, why on earth I did it, & my thoughts about ever doing it again.
WTF is The Master Cleanse?
If you’re a Beyoncé or Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fan, then you’ve probably heard of The Master Cleanse AKA The Lemonade Diet. If you’re not a fan of either, you might need to reevaluate. I kid, I kid. Remember Bey dropping 20ish pounds for her role in Dream Girls? This is how she did it. Yolanda Foster & Gigi Hadid have been known to do the Master Cleanse regularly. Yolanda talked about it on an episode of RHOBH. Gigi has talked about it often, as she has said she’d rather do something intense for a week or ten days, then be miserable eating only salad for months. A girl after my own foodie heart! More on that in the next section.
The Master Cleanse is essentially a drink that you consume for a set number of days. Some say you need to do it for a week or ten days. I did it for four because that is what my calendar allowed & I was really doing a trial run of it.
The Recipe + What You Need & Tips
The Master Cleanse drink recipe is as follows:
- 8 ounces of purified water
- 2 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup*
- 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
*Most maple syrups will now say “formerly Grade B.’ It’s different from regular ole maple syrup because it is more nutrient rich & healthier, & therefore, more expensive. You must use Grade B or equivalent. Be sure to check!
I linked up all the specific ingredients for you all above or you can buy everything you need in a bundle here. Suja also makes some pre-made Master Cleanse juices, which is nice for being on the run. They aren’t the exact recipe, but pretty darn close. I recommend buying glass bottles & premixing your beverages to make it easier. You can premix everything except the cayenne pepper. If you mix it in ahead of time, it will only get more & more spicy as it sits. Premix the drinks for a day or two at a time & add the cayenne just before drinking it.
Is The Lemonade Drink All You Consume?
If you’re wondering if the lemonade drink is all you consume while on The Master Cleanse, then the short answer is ‘Yes.’ You also start out your days with a salt water flush where you mix 2 teaspoons of celtic sea salt with a liter of water & chug. I barely got through half of this each morning without gagging & wondering what I was doing with my life. Basically, you will do this to quickly prompt your body into going to the bathroom since you aren’t consuming food (AKA fiber) that prompts a BM & helps your body get rid of all the toxins. Lovely. You will do this each morning right when you wake up.
At night, just before bed, you drink a cup of this ‘Smooth Move‘ detox tea to help you out, too. Some people who do the cleanse longer say they will have soup for one meal a day or juices & smoothies. It all depends on how long you are doing it & what your goals are!
Why Do a Master Cleanse?
Ummm hello?! Did you skip above where I said that Beyoncé & Gigi Hadid have done it? Who doesn’t want to look like them? But really, I wanted to do this in preparation for my wedding. If you follow my blog or Instagram regularly, then you know I’m a big fan of the Whole 30. I love how the Whole 30 detoxes me slowly, naturally, & in a healthy way. My skin is glowing by the end & my healthy habits are reset. The Master Cleanse is more of a ‘Omgosh I have something big coming up & I need to get it in gear quick’ sort of thing. Or, if you want to jumpstart major weight loss. The reason I did it was that I wanted to trial it before our wedding to see how it went for me personally.
I thought doing this when I had a few days off work already was the best time for me to do this because I could sleep half the day & only had to interact minimally with other humans. I get to be a little something known as hangry & I didn’t want to risk taking out my hanger in the wrong way (joking, but also.. sort of serious). Personally, I am a bit of an extremist, so I tend do well with things like this that are more short lived & specific.
Would I Do it Again?
The Master Cleanse is effective. I did not weigh myself because I don’t own a scale (read more on why I don’t own a scale), but I was noticeably slimmer & had basically no bloat. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel as weak, tired, sluggish, or hangry as I expected. I had a few moments where I just wanted to say screw it & order a pizza, but I have those feelings on days where I just eat a salad for lunch, so nothing out of the ordinary for me. The worst parts? In my opinion the saltwater flush & the fact that there is no variety in flavor. I do love me some lemonade, especially when it is hot outside, & I actually am fine with the taste of this, but when that is ALL you’re having, it gets old fast. I think it would be more sustainable & less boring if I added in other juices to get some different flavors in.
All in all, it’s pretty intense, but it is a fast & effective way to slim down. To each their own, but unless I really feel like I need to slim down quick or get super off track & want fast results, I may not do it again. Time will tell!
Feel free to reach out with any questions if you have them. I’m happy to answer what I can! If you do it and lose motivation, just watch Gigi Hadid in the VS Fashion Show & some Beyoncé music videos or Dream Girls & you should be able to get back on track.
I would love to know if you’ve tried The Master Cleanse or any other similar cleanse and what your thoughts & results were. XO
