Ever since Beyonce admitted to losing 20 pounds on the Master Cleanse—a fast that usually involves at least 10 days of sipping nothing but an elixir of maple syrup, lemon juice, water, and cayenne pepper—Hollywood has been buzzing about the weight-loss technique (also called the lemonade diet). The lemon supposedly acts as a purifier and provides bloat-reducing potassium, the cayenne pepper adds metabolism-boosting B vitamins, and the maple syrup provides the energy needed to get through such a grueling ordeal. “While I wouldn’t recommend doing something so drastic for more than a couple days, I can say it works if you want to quickly shed three to five pounds,” Peterson says. Another popular, less-dramatic cleanse is the 30-day Isagenix program, which involves eating about 1,000 calories a day in the form of shakes and snack bars that contain diuretics like aloe vera.
Verdict: Not so fast. “The first few days, you’re just losing water weight, which is why you may see the scale drop so quickly,” Taub-Dix says. “But it’s counterproductive—all this does is slow down your metabolism, so you’re more apt to regain weight once you stop.” The diuretics also dehydrate you, which is dangerous, especially if you’re working out a lot. “You can become deficient in crucial minerals like sodium and potassium, which affect heart function,” Crum says.
