Water With Lemon For Weight Loss: Beyonce Used the Master Cleanse. Should You?

The habit of drinking water with lemon for weight loss came about as a result of the Master Cleanse, which came out in the late 1970s. The master cleanse consists of 6 to 12 glasses a day of: 


*8 oz of water
*Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed, from ½ a lemon)
*Maple Syrup (2 tbsp)
*Cayenne Pepper (1/10 tsp)

You can mix enough for each glass, or make a pitcher of it for all-say drinking. You’re supposed to drink a glass whenever you’re hungry, instead of eating food, for at least 10 days. The lemon cleanses your system; the water makes your body function better; and the maple syrup is supposed to give you the calories you need. Goodness only knows what the cayenne pepper does.

But you read that right: Nothing but this mixture for a week and a half. While it’s not touted as a weight loss plan, drinking nothing but basically lemonade for that length of time is going to make you lose some weight.

The Master Cleanse “diet” has most recently been in the press following an interview with Beyonce, who drank this concoction during the filming of Dreamgirls in order to lose weight quickly, per the arc of her character (based on the tiny Diana Ross). She professed to hate it and eat massive quantities of junk food afterward.

While many fans of the Master Cleanse were upset at her misrepresentation of the fasting regimen, others saw it as yet another fad diet that stars use to stay as skinny as possible.
 It should be noted here that this is NOT a recommended weight loss plan. It’s a specific, and some say risky, body cleansing ritual that should only be performed after carefully reading up on the research, and consulting with your doctor.

That being said, while drinking water with lemon in and of itself will not make you lose weight, it’s not a myth.

Many experts say that it boosts your immune system, gives you your daily dose of vitamin C and can help your digestive system process and eliminate the waste that can build up in the intestines.

Some swear by warm water with lemon; others find cold water better.  There really is no difference, but it’s always recommended to drink it first thing in the morning, before eating anything, to get its full benefits.

If you’re not a big fan of drinking the recommended amount of 100 ounces of water a day to help you lose weight, adding some lemon juice to the glasses or bottles you drink can make it tastier, and will make you want to drink more of it.

So, if life is handing you lemons, do you make lemonade? It certainly looks that way to the Master Cleansers of the world.  While it doesn’t seem like the safest thing you could ever try to do, absolutely nothing should stop you from drinking water with lemon for weight loss success.