How to Do the Lemon Diet

The Lemon Diet, also known as The Master Cleanse, is a popular detox diet that leads to rapid weight loss over the course of several days to about a week. It's an intense program that proponents of it swear by, so if you've always wondered what it is and how to follow it for a rapid weight loss in a short amount of time, see what's involved and how to do it.

Things You'll Need

• Spring water Grade B maple syrup Freshly squeezed lemon juice Cayenne pepper Sea salt

Tips

1. Clear your schedule if possible. The Lemon Diet isn't the type of plan you want to follow on vacation or during a hectic period. Instead, choose a time when you'll be relaxed, preferably at home or close to home.

2. Mix 12-14 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 12-14 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper into two liters of spring water. This mixture will last you all day.

3. Drink your 2-liter mixture during the day whenever you feel hunger pangs. It's better to sip small amounts at a time rather than chug a large amount, especially because the two liters have to last a full day. You can follow the lemon mixture with plain water if needed.

4. Make a salt water flush. Mix 1 tablespoon sea salt into one liter of water. Drink it all down. It may be difficult to drink it all at once, but the quicker you can drink it, the better. The reason it's best to follow this diet at home is because within an hour of drinking the salt water flush, you will have a bowel movement. The time can range from 30 to 60 minutes. You will probably want to stay close to the bathroom for a while to make sure you're finished. You may find it easier to make a salt water flush in the evening.

5. Follow the diet for 3 to 10 days. Drink the same amount of lemon mixture and salt water flush each day you're on the diet.

Diets for Rapid Weight Loss

Diets for rapid weight loss are tempting and exciting. However, they may not be the most nutritionally sound. Any health practitioner will tell you that a healthy weight loss is 2 lbs. a week. That's the kind of weight loss you can maintain. However, so many people are looking for a quick fix and there are several diets out there that will deliver--as long as you can stick to the eating plans!

South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet's creator, Dr. Arthur Agatston, probably wouldn't classify his eating plan as a diet for rapid weight loss because, in truth, over time, the weight loss evens out to a healthy 2 to 3 lbs. a week. It involves nutritionally balanced eating. However, the diet will cause you to lose between 8 and 13 lbs. in the first two weeks. That's rapid weight loss!

The South Beach Diet is known as the "healthy" version of the Atkins Diet. It focuses on good, complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, pastas and brown rice. There are three phases. In phase 1, most carbs and sugar must be avoided. This includes breads, pastas, grains, cereals and sugars. You eat meats, poultry, fish, nuts, cheese and vegetables for two weeks, while you lose between 8 and 13 lbs. After two weeks, you move on to phase 2, which allows a very limited number of carbs back into the diet. Stay on phase 2 until you've achieved your desired weight loss. Phase 3 is the maintenance plan for life.

hCG Diet
The hCG diet is designed for very rapid weight loss. You can lose about 1 to 2 lbs. every day! HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin, which is a hormone found in men and women. Its effect is the most profound in women during pregnancy because it increases their metabolism, allowing them to digest and metabolize the nutrients they need for themselves and their unborn babies.

The hCG diet combines taking hCG with a diet that's very low in calories. The hormone is given orally or by injection. If by injection, it must be administered and monitored by a health care practitioner. Adding salad and vegetables to meals will increase weight loss. You must also ingest a good amount of fiber and drink lots of water.

Cabbage Soup Diet
The Cabbage Soup Diet involves the unlimited eating of...cabbage soup! You can have as much as you want, along with unlimited water, but every other food is very limited. The plan claims you can lose up to 10 lbs. in seven days.

On day 1, eat cabbage soup plus a fruit, except for bananas. Drink black coffee, unsweetened tea, water and cranberry juice. On day 2, eat cabbage soup along with boiled, raw or steamed vegetables. Don't eat peas, corn or dry beans. For dinner, consume a baked potato with butter. On day 3, eat cabbage soup with other vegetables and fruit. day 4 consists of cabbage soup plus up to eight bananas and skim milk. On day 5 eat the soup, up to 450 grams of fish or meat and up to six tomatoes. Day 6 calls for the soup, plus vegetables and meat. Finally, on day 7, eat cabbage soup, 100 percent fruit juice, brown rice and vegetables.

How to Use Natural Alternatives to Diet Pills

Diet pills work on two levels to help you lose weight. They help curb hunger and increase your energy level. There are a number of problems with diet pills though, as they can cause dependency, stress the heart, disrupt the normal metabolic processes, cause anxiety and more. While natural alternatives to diet pills also work to curb hunger and increase energy, they are less likely to be harmful to your health or to cause dependency

Tips

1. Drink burdock tea between meals to help curb your appetite. A great natural alternative to diet pills, burdock can help with weight loss by reducing cravings, increasing metabolism and cleansing the lymphatic system. To make tea, simmer one ounce of burdock root for every quart of water for about twenty minutes.

2. Stop sugar cravings and increase energy with natural fennel and nettle tea, a great combination for weight loss. Boil about 3 cups of water and remove from heat before adding 1 tsp. of fennel seed and 2 tsp. of nettle leaves. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes before drinking. Do not drink more than 3 cups of fennel tea daily, as excessive doses may be harmful.

3. Strengthen your immune system and help curb hunger by taking flaxseed before meals. 1 tbsp. of powdered flaxseed added to juice or water before meals will help you eat less, as flaxseed expands up to five times once in your stomach. Flaxseed is also a great source of dietary fiber and is loaded with vitamins, proteins and other nutrients your body needs.

4. Increase energy and fat metabolism with the best diet pill alternative out there, green tea. You can drink as much green tea as you like throughout the day to boost your energy and aid in weight loss. Green tea is not only good for weight loss, it helps prevent cavities, protects the body from free radicals, lowers cholesterol, improves immune function and more.

5. Take all natural ginseng supplements each morning to help increase energy and lose weight. Ginseng offsets the anabolic and catabolic actions of fats or lipids, protein and carbohydrates, helping your body to burn calories more rapidly. Ginseng can also help to relieve stress and fatigue.