Lemon Diet: Operation, Menus & Notice

[Article updated on 19/09/2023]

The lemon diet is a very popular diet program that allows you to lose weight in a week starting with a 3-day crash diet. You can even lose 3 kg in 7 days. So it’s a perfect diet for those who want to get a last-minute flat stomach or lose weight in time to face the swimsuit ordeal. But how does the lemon diet work? How to introduce it into your menu? What are the advantages ? Are there any contraindications?

Lemon diet, how does it work?

The British Theresa Cheung is the creator of the lemon diet. This diet has become famous around the world because several stars have reported using it to lose weight and stay in shape. This diet benefits from the draining and detoxifying effect of lemon. Used correctly, this fruit is able to ward off the feeling of hunger and cure cellulite.

During the diet, patients are not allowed to consume excessive amounts of food. However, in its normal functioning, the body uses carbohydrates from the food ingested to provide the energy necessary for daily functions. In the absence of these carbohydrates, the body begins to burn fat stored in the body to release energy, leading to weight loss.

Tips for following the lemon diet effectively?

Before you start, you should keep in mind that this citrus fruit will not destroy fats on its own or prevent the body from storing them. It actually breaks down the molecules that make up fat so that it is easier for the body to eliminate them.

Lemon water, the basis of the diet

One of the first keys to carrying out this diet in a healthy way is to drink a glass of warm water with lemon every day on an empty stomach. Try not to use any type of sweetener. The only thing you can do if you notice that the lemon juice is too intense is to reduce the amount of juice.

An alkaline body is healthier and more effective at burning fat. It is one of the best fat burners natural. However, lemon is alkaline once in the body. This is why lemon is considered an essential food to balance your pH and alkalize the body. So don’t hesitate to dress your salads by replacing the vinegar with a dash of lemon.

It has an almost immediate diuretic effect. You will fight water retention and constipation. You will have better digestion and optimize liver function thanks to its high antioxidant content. And if you have a healthy liver, this will be a key to losing weight more easily.

Supplements for a successful lemon diet

The lemon diet should be complemented by a varied and balanced diet, in which an adequate intake of proteins, vitamins and minerals is essential. Leading an active lifestyle will also be key. You don’t need to go to the gym every day but you need to move your body so you can burn fat effectively and healthily. You do not need to follow a very restrictive diet that will endanger your health. Simply, lemon will improve your digestion and take care of your liver health. You will better cleanse toxins with lemon, fight water retention, weaken fat molecules and eliminate them.

Lemon diet: what to eat?

The particularity of the lemon diet is that you have to take a specific drink prepared from the following ingredients every day:

• 30cl of water
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• A pinch of cayenne pepper

The resulting lemonade or lemonade should be drunk as soon as you wake up, just before going to sleep but also immediately after the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. The lemon diet also includes other foods throughout the day, mainly yogurt, fresh and dried fruits, oatmeal, vegetable salad, wholemeal bread, soups, legumes, fish , chicken breast, eggs, bread and wholemeal pasta.

It is therefore a low-calorie diet in which, in summary, it is possible to take mainly:

• lemon juice;
• yogurt;
• fresh fruit;
• dried fruits;
• oatmeal;
• almonds;
• soup;
• legumes;
• Fish;
• from the lawyer;
• eggs;
• wholemeal pasta;
• olive oil;
• chicken breast;
• whole wheat bread.

Most

The lemon diet significantly reduces daily calorie intake. This induces short-term weight loss. It is therefore recommended for healthy people who want to lose weight very quickly for certain specific circumstances. Lemon water or lemonade acts as a powerful appetite suppressant and efficient.

The benefits of the lemon diet are closely related to those of the fruit. In fact, lemon is an excellent ally, so much so that it can be called a superfood. Among its many properties is its draining power: it helps fight cellulite. Lemon is also one of the most detoxifying foods. It is therefore perfect for the detox diet, a quick tip to purify the body by regenerating it. This explains why the lemon diet is so successful.

The lessers

Like all quick and trendy diets, the lemon diet also has negative points. Most of the time it is not balanced. It offers rapid weight loss which unfortunately will not be maintained in the long term.

But the real problem is that this diet does not promote correct dietary education. It does not offer a way to eat healthily and sustainably in the long term. In addition, if you follow it for too long, since the lemon diet does not provide all the nutrients useful to the body. You may experience fatigue, bad mood, difficulty concentrating, headaches and other symptoms.

Note that excessive use of lemon juice can ultimately damage tooth enamel and accentuate pre-existing gastritis.

Effectiveness of the lemon diet

Modified many times, the lemon diet has featured prominently in magazines for over fifty years. It has several names and is coming back into fashion because it is followed by several VIPs. There are many variations of the lemon diet. These range from extreme diets based exclusively on lemon juice to “acceptable” variations that include other types of foods.

The lemon diet promises rapid weight loss in about a week. This suits stars like Beyoncé who may need a trick or a safe way to lose weight quickly in order to honor a fee. But objectively there is no scientific proof (unlike other diets like Cretan diet) showing any beneficial effect of this type of diet on health.

Often the focus is solely on the result: rapid and dramatic weight loss. But here again, there is a catch. In fact, you will lose weight but not body fat. What you lose so quickly is mostly water. And if the lemon diet, which mimics fasting, lasts very long, you risk losing part of your lean muscle mass, in addition to fluids. So you are losing weight but incorrectly. In fact, this weight loss is potentially harmful because your body fat remains virtually intact. But it is fat that you want to lose by following a diet!

Duration of the diet

The lemon diet must be done for five days. In some cases, the duration can be up to seven days. You should not go beyond seven days, since it is a deficient diet, which can cause damage to the body if carried out for longer. It should in no case be repeated before two months and, it must be taken into account that the weight can be regained quickly after stopping it.

Typical day, weekly menu and recipes

	Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Monday	about half an hour before lemonade then yogurt (also vegetable), 2 tablespoons of oatmeal and fruit	fresh fruit and lemonade	vegetable soup with wholemeal bread	dried fruits and lemonade	fish with vegetables seasoned with lemon juice
Tuesday	about half an hour before lemonade then fruit salad, barley coffee and a few almonds	raw vegetables and lemonade	lemon risotto	dried fruits and lemonade	chicken breast with vegetables seasoned with lemon juice
Wednesday	about half an hour before lemonade then fruit salad and toast	fresh fruit and lemonade	bean salad with vegetables seasoned with lemon juice	fresh cheese, raw vegetables and lemonade	omelet with vegetables seasoned with lemon juice and whole wheat bread
THURSDAY	about half an hour before lemonade then oats, fruit and yogurt	a handful of almonds and lemonade	wholemeal pasta with vegetables	fresh fruit and lemonade	lentils, salad and wholemeal bread
Friday	about half an hour before lemonade then fresh fruit and wholemeal bread	raw vegetables and lemonade	wholemeal pasta with tuna and vegetables seasoned with lemon	dried fruits and lemonade	fish with vegetables seasoned with lemon juice
SATURDAY	about half an hour before lemonade then yogurt (also vegetable), 2 tablespoons of oatmeal and fruit	almonds and lemon juice	toast and vegetable soup	fresh cheese and raw vegetables, lemonade	white meat with vegetables garnished with lemon juice
Sunday	about half an hour before lemonade then fruit salad with lemon	dried fruits and lemonade	whole grain rice with vegetables	raw vegetables and lemonade	low-fat cheese with vegetables and wholemeal bread

Every day, before bedtime, you should have lemonade. There are many ways to prepare your lemonade. You will find some ideas at the end of the Bright Side video.

Opinions of health professionals on the lemon diet

Health professionals say that this diet is very restrictive, very low-calorie and unbalanced because it does not offer the right amounts of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). No, as soon as you finish the diet, you regain the lost weight because it is too rigid a diet.

Another point not to be underestimated is the inconvenience caused by this “miraculous” diet. You are forced to drink lemonade for days and alternatives to solid foods (if they exist) are rare. With such a diet you risk being constantly hungry and you will be tired very often. Some people may experience even less pleasant side effects like fainting, headaches, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, damage to tooth enamel, and even a permanent goodbye to good mood. .

Why be so uncomfortable? Dieting doesn’t have to be painful for the body. A diet cannot be reduced only to a calculation of calories and a result which must arrive in a very short time. These same goals can be achieved by working with a nutritionist who can develop more practical alternatives. A nutritionist can answer your questions and help you feel better about your body. Together you will begin a journey that will lead to an improvement in your diet and lifestyle.

Health professionals do not recommend this diet, especially for people with pathologies and people belonging to more sensitive categories such as children, pregnant or breastfeeding women and the elderly.

Consumer reviews

Michaël in Rhône et Alpes claims that the lemon diet is the best lifestyle change he has observed. He specifies that his blood pressure has fallen to normal levels, that he has lost 5 kilograms in 3 months and that his cholesterol level has dropped drastically. He maintains that it is a little expensive to follow this diet, but that with a little intelligence you can save money on your shopping.

On Youtube, Dorien testifies (in reaction to Dr Cohen’s criticism): “it works, I lost 6 kilograms in a few weeks”. Catherine, in Auvergne, says that since following a lemon diet, she has lost 6 kilograms. His doctor noticed that his cholesterol level had improved. Her hair has become much longer and she feels healthier. She notes that her skin has cleared up and her energy level has increased significantly. She highly recommends the lemon diet to anyone who is sick.

Also read:

• Mayo Diet