Benefits of the drink for weight loss
The mechanism of action of a citrus cocktail on the body lies in its ability to trigger several important processes.
This tool helps:
speed up bowel cleansing;- improve digestion
- saturate the body with valuable substances, increase immunity;
- speed up the burning of carbohydrates;
- activate the process of breaking down toxins and removing them from the body;
- cleanse the blood and internal organs of toxins and heavy metals.
Due to the fact that lemon water can increase the body's defenses, overall well-being improves.
Resistance not only to colds, but also to nervous system disorders increases.
Therefore, daily consumption of lemon drink promotes stress resistance, improves mood, and eliminates depressive conditions. Useful information : Since lemon has a diuretic effect, regular consumption of water with citrus juice will quickly remove excess fluid from the body and get rid of swelling. And thanks to this action, you can lose 2-3 extra pounds in just 1 month.
Diet
If you decide to use lemon water to get rid of extra pounds, but are afraid of the side effects of an excess of citrus fruits, you should try a seven-day diet. The idea is to drink three liters of water daily with the addition of lemon juice. Follow this regimen for 7 days. During this time, you can realistically lose 3-5 kilograms.
The meaning of the diet:
- Dilute lemon juice and water in equal proportions. Drink 220 ml of the mixture in the morning before eating. After use, be sure to rinse your mouth.
- During the diet, you should only consume dietary foods. In the process of losing weight, there should not be a deficiency of any substances in the body. Therefore, meat and fish cannot be excluded. Use only dietary varieties.
- Dinner is replaced with a miracle drink, adding honey to the composition.
Important! For weight loss, use only fresh lemon. Otherwise, it will not have a beneficial effect.
Contraindications
Since lemon contains many acids, its regular consumption can have a negative effect on the body of people suffering from the following diseases:
- cystitis;
- gastric ulcer, pancreatitis, gastritis;
- gallstones;
- diabetes;
- kidney and liver diseases.
The drink should be consumed with caution in the following conditions:
- pregnancy
- frequent heartburn;
- severe tooth sensitivity, weak enamel;
- allergy to lemons;
- increased stomach acidity;
- severe dehydration of the body;
- blood pressure changes;
- severe obesity.
Advice: If you have the listed diseases or conditions, you should consult your doctor before drinking lemon water.
If you experience any discomfort while taking a course using lemon water, you should stop using it.
Patterns of use
How to drink lemon water to lose weight? There are several options, differing in duration and total volume of fluid required per day. The choice should be taken into account the state of health, that is, the individual characteristics of the body, and the amount of excess weight.
The rules for drinking citrus liquid remain the same in any case:
- To find out whether it is possible to lose weight this way, before starting the “marathon” you should visit a gastroenterologist or nutritionist. Only a specialist will give a definite answer as to whether this method of combating excess weight is suitable in each specific case.
- Only pure filtered liquid is suitable for making cocktails. Mineral cannot be used due to the presence of minerals that react with citrus acid and have an unpredictable effect on the body.
- Before taking a cocktail, you need to take care of the quality of the lemon. It should be fresh and elastic, have a bright sunny color and a pleasant smell. Immediately before use it is washed. Do not use spoiled product!
- Warm water, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the stomach and the body as a whole, is the best choice for preparing a fat-burning cocktail. Too hot (boiling water) can be used in some recipes, but cold is completely excluded because it inhibits metabolism.
- To enhance the effectiveness of the solution and speed up weight loss, you can play sports. Physical activity will help you burn more subcutaneous fat and use up the carbohydrates you get from food many times faster.
In the morning
The easiest way to use a fat-burning composition for weight loss is to drink a glass in the morning on an empty stomach. This should be done immediately after waking up. By the way, this is an excellent remedy for stimulating appetite, which means it is useful for everyone who is trying to accustom the body to a proper breakfast for body correction.
Despite the variety of recipes for water with citrus, the classic one is suitable for morning drinking. How to do it? Add a slice of the product to a glass of hot liquid and leave for 30 minutes. Drink on an empty stomach, after which eat a fresh citrus slice (this point can be omitted, especially if you have stomach problems).
To make weight loss more intense, you can supplement your morning fluid intake with your afternoon and evening fluid intake, drinking a glass half an hour before lunch and dinner. And to achieve maximum effectiveness, you should drink a glass of the drink at night, half an hour before bedtime. By the way, you don’t have to prepare a cocktail every time. It is much easier to do this in advance: a whole lemon is crushed in a meat grinder along with the peel, and the resulting pulp is added to a glass of warm water before use (the volume of the pulp is divided by 4 times).
The given weight loss scheme is designed for 2-3 weeks (at least 10 days). During this time you can lose from 2 to 6 kg. It all depends on nutrition and physical activity.
You can repeat the weight loss, but only after 1 month. An important point: if you experience abdominal discomfort, heartburn, dizziness or nausea while using the program, it is better to abandon it.
As part of the diet
There are several effective diets for losing weight using fat-burning liquid. Schemes for its administration and duration vary, but the principles of nutrition are the same:
- Include fruits and vegetables in your menu every day.
- Introduce nuts into your diet, which neutralize sucrose and fructose due to their fatty acid content.
- Eat red meat (beef or veal).
- Eat fish as often as possible.
- Do not overeat, eat food 4-5 times a day in small portions.
- Refrain from eating 2-3 hours before bedtime.
How to lose weight faster using the program? Forget about products that are strictly prohibited:
- fried and fatty;
- bakery products;
- potatoes and other starchy vegetables;
- sweets and sugar;
- butter;
- semi-finished products;
- canned food;
- fast food;
- sweet carbonated drinks and alcohol.
For 2 days
A two-day diet using refreshing water is more like a fasting day, helping to urgently lose weight by 1-3 kilograms. Both days include the consumption of 1.5 liters of kefir and 750 ml of water with lemon. Moreover, you need to drink almost simultaneously - first 0.5 liters of kefir, then 250 ml of citrus solution. If you are really hungry, you can eat an orange or an apple.
Is this diet healthy? Yes, because it looks like a good incentive to start a longer weight loss program. It thoroughly cleanses the body of toxins and starts the fat burning process. In addition, in just a few days it is possible to accustom the body to satiation with small amounts of food.
Another option for a two-day fast is to use water with citrus and honey for weight loss. Again, any products are excluded. You need to drink a specially prepared composition. The recipe is:
- squeeze juice from 15 citrus fruits;
- mix with 3 liters of water;
- add 50 grams of honey and mix.
The specified volume is drunk within one day, and the next day a fresh cocktail is prepared. Additionally, you are allowed to drink unsweetened green tea. Possible weight – 2-3 kg. In addition to losing weight by accelerating metabolism and cleansing the body, lemon-honey liquid has a positive effect on the condition of the gallbladder.
Water with citrus and honey will be especially effective if you drink it in one gulp.
For 14 days
A two-week diet with lemon water is called a hard diet. The point is not in dietary restrictions (the diet must correspond to that described above), but in the very pattern of drinking the drink. It is like this:
- First day: a glass of warm liquid and one citrus juice.
- Second: two glasses of warm water and the juice of two lemons.
- Third: three by three.
- Fourth: four by four.
- Fifth: five by five.
- Sixth: six by six.
- Seventh: three by three, plus an additional tablespoon of honey (divided into all doses).
- Days eight to fourteen: the pattern of the first seven days is repeated.
The most difficult part of this diet is the need to consume the given amount of drink at one time. Not everyone who is losing weight can do this, so in exceptional cases the volume can be divided into several times.
What are the benefits of a diet for losing weight? Results. The probable weight in two weeks (subject to proper nutrition and physical activity) ranges from 3 to 7 kg.
Particular attention is paid to exiting the program. First of all, the diet should be replenished with dishes of stewed vegetables, soups and seafood (shrimp, mussels). After a few days, you can add vegetables with starch and fermented milk products. A prerequisite is an adequate drinking regime (in addition to plain water, fresh fruit and vegetable juices without sugar and salt are required). Solid food is introduced no earlier than 7 days.
What water is best to use?
For weight loss, it is best to use clean, filtered water.
The presence of a large amount of mineral impurities in its composition can provoke the development of undesirable reactions that occur when interacting with citric acid.
This is why you should not drink mineral water when losing weight.
It is best to use a slightly warmed, regular one - this will improve the absorption of nutrients contained in lemon juice, as well as activate the functioning of the stomach.
Too cold water from the refrigerator contributes to the inhibition of metabolic processes. And boiling water destroys the beneficial substances that citrus fruits are rich in.
You should also take into account that a freshly prepared cocktail brings the greatest benefit to the body.
Most of the beneficial elements begin to disappear after 6-8 hours.
Chemical composition of lemon
Citrus pulp contains a large amount of citric acid, which is the main source of the beneficial qualities of the fruit. Also includes:
- phytoncides;
- glycosides;
- pectin;
- lemon essential oil;
- flavonoids;
- cellulose.
The main substances that citrus includes:
- macroelements: potassium, chlorine, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur;
- vitamins: B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, A, C, PP, E;
- trace elements: fluorine, manganese, iron, molybdenum, zinc, boron, copper;
- other substances: organic acids, carbohydrates, fats, dietary fiber, proteins, ash, disaccharides, sugar, monosaccharides.
The juice from one fruit contains 33% of the body's daily requirement for vitamin C, and a tablespoon of zest contains 13%.
The calorie content of the fruit is 29 kcal per 100 grams.
Can I use citric acid?
Saturation of the body with citric acid in the form of dry matter can lead to the development of a carcinogenic effect. Therefore, for weight loss you need to use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
In addition, after entering the digestive tract, natural juice acquires an alkaline reaction, which allows maintaining a normal pH level.
The chemical does not have the same properties, and with regular use of artificial citric acid, gradual oxidation of the digestive system occurs. This can lead to numerous health problems.
Myths
Let's look at the most common myths:
- It has a bactericidal effect and kills germs. Part of the truth exists, since citric acid has some bactericidal activity. However, many studies have shown that citrus has a porous structure in which a large number of microbes collect. If you do not wash the fruit well, when you cut it, bacteria enter the pulp. And if you store cut lemons, microbes will multiply on the slices.
- Leader in ascorbic acid content. In fact, to get a daily dose of this vitamin you will need to eat one and a half fruits. In this case, it is enough to consume only 50 g of bell pepper or 16 g of rose hips to get the same amount of vitamin. When added to hot liquid, the vitamin is completely destroyed.
- Causes allergies. In fact, it can provoke not only an allergic reaction, but also a pseudo-allergy. It contains substances that destroy mast cells in the body. What causes dermatitis, itching, bronchial swelling, bronchospasm. Therefore, the statement that citrus is an allergen is justified and the fruit is included in the group of obligate allergens.
Is it possible to drink water with lemon during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
Lemon water has a variety of effects on the female body. Its regular consumption has a positive effect on the reproductive system, helps restore hormonal levels, and eases well-being during menopause or painful periods.
Lemon also helps preserve a woman’s beauty and elasticity of her skin, prevents the appearance of the first signs of aging, and strengthens her hair.
Pregnant women can take this drink, as it helps maintain immunity, improves digestion, and also reduces attacks of toxicosis. Lemon has a beneficial effect on the fetus; the child will develop a healthy nervous and skeletal system.
It is worth noting that during breastfeeding all the positive aspects become sharply negative. Citrus is a strong allergen, so it is best not to take risks; breast milk, even with a small lemon content, can harm the baby.
