Isagenix Reviews: Does the Isagenix Cleanse Diet Really Work?

How would you react if someone told you that you could lose 15 pounds (about 7 kilos) in just nine days? Chances are that you would be skeptical. That is the claim made by the manufacturers of the Isagenix Cleanse Diet, but whether it really works depends on whom you ask.

A female spokesperson for Isagenix states that before she tried the product, she had failed on Atkins, South Beach, Nutrisystems, and Weight Watchers. The cabbage soup diet, the volumetric soup diet, and exercise programs. Her weight topped out at 300 pounds (about 135 kilos), but on Isagenix she was able to lose about half of her body weight, 147 pounds (66 kilos).

Detoxification As Weight Loss Magic

Makers of the Isagenix Cleanse claim that their products rid of the body of toxins that accumulate in fat cells, that dilute them with water. Losing weight without onerous calorie restriction is possible because their products “detoxify” fat cells, which can then shed excess fluid along with fat.

As you might imagine, most mainstream weight loss experts disagree, especially about the company's “nutritional cleansing” products. The problem with the acceptance of detoxification in the scientific community is the lack of a definition of what the toxins being detoxified really are. However, there is a relatively easy way to explain how most detoxifying cleanses help their users lose at least a little weight fast: Used as directed, detoxifying diets rid the body of stored water and fecal matter.

Getting Rid Of Fluid And Feces

Every healthy adult carries around about 3-4 pounds (a little over 1 to a little under 2 kilos) of water weight. This extra weight is water that has been chemically combined with glucose to make the energy storage molecule glycogen. One molecule of glucose sugar is combined with four molecules of water to make a more stable storage form of the otherwise easily oxidized sugar, which could generate free radicals that could damage the cell.

When we don't consume enough carbohydrate for our body's normal needs, glycogen in the liver is broken down into glucose and burned elsewhere in the body. The process of “unzipping” glucose from glycogen releases water that is quickly removed from the body by kidneys into the urine. Usually, it is only necessary to avoid about 1200 calories of food to lose that first three or four pounds of water weight, sometimes in just 24 hours. Of course, as soon as dieters eat 1200 carbohydrate calories more than their bodies need, they gain back not just the weight of the food but also the weight of water that is chemically combined with it. However, most dieters can stick to their plans for a week or two, keeping those three or four pounds of water weight from coming back.

See Also: Are Weight Loss Products Beneficial?

Questions And Answers About Isagenix For Long-Term Weight Loss

There's little doubt that Isagenix can help its users lose weight temporarily, although there is nothing that helps people lose weight in Isagenix that is not in food that you can buy at the supermarket for a lot less. The easiest way to understand what Isagenix can really do for you is to go through this checklist of common questions and answers about the Isagenix 9-Day Deep Cleanse and Fat Burning System and the Isagenix 30-Day Cleansing and Fat-Burning System.

Q. What does Isagenix give me that I can't do for myself?

A. Isagenix gives you a plan for eating less. There are two shakes (that you make yourself) and one low-calorie meal per day. You won't suffer deficiencies of nutrients, fiber, or protein, and you don't have to do a lot of thinking about avoiding overeating. However, you could do the same thing by eating a cup of yogurt as your entire meal twice a day, or buying a much less expensive ready-made canned shake in the diet section at your supermarket.

Q. Isn't Isagenix all-natural?

A. The second-named ingredient on the label of the shake is fructose, such as that found in high-fructose corn syrup. To be fair, the product contains all the protein anyone needs and a variety of minerals and vitamins along with probiotic Lactobacillus. It is free of G Mos and its protein source is organic dairy from New Zealand. However, it is not all-natural.

Q. What about the accelerator capsules? Do they work as advertised?

A. The accelerator capsules contain green tea extract, chromium, curry cinnamon, red pepper, and alfalfa extract. There isn't a lot of evidence that these ingredients in the dosages offered in the product are very helpful for weight loss, although the company did choose the right kind of cinnamon to put in the product (the kind of cinnamon most North Americans and Europeans use in cooking does not have a blood sugar control or weight loss effect). Green tea extract is typically only effective when consumed with caffeine. Alfalfa extract can be dangerous for people who have autoimmune diseases, such as lupus.

Q. Hasn't Isagenix been subjected to clinical testing?

A. It has, in obese women aged 35 to 65, but only in conjunction with another diet method called intermittent fasting (skipping meals for up to 24 hours at a time up to twice a week). Even in this study, cited at the end of this article (it is available in full text online), women who used the product only lost one additional kilogram (2 pounds) of weight in 10 weeks.

Q. Why do some people get such good results from the plan, while others don't get any results at all?

A. The people who lose the most weight on Isagenix, at least at first, are those who tend to overeat the most. The more weight you have to lose, the more quickly you lose weight at first. If you choose to stay on the plan indefinitely, you probably will keep the weight off indefinitely. However, even a tiny slip (a large piece of birthday cake, for example), will add a couple of pounds (a kilo) of water weight or more.

See Also: Psychology Of Weight Loss: Willpower Has Limits

For most of us, the only way to lose weight is to eat less. Isagenix Cleanse is fine if (1) you don't mind the cost and (2) you can't stick to any other diet plan. This could be the weight loss diet that works for you. There is nothing special about its ingredients, however, and anything you can do on Isagenix you could do on your own, if you can stick to a different plan.