Beyonce's Master Cleanse Diet Fast Helped Her Lose 20 Pounds

Beyonce Knowles recently appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, along with members of the cast of the upcoming movie Dreamgirls. In the film, scheduled to be released Christmas day, Beyonce plays Deena Jones, a slender backup singer based on Diana Ross. Due to the widely varying age range of her character, Beyonce told Oprah that she turned to the Master Cleanse fast - a liquid diet - to help her shed pounds quickly.

"Normally they'd change your makeup or your clothes but I wanted to go the extra mile," Beyonce is quoted as telling China Daily. "Back in the sixties, models like Twiggy were popular and I knew Deena would have been thin then, so even though I really love eating, it was necessary to lose weight really fast because we shot Deena at 16 and Deena at 36 two weeks apart."

According to research, the "Master Cleanse" is a liquid diet that purports to cleanse and detoxify the body while reportedly stimulating healthy tissue growth. Also known as the "Master Cleanse Lemonade Fast," the "Lemonade Diet," or the "Lemonade Fast," the liquid diet fast was popularized by a book named The Master Cleanse by Stanley Burroughs.

Though Beyonce said that she also ate vegetables during the 14 days that she followed the diet fast, the Master Cleanse fast has been described as consisting of "a concoction of fresh lime or lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper mixed with water," that is consumed 6 - 12 times a day, along with an "herbal laxative tea... taken twice a day, and no other food is consumed."

Proponents claim that the Master Cleanse diet fast can be followed for 10 days and beyond, depending upon a person's physical condition. Pregnant and/or nursing women are urged not to follow the diet plan. Persons with health ailments such as diabetes should consult their physicians before beginning any diet fast or drastic change in dietary habits.

"I was cranky," Beyonce admitted to Oprah about her emotional state while on the Master Cleanse diet fast. "People were eating Krispy Kreme Doughnuts around me."

Beyonce's soul diva character in Dreamgirls began at the dreamy-eyed age of 16, and the movie followed her skyrocketing trail to superstardom over 20 years. Therefore, Beyonce - who said she felt like a real actress for the first time during her performance in Dreamgirls - knew her on-screen persona had to undergo a quick yet authentic physical change.

"My nutritionist suggested the only way to do that was the [maple syrup diet] fast," Beyonce is reported as saying. "As soon as it was over, I gained the weight back," Beyonce added, saying she was happy to return to her regular eating patterns after ending the Master Cleanse diet fast.