It is hailed a New York Times Bestseller and has made the rounds to the View, CNN’s Larry King, and the Boston Herald. Known as the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox, it boasts press links to prestigious sites like WebMD, and according to RN and ND Roni DeLuz-inventor of the diet detox-and James Hester, who in a previous life was a weight conscious record company executive, there are solid benefits associated with the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox.
How much does it cost?
For $199 plus $15 you receive a 21 day detox and subsequent 9 day maintenance pack. An additional $16 buys the book that explains all about the diet detox.
If you do not have a juicer, however, be prepared to purchase it as well as enzyme pills, enema bags and associated gadgetry, as well as a host of other necessities to make the diet work.
If you prefer to do the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox on site at the Martha’s Vineyard Holistic Retreat, be prepared to spend $495 per night.
What does it promise?
The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox does not call itself a weight loss diet per se but instead seeks to make the distinction that it is a detox which has the added benefit of letting you safely drop 21 pounds of weight in 21 days. The goal is to flush out metabolic waste and prime your body to readily accept nutritious organic whole and raw foods.
How does it work?
You will spend 21 days on a liquid diet consisting of soups and juices. In addition it is strongly suggested that you take certain recommended dietary supplementations to aid in what the inventors of the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox refer to as toxin flushing. Colon cleanses in the form of coffee enemas and other flushes are also required to rid your body of toxins.
While you hope to drop 21 pounds in 21 days, you most likely are not going to feel your level best. As a matter of fact, the authors of this diet detox freely acknowledge that headaches, fatigue, bodily aches, nausea and other problems are part of the experience. It is suggested that these are the side effects of what is termed a “healing crisis”: the bodily purging of toxins built up over time.
Give it to me straight: does this REALLY work?
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the very WebMD write-up the originators of the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox link to from their press section of the website cautions consumers against this plan!
Although WebMD freely acknowledges that the ideas of consuming organic produce and staying away from processed foods are good, they pull no punches in suggesting that the diet’s principle is faulty and any weight loss is not possible to uphold–in part because the weight being lost is made up of fluids and actual muscle mass that the body burns in an effort to make up for the lack of ingested protein. This still leaves the fat in place.
Furthermore, the notion of dropping 21 pounds in 21 days is not the result of detoxing and flushing out weight building toxins but instead it is the result of a low calorie diet that more or less puts the body into a starvation mindset. Barely stopping short of calling toxin buildup debates fear-mongering, WebMD quotes one Michelle May, an MD, who asserts that toxins are naturally shed from the body and as such there truly is no need for such detoxifying routines.
Perhaps the greatest issue experts take with the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox is the assertion that the supposed “healing crisis” to which many of the side effects experienced are attributed is in reality a systemic response to improper -and therefore unhealthy– nutrition.
Finally, the weight will pile back on at the cessation of this calorie restricting diet. Marc Lawrence, MD calls the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox and associated claim of dropping 21 pounds in 21 days a setup for yoyo dieting: take off the weight and put it right back on-and then some.
Hard science and studies, anyone?
There are none. According to WebMD, there is no credible study that backs up the claim of participating dieters dropping 21 pounds in 21 days on the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox. What you do have, however, are personal testimonials on the program’s website.
It is noteworthy that at least one testimonial refers to the idea of dropping 21 pounds in 21 days as a springboard event that promoted lifestyle changes, such as raw and whole food choices, which then permitted for a continuing healthy weight loss after the diet detox was completed.
I’m not sure I like this anymore. Can I get my money back?
No; sales of all supplies are final and there is no money back guarantee.
