Lemon for Weight Loss

Lemon is a useful tool in any weight loss arsenal. With just 12 calories each, the lemon adds flavor instead of fat to recipes. It also adds vitamin C to your diet and even may aid in digestion. Experts at Shapefit.com report that just 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice provides 45 percent of the daily recommendation of vitamin C. Some people have tried a lemon juice diet to jump-start weight loss with Stanley Burroughs' "Lemonade Diet." Even in much smaller quantities, lemons can help you lose weight.


Step 1
Use both the juice and the pulp from the lemon when preparing drinks and foods. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best because it provides a little extra fiber along with the other health benefits of lemon.

Step 2
Spritz lemon juice on vegetables rather than of butter. Fats such as butter and oil make food taste better because it helps to transfer the flavor of the food onto the tongue. Lemon juice helps in this, too, and it also brings out the flavor of vegetables. Try cutting the amount of butter you put on your vegetables in half and adding a squeeze of lemon--a wedge has only 1 calorie--and see how your food tastes. Gradually cut the butter out entirely until you're using only lemon juice.

Step 3
Prepare a lemonade drink to sip throughout the day. Water is an appetite suppressant, according to the experts at the Because You Value Your Body website, and that effect is enhanced by adding lemon to the water. Take the juice of one lemon and add it to a half-gallon of icy water. Sip it throughout the day to stave off hunger. Sweeten with some no-calorie Splenda if the drink is a little tart.

Step 4
Start your day with a hot lemon drink. The ShapeFit website suggests tapping into lemon's liver-boosting properties by adding lemon to hot water and consuming the drink on an empty stomach. ShapeFit reports the lemony beverage may aid in digestion, act as a diuretic and help ease constipation.