How does it sound to lose 5 to 20 pounds in just ten days? You may have seen David Sandoval's 10-Day Celebrity Transformation by Purium Health Products advertised online. The ten-day cleanse promises to help you to lose weight, reset your metabolism and transform your body. Sound attractive? I thought so, too. So I tried it.
How the Purium 10-Day Detox Works
To do David Sandoval's "celebrity transformation" you need to buy a detox kit online.
It's not cheap. The kit retails for $290.00 but when you add tax and the cost of shipping, the total price is well over $300. The kit includes a shake mix, three bottles of supplement pills and one bottle of a tart cherry liquid. You also get detailed instructions, a shaker bottle and lightweight carrying case.
Each day when you're on the plan, you take an assortment of pills every few hours. You have the option of including a flex food with the pills, but there are only a few foods allowed (like broccoli and kimchi) and you can only eat them in very small amounts. Three times throughout the day you make a Power Shake with the mix provided and at the end of the day you drink the tart cherry liquid.
The cleanse is designed to be very low in calories. In total, you'll consume about 600 calories per day on this program. According to the instructions, the timing of each meal is important. So you should set a timer for 2-hour intervals if you want to be successful.
My Purium Detox Cleanse Results
I followed the food instructions perfectly while I was on this program.
I set my alarm to make sure I took my pills when I was supposed to, I only ate pre-measured flex foods and I stayed hydrated as suggested. I didn't drink coffee or alcohol. I slept a full eight hours each night and only participated in easy exercise sessions.
So did I lose weight? Yep. I lost two pounds - mostly muscle and water.
Did I feel transformed? Well, not really. To be honest, the program made me tired. There was no real inspiration that happened and I didn't feel healthier or more attractive at the end of the cleanse. Taking pills all day was depressing. I missed eating healthy whole foods and I was ready to get back to them at the end of the program.
When I went back to my normal diet of lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, limited whole grains and skim dairy products, the weight came back within two days.
The Science Behind the Celebrity Cleanse
According to David Sandoval, your body doesn't need a lot of calories. But medical and nutrition experts would disagree. As recommended, I checked with a doctor before starting the cleanse to make sure it was healthy. I reached out to Dr. Yasmine Ali, MD, MSCI, FACC, FACP a practicing physician and About.com's Obesity Expert.
I didn't give Dr. Ali specific details of the cleanse but explained that the program would limit my food intake to about 600 calories per day. She provided helpful information about very low calorie diets in general.
"Diets that are less than about 1200 calories per day do not provide enough energy or nutrition for the necessary, basic biological functions of an adult human. Plus, severe calorie restriction sends the body into starvation mode, which makes humans hold on to weight rather than continue to lose it. So these diets usually backfire for that reason as well as for the fact that they are simply unsustainable."
After getting this information from Dr. Ali, I also wondered about the ingredients in the diet pills. I wasn't able to find any information that made me comfortable with the use of Purium's herbal ingredients for weight loss. So I reached out to the company to see if they could provide any clinical studies that would satisfy my curiosity.
Unfortunately they couldn't. They did send a link to one small study done on mice and a few studies funded by the supplement maker, but there were no independent studies that helped me believe the significant weight loss claims that were made in the advertisements.
Would I Recommend The Purium 10-Day Detox?
I didn't like being on this cleanse. There wasn't anything that felt natural or transformative about taking a handful of pills for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And there was no opportunity to learn healthy eating habits, good cooking skills, or portion control that are all important to maintain weight loss. I wouldn't do it again.
Sometimes a "detox cleanse" is a good idea. I frequently do a my own 3-day detox cleanse to slim down and clean up my eating habits. But you don't need to pay $300 to cut calories - especially if cutting those calories can backfire. There are some quick weight loss methods that work, but this is one I would skip.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
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