Welcome back to the Faith Fitness Joy blog! I am your health coach, healer, and author Rachelle Renee. Today, I am following up on my dive into the viral TikTok trend some creators have dubbed “ricezempic” due to the alleged weight loss benefits of this trend. I have completed 30 days of the “ricezempic” weight loss trend, which I will explain shortly, and I am back with an update on my results.
So, today I am going to:
- Briefly explain what “Ricezempic” or the rice water for weight loss trend is.
- The recipe for the rice water.
- My results after drinking this every morning for 30 days.
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Alright, let’s dive into today’s topic, starting with what “ricezempic” is. I imagine some of you are like “what the hell is she talking about?” The term was coined by TikTok creators who have lost weight by drinking rice water first thing in the morning. I first came across it when a man popped up on my for you page talking about how he’d lost, I think it was 7 pounds in 5 days with it. Not long after a woman popped up on my for you page talking about having lost 12 pounds in 7 days and another woman stating she’d lost 11 pounds in a week.
Seeing as how I’ve been struggling to break past my current plateau I decided to give this “ricezempic” thing a try. After all, it’s basically just rice water. Well, maybe a tad more involved than that. This viral “ricezempic” is rice water with lemon or lime juice first thing in the morning. You make and drink it first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach
The Recipe: Here’s how you make it, for those who wish to try:
- Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of rice (white or brown)
- About a cup of hot water (I use enough to more than cover the rice and then a little more)
- Juice of half a lemon or lime
- Instructions:
- Heat water, then pour over rice and let it soak for 5 minutes.
- Strain the rice water into a cup and throw out the rice.
- Add the juice of half a lemon or lime to the rice water.
- Stir it a bit.
- Drink it fresh, on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
Q & A from questions in podcast comments:
- Can you drink coffee?
While there is no consensus or real answer I have found on this, I think you probably could still drink coffee after you drink the rice water, and assuming you drink your coffee black. Cream, sugar, and anything else added to the coffee would break your fast, and it seems the benefit from this comes from drinking it first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. - Do you rinse the rice first?
This raised much unexpected debate. The instructions I found said not to, so I didn’t. Some people raised concern about arsenic in the rice, which sent me down a whole other rabbit hole of research. The short answer is that there is some trace amounts in rice, which comes from irrigation/pesticide use. Rice grown in some parts of the country have “higher” levels than others. If you are seriously concerned about arsenic in rice, it may be better to avoid rice altogether. Otherwise, I found nothing much other than what I explain here. - How many times a day?
The viral trend indicates once, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. However, in researching it, I found that you could also do this 30 minutes before each meal. So, up to three times a day is also an option.
My results:
So I did this for 30 days. I figured I know anything you see in a week is generally not much you can bank on and is likely water weight or normal fluctuations. So, I decided, ‘alright, I’m gonna give this a month and see what results I get.’
Before I get into my results, I want to clarify my usual routine and nutrition. If you have been following me for some time you know I’m big on health and fitness. I currently exercise 90 minutes or more every day. This includes weightlifting and some form of cardio, usually cardio kickboxing, because that is my favorite.
I follow an intuitive whole food eating approach, meaning a balanced diet of lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fats. I primarily cook at home and minimize highly processed foods. I usually follow my appetite, but in recent months I’ve been combining this with macro tracking as I’ve been stuck, which is why I decided to see if this would help at all.
My conclusion after doing this for 30 days, with everything I just described is that it is probably more of a placebo effect than anything. For one thing, I gained about 2 pounds for every week I did this, which I take with a grain of salt, since I know the scale is only part of the picture.
While the scale went up the first week. Interestingly I lost about 6 inches overall on my body measurements. And that was it. My measurements remained exactly the same after that first week, while the scale went up about 2 pounds each week.
To be clear, I don’t attribute the scale going up to the rice water. This has been the story of my life since I was old enough to be aware of my weight. One thing I have learned is that my body tends to be very resistant to weight loss and I am pretty sure a fair amount of this is the result of decades of extremes in dieting and exercise. It’s also worth noting that while the scale didn’t change, I did see a decrease in my body measurements, so there may have been some boost from the rice water, albeit small.
So, based on my results I’d conclude that this is more trouble than it’s worth and there are better things to do with your rice. However, if you’re interested in trying for yourself, I’ll quickly list some of the potential health benefits of rice water, additional to possible weight loss.
Potential Health Benefits:
- Hydration and Electrolytes: Rice water contains essential minerals like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus, which can help maintain electrolyte balance and hydration.
- Digestive Health: The starches in rice water may act as prebiotics, supporting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and improving digestion.
- Antioxidants and Vitamin C: Lemon or lime juice adds a dose of vitamin C and antioxidants, which can boost the immune system, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy skin.
- Weight Loss Support: I didn’t find much in the way of evidence to support a link between rice water and weight loss, but I did find some information that sheds light. First is that rice water has soluble fibers such as oligosaccharides, which aid in digestion and help you feel fuller longer. Two, some studies have found rice water may aid in weight loss due to inositol, a compound in rice water may help regulate metabolism and improve insulin sensitivity. This kind of supports the catchy name TikTok creators have coined for it “ricezempic.”
Third, is the ties to and uses in ayurveda, which is an ancient holistic healing system originating in India. There is an ayurvedic spiced rice water that has been in use for centuries. It is essentially the same recipe, but also incorporates spices such as ginger and cinnamon, which are also shown to have metabolic boosting benefits.
Scientific Evidence: Although specific research on rice water with lemon is limited, studies on the individual components provide some insight:
- Rice Water: A study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found that rice water contains bioactive peptides with antioxidant properties. So what the heck are bioactive peptides, you wonder. According to the National Institutes of Health they are “a group of biological molecules that are normally buried in the structure of parent proteins and become active after the cleavage of the proteins.”
So protein cleavage is basically the break down of the bonds of amino acids in proteins. And, after some more digging I found this is likely due to simply soaking the rice in water, however, citrus also cleaves proteins; so this would be aided with adding the lemon or lime juice to the rice water. So, to put all this in simple terms, soaking the rice results in the bioactive peptides and adding the citrus juice would further this.
I would add that this study I found by NIH goes on to posit that the bioactive peptides could have applications including “antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antioxidant activities, blood-lipid-lowering effect, opioid role, antiobesity, ability to bind minerals, antidiabetic, and antiaging effects…” This is quite a fascinating study if you are a research nerd like me. They explored this in various types of proteins from animals to plants. The study article is called Bioactive Peptides: Synthesis, Sources, Applications, and Proposed Mechanisms of Action - Lemon/Lime Juice: Research in Nutrition Research highlighted the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of citrus fruits. Citrus fruits are also very high in Vitamin C, which as been shown to boost metabolism and reduce belly fat, in addition to its other health benefits.
Conclusion: There might be something to this “ricezempic” thing. Then again there may not. Regardless, drinking rice water with lemon or lime could offer several other health benefits, from hydration and digestive support to an antioxidant boost. While more research is needed to fully understand its impact, this simple drink could be a beneficial addition to your routine. As always, listen to your body and consult with a healthcare professional if you have any concerns.
Have you tried the rice water and lemon trend? Are you considering it now? Share your experiences in the comments below! And don’t forget to subscribe for more health tips and trends. If you like this blog, please consider supporting it here.
Stay healthy, stay happy, and keep pursuing faith, fitness, and joy!