I Lost Eight Pounds in One Week on the Cleveland Clinic Diet

I lost eight pounds in one week on the Cleveland Clinic diet, which is also known as the three-day diet. It was an act of desperation. I had waited too long to lose weight for a holiday party and started combing the internet for information on the "hot dog, ice cream, banana, egg" diet my mother had tried in the eighties. Though the weight loss was quick and somewhat easy, the diet itself still offered its challenges. Would I recommend the Cleveland Clinic diet? That depends. Please read about my experiences below.

Typically passed as a chain letter, the Cleveland Clinic diet has been around for ages. It is supposed to be followed to an exact T, with no substitutions. Each day of the Cleveland Clinic diet is carefully spelled out for you with quantity to be consumed meal by meal. And contrary to the rumors about the diet, it was not devised by the Cleveland Clinic; no evidence exists that a heart surgeon recommends the diet prior to surgery, and most nutritionists would be horrified with the diet.

I did not experience a lot of hunger with this diet, which is in essence simply a calorie restrictive diet. The quantities of food allowed was sufficient, varieties tolerable, and there was nothing difficult to purchase or prepare. The problem with the diet is that it lacks nutritional completeness. Still, many dieters seek the secrets behind the three-day diet to jumpstart/detox or simply to lose a quick three to seven pounds.

The diet is as follows:

1^st day -

BREAKFAST

Brown or green tea without sweetener or sugar OR Black Coffee

1 slice of Toast with 2 TBS peanut butter spread on it

½ grapefruit or glass of cranberry juice (100% juice only)

LUNCH

½ can of Tuna spread on one piece of toast (not buttered) or five saltine crackers (No condiments)

Iced Tea (unsweetened)

DINNER

One serving of lean lunch meat, preferably not processed or 3oz chicken breast (no skin)

1c Green Beans

1c Beets or ½ c cooked carrots (may be mixed with green beans)

A medium-sized apple

1c Vanilla Ice Cream

Iced Tea

2^nd day -

BREAKFAST

Brown or green tea without sweetener or sugar or Black Coffee

1 slice toast (no butter)

1 Egg, hard boiled

1 stalk of celery

½ banana

LUNCH

Five Saltine Crackers

1 serving Cottage Cheese (may be put on crackers)

DINNER

2 regular hot dogs (no bun)

1c cooked broccoli

½ cup raw carrots (not baby carrots)

½ banana sliced into 1c vanilla ice cream

1 glass ice water or tea

3^rd Day -

BREAKFAST

Brown or Green Tea without Sweetener or Sugar or Black Coffee

2 slices Cheddar cheese (small) or one large

5 Saltine Crackers

1 medium apple

LUNCH

1 hard boiled or poached egg

1 slice toast (no butter or margarine)

DINNER

½ can tuna

1c cooked cauliflower

1c cooked beets

½ cup cantaloupe

1c vanilla ice cream

You can not cheat at all. You must follow the diet for three days. Then the final four days of the week, you eat regular meals. Then, you return to the three-day diet. You must also drink plenty of water while on the diet. The diet itself is well regarded for its effectiveness. That said, and in spite of the weight I lost while on it, I will not be trying the Cleveland Clinic diet again. A well-balanced low calorie diet is much more effective in the long run and is much healthier for your body. This is yet another of the popular fad diets out there, and weight gain after completion of your goals is often the side effect of unhealthy dieting. Good luck with meeting your weight loss goals.