My Guide to the Mayo Clinic Diet

There are a lot of differing opinions, and misconceptions, out there about the Mayo Clinic diet. First of all, it has nothing to do with the Mayo Clinic, or mayonnaise; which were my first and second guesses when my sister first told me about the diet. But, despite the misleading name, it is an effective diet. As a matter of fact, if you can stick to it for the suggested month, the Mayo Clinic Diet is one of the best short term diets out there. I lost twenty pounds when I went on this diet two months ago.

Is This Diet for Me?

One of the greatest things about the Mayo Clinic Diet is that you never really feel full. You are allowed to eat as much of the approved foods as you want. However, be advised that this diet works best for short term weight loss and is not a lifestyle choice.

What Can I Eat?

The Mayo Clinic Diet is actually a lot like the Atkins diet with more emphasis on vegetables and grapefruit. Here's a sample menu:

Breakfast:

½ grapefruit

2 eggs any style

2 slices of bacon

Lunch:

½ grapefruit

salad with dressing

lots of meat, any kind

Dinner:

½ grapefruit

salad with any dressing or vegetables cooked in butter

lots of meat, any kind

Before Bed:

A cup of milk

You get the idea, lots of meat and vegetables, no carbohydrates.

Why Grapefruit

The Mayo Clinic diet has been around for over 30 years in some form or another, and has just recently (within the last 5 or ten years) added grapefruit to the recipe. I have heard many people say that the grapefruit helps to "burn fat". That's certainly the claim that the Master Cleanse and other popular diets make. However, I don't know if that's true and I still ate the grapefruit. At the very least it will protect against scurvy.

Meat, Meat, Meat

Again, eating all of the meat that you can handle is not a new diet concept. But the Mayo Clinic diet may have been the first one to figure out that it is an effective dieting tool. I've been on a lot of diets, and nothing has caused me to loose weight more quickly than a protein based diet. And you can eat all of the meat that you want (which in reality, is "not that much" after you've been on the diet for a while).

Vegetables

What makes the Mayo Clinic diet better than the Atkins diet is the addition of vegetables. And even if you're not a big fan of salads or vegetables in general, you will be by the time the diet is over. The salads make a great break from all of the meat that you will consume.

There aren't really any hard and fast rules about the types of salad dressing that you can use while on the Mayo Clinic diet, but I liked to alternate between a creamy ranch dressing, and oil and vinegar. Adding olive oil to your diet can never be a bad thing, and I just really like ranch dressing.

Carbohydrates

I have to be honest with you. I love carbohydrates. Love them. And giving them up was pretty tough. Sure there's lots of protein, and I never really felt full. But, that doesn't mean I wasn't craving carbohydrates like you wouldn't believe.

Two weeks in, I decided that I just couldn't take it anymore and I treated myself to a day of carbohydrates. Big mistake. I gained a pound or two the day after and the cravings just got worse. My advice is to leave the carbohydrates alone. It's only a month after all.