Mayo Clinic Diet (Official)

Background

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have created a program based on clinical research and experience that is designed to help people lose weight and keep it off permanently.

Although so-called Mayo Clinic diets have been promoted for many years, this is the first official Mayo Clinic diet book. Until this point the term has been associated with fad diets that have no connection to the Mayo Clinic.

The official Mayo Clinic Diet is based on helping people to adopt healthy lifestyle habits while eliminating those that do not contribute to good health. It emphasizes foods that taste great as well as being healthy so that dieters will not feel deprived.

The creators of the program claim that dieters can lose six to ten pounds in the first two weeks and then one to two pounds a week for the duration of the program. This will result in weight losses of 50 to 100 pounds over a year.

Official Mayo Clinic Diet Basics

The Mayo Clinic Diet encompasses more than adjusting eating habits and is a complete lifestyle change program. Dieters are provided with tools and advice that will help them to let go of negative behaviors while incorporating positive habits.

For the first two weeks dieters follow the ‘lose it’ phase, which helps to kick-start weight loss and allow dieters to lose up to ten pounds. After these initial two weeks dieters progress to the ‘live it’ phase, which is followed over the long term for healthy weight management.

The authors say that the key to weight loss is to eliminate five bad habits, adopt five good habits and, over the longer term, take on five bonus habits.

Adopt Five Good Habits:

• Eat a healthy breakfast, but don’t eat too much.
• Eat at least 3 to 4 servings of vegetables and fruits a day.
• Eat whole grains, such as whole-grain bread.
• Eat healthy fats, such as olive oil and nuts.
• Walk or exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.

Eliminate Five Bad Habits:

• Don’t watch TV while eating, and spend no more time watching TV than you do exercising.
• Eat no sugar except what is naturally found in fruit.
• Eat no snacks except vegetables and fruits.
• Limit the amount of meat and low-fat dairy that you eat.
• Eat no restaurant food unless it fits in the diet program.

Add five bonus habits:

• Keep records of what you eat.
• Keep records of your physical activity.
• Walk or exercise at least 60 minutes a day.
• Eat mostly fresh foods and healthy frozen or canned foods.
• Write down your daily goals.

Recommended Foods

Fruits, vegetables, whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, low-fat dairy products, lean proteins, nuts and seeds, olive oil.

Sample Diet Plan

Breakfast 1 medium banana 1 cup bran cereal 1 cup fat-free milk Herbal tea

Lunch ½ cup water-packed tuna 1 tablespoon low-calorie mayonnaise Chopped celery and lettuce 2 slices whole-grain toast 2 cups raw baby carrots, jicama and bell pepper strips 1 small apple Water

Afternoon snack 1 small pear

Dinner 3 ounces broiled cod with lemon juice and capers ¾ cup steamed green beans ½ cup sliced beets 1 cup lettuce ½ cup cherry tomatoes 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil Balsamic vinegar

Exercise Recommendations

Physical activity is an important component of The Official Mayo Clinic Diet and any way that you can increase your daily activity level is encouraged such as cleaning the house, shopping, and gardening. This will help to increase your calorie expenditure and burn fat.

However, structured exercise such as walking, cycling and swimming are also regarded as important with 30 to 60 minutes of vigorous exercise recommended on most days of the week. Brisk walking and gardening that involves constant motion can be substituted for aerobic exercise so long as they increase your heart and breathing rate.

Costs and Expenses

The Mayo Clinic Diet sells for $25.99 on the Mayo Clinic website.

Also available is the Mayo Clinic Diet Journal for an additional $9.99.

Pros

• Book comes with a money-back guarantee.
• Educates dieters about portion control.
• Rapid weight loss in the first phase can boost dieter’s motivation.
• Encourages exercise.
• Based on scientific research.
• Additional resources are available on the Mayo Clinic website.

Cons

• Does not allow snacking except vegetables and fruits.
• May be difficult to eat out and stick with the program.
• May take some time for dieters to learn to judge serving sizes.
• Not available in online stores such as Amazon.

Conclusions

The Official Mayo Clinic Diet requires a complete lifestyle change, however the book includes practical tools and provides motivation to help dieters to evaluate their current situation, set goals and get started on the right track.

By eliminating unhealthy habits and incorporating beneficial ones, dieters will learn how to eat a balanced, nutritious diet while increasing physical activity and developing a positive mindset. This will ultimately lead to achievement of weight loss that will be maintained over the long term.