Created by scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, The Mayo Clinic Diet is designed to help you lose weight and keep it off forever by taking small steps towards changing your lifestyle. Unlike fad diets that offer quick weight loss by eliminating entire food groups, The Mayo Clinic Diet encourages adopting health eating and exercise habits to lose weight safely and permanently.
Features
The basis for The Mayo Clinic Diet is calorie control and the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid. Daily calorie intake is determined by sex and current weight, and is adjusted depending on how quickly you want to lose weight and your energy levels. You can also increase your calories if you feel overly hungry. The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid incorporates all food groups. You may choose foods from any group, but you are encouraged to eat from the healthier parts of the pyramid, which include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein and low-fat dairy.
Two Phases
The first phase of The Mayo Clinic Diet is Lose It. This phase lasts two weeks and is designed to help you lose weight quickly and safely. The creators of The Mayo Clinic Diet suggest dieters can lose 6 to 10 lbs. during this first phase. The second phase of the plan is called Live It. This phase helps you continue to lose weight at a rate of 1 to 2 lbs. per week. This phase is used not only for meeting your goal weight, but also weight maintenance.
Good and Bad Habits
The Mayo Clinic Diet creators suggest to lose weight and keep it off, eliminate five bad habits and adopt five good habits. Examples of bad habits include spending more time watching TV than you do exercising, eating too much red meat and consuming too much sugar. Suggestions of good habits to adopt include eating three to four servings of fruits and vegetables every day, eating a healthy breakfast and exercising at least 30 minutes daily.
Advantages
The Mayo Clinic Diet does not involve cutting out entire food groups. Daily physical activity is encouraged, which plays a key role in weight loss and maintenance. You are not required to give up all your favorite foods, since occasional indulgences are encouraged. The diet incorporates everyday foods found in any supermarket and you don't need any special foods or beverages.
Warnings
Another diet on the market which touts the Mayo Clinic name is a fad diet also called a grapefruit diet. According to Judith Rodriguez, author of "The Diet Selector," this diet suggests eating grapefruit, eggs and meat for quick weight loss. This diet is in no way endorsed or affiliated with the Mayo Clinic.
References
- Reuters: Mayo Clinic Diet Promotes Healthy Weight Loss
- MayoClinic.com: The Mayo Clinic Diet: Learn About the Diet
- "The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat Well, Enjoy Life, Lose Weight"; Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2010
- "The Diet Selector"; Judith Rodriguez, Ph.D., R.D., F.A.D.A.; 2007
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