Several bogus versions of the Mayo Clinic Diet have appeared throughout the years. These diets were nothing more than fad diets based on eating things like grapefruit and cabbage soup. None had a connection to the Mayo Clinic. However, in response to the popularity of these diets, the Mayo Clinic recognized the need to create an actual diet based on research and clinical experience. The new and "real" Mayo Clinic Diet is more than a diet; it's a healthy lifestyle plan.
No Fad Approach
The Mayo Clinic Diet stresses the importance of staying away from fad diets. Instead, this plan takes a habit-based approach. It helps you take steps to break your unhealthy lifestyle habits and gives you the tools to create new healthy habits. The healthy habits encouraged aren't just in relation to eating, but are also exercise habits. The Mayo Clinic Diet helps you transform your life and isn't intended as a traditional, quick diet plan; it isn't designed to start and end, but to help you make healthy changes for a lifetime.
Phases
The no fad approach is further seen in the way the Mayo Clinic Diet is divided. The plan has two distinct phases: The first phase, Lose It, is designed to do just that. It doesn't promise rapid weight loss, but this two-week phase has an average weight loss of about 6 to 10 lbs. This phase focuses on your habits, helping you to change them so you see the results. The second phase, Live it, makes up the remainder of the diet. This is the part where you really begin to practice what you've learned in the first two weeks. During this phase, you lose about 1 to 2 lbs. a week until you reach your goal weight. Once you're there, you don't just quit the diet, but rather continue with the healthy lifestyle you've developed.
Food Pyramid
As one of the resource tools to accompany the diet, the Mayo Clinic developed a food pyramid. The pyramid is designed to reinforce healthy diet and lifestyle changes. It outlines how you should eat each day and the food groups that should be the focus of your meals. This new pyramid varies slightly from the USDA's food pyramid, but all the food groups are still present. When using this pyramid, you eat from the bottom up. The base of the pyramid focuses on large servings of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, which contain few calories in a large volume. You consume lesser amounts as the categories of the pyramid narrow; these categories include whole grains, lean protein and dairy, healthy fats, and even sweets.
Physical Activity
In addition to a few variations from the USDA food pyramid, you will also see a unique exercise portion on the Mayo Clinic Diet pyramid. This component is incorporated to remind you of the importance of both eating and activity. The Mayo Clinic diet recommends 30 to 60 minutes of activity most days of the week. Physical activity is an integral part of weight loss and should not be left out from any healthy lifestyle model.
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