No single grapefruit diet exists. The diet, dating back to the 1930s, includes several variations. One version strictly limits your food choices. Nonfat milk makes the short list of allowable beverages, but you can substitute tomato juice for the milk. Another version of the grapefruit diet allows you to eat anything you want as long as you include grapefruit in your menu.
Menu
The version of the grapefruit diet that includes skim milk provides very few calories -- 800 to 1,000 per day. Breakfast includes two eggs, two slices of bacon and either a cup of unsweetened grapefruit juice or half a grapefruit. You may also drink tea or coffee. Your lunch menu includes meat, a salad and a cup of unsweetened grapefruit juice or half a grapefruit. Dinner also includes grapefruit or grapefruit juice, as well as fish or meat, plus a salad or cooked red or green vegetables. You are allowed a snack of either 8 oz. of skim milk or tomato juice -- there is no milk requirement.
Reduced Calorie Diets
Following a grapefruit diet that limits you to consuming only 800 to 1,000 calories a day denies your body important nutrients. You may experience fainting and fatigue while on the diet, and you may quickly regain lost weight when you return to your normal eating habits. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends reducing your daily caloric intake by 500 in order to lose approximately 1 lb. per week. You can do this while still getting all the nutrients you need and maintaining a balanced diet.
Another Grapefruit Diet
Another version of the grapefruit diet doesn't require you to drink milk and doesn't limit anything in your diet. It simply requires that you consume grapefruit with each meal. This version of the grapefruit diet was studied by Ken Fujioka of the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, and the results were reported in the Spring 2006 issue of the "Journal of Medicinal Food." For 12 weeks, about one-third of the study's 100 obese participants consumed half a grapefruit before their meals, a third drank a glass of grapefruit juice, and the others took a placebo. Those who ate grapefruit lost an average of 3.6 lbs., and those who drank grapefruit lost an average of 3.3 lbs. This amounts to about 1/3 of a lb. per week. All participants followed their normal diets. Persons in the placebo group lost an average of 0.5 lb. during the study.
Side Effects
If you are taking any medications, consult a medical professional before trying out any variation of the grapefruit diet. Grapefruit can cause serious and even fatal side effects if you consume it while you are on certain medications. Grapefruit can inhibit your body's CYP34A enzyme from metabolizing drugs. This can create an excess of medication in your bloodstream, which can heighten the risk -- and seriousness -- of side effects. Birth control pills, statins, calcium channel blockers, immunosuppressants and certain antihistamines may cause dangerous interactions when combined with grapefruit. Anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications and other psychiatric drugs can also react adversely with grapefruit. Grapefruit may also increase the potency of other medications.
References
- Iverda.com; The Grapefruit Diet; Levi Reiss
- 1is2Fat.com: The Rules of the Grapefruit Diet
- "St. Petersburg Times"; State Study to Explore Grapefruit as Diet Aid; Julie Hauserman; March 2003
- WeightLossResources; The New Grapefruit Diet Review; Juliette Kellow
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Choose My Plate
- "Journal of Medicinal Food"; The Effects of Grapefruit on Weight and Insulin Resistance: Relationship to the Metabolic Syndrome; Ken Fujioka, et al.; Spring 2006
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