The Mayo Clinic Diet has nothing to do with the Mayo Clinic Health center and hospital in Rochester, Massachusetts, USA. The Mayo Clinic diet was created between thirty and seventy years ago, and the origins of the Mayo Clinic diet are still unknown. The Mayo Clinic diet has been perpetuated by junk mail, word of mouth, faxes, and the internet – and while there is no ‘official’ Mayo Clinic Diet, most versions are high in protein and fat.

The Mayo Clinic in no way endorses the use of the diet. The diet’s main characteristic is the consumption of a grapefruit with every meal, and is usually very high in protein and low in carbohydrates. The body absorbs protein and fats much more quickly than carbohydrates, so proponents of the diet use this knowledge to help shed unwanted pounds quickly with little exercise necessary.

The Mayo Clinic diet uses grapefruit with each meal in the day to encourage your body to burn fat. It also subscribes to the theory that a low carb diet plan will result in quick weight loss; therefore there are few carbs in the Mayo Clinic Diet, lots of protein, and a grapefruit (or portion of one) with each meal in the day.

This diet is usually done over a three to seven day period. In this diet, you are allowed to eat an unlimited amount of grapefruit and meat. The diet utilizes meat and fats to stop hunger, and at the same time insists that eating more far in your diet results in weight loss. The premise is to eat fat until you feel full, which results in a smaller appetite and weight loss. The interesting thing about this diet is it allows you to eat as much fried foods as you desire – which goes completely against what nutritionists have told us for years.

There are many people that swear by this diet and they love it because you can eat until you’re satisfied, you can eat fatty and fried foods, it’s affordable, and it results in immediate weight loss. However, doctors and nutritionists that warn against the diet cite the facts that it doesn’t work for long term weight management, it’s low in complex carbs, it can result in fatigue and lack of concentration, and the high amount of fat allowed in the diet is actually rather dangerous. Before beginning this (or any other) diet, make sure you consult your physician to see if it’s right for you.

As with many other fly by night diets, this diet promotes temporary and quick weight loss – but it’s not necessarily safe or nutritional. Because of the nature of the program, many experts believe the diet does not contribute to long term success of weight loss. Also, many experts find the diets claim that you can shed up to fifty two pounds in just a few months a highly exaggerated and dangerous claim. The Mayo Clinic diet, while it sounds good in theory, is just an unsafe way to quickly lose weight.

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I sometimes find it hard to understand the modern obsession with rapid weight loss because of the consequences that this can cause. My own healthy weight range for my height is between 140 and 189lbs according to the current charts, but at 140lbs I would look totally anorexic, and could not possibly be healthy, but just over seven months ago my weight was 350lbs, (which I covered in my post Getting Started: First Steps. if you haven’t seen it yet I think it’s worth a read) and the best way it put me 161lbs over weight. Now the point I want to make is, if you lose vast amounts of weight really fast what happens to your skin, especially as we get older because your not giving it a chance to shrink back with you, and your left with loose hanging folds of skin, which wont do much for anyone’s self image. Since I started my exercise and weight loss program in January I have lost nearly 50lbs but I have no problem with loose skin, as it is steady weight loss, and I always keep myself well hydrated, by drinking plenty of water. I was with a small group of people a couple of weeks back, and we all have well over a 100lbs still to lose, and I asked this question,” If someone offered you a pill that would dissolve all your excess fat overnight would you take it” They all said yes except for one who said “would it also shrink the surplus skin” none of the others had even given it a thought.