About the Mayo Clinic Protein Diet

Disinformation in the diet and nutrition industry is nothing new. Many people seek to fraudulently attach reputable names to their products in the hopes of boosting sales and garnering support from media sources. The "Mayo Clinic" Protein Diet falls squarely into this category. Despite the name, it is not associated with nor endorsed by the Mayo Clinic. If you have been considering adopting this plan, here is what you need to know.

About the Diet

• The fake Mayo Clinic Diet Plan was developed in the 1940s. The diet works on a revolving 12-day-on, two-day-off cycle, which repeats for 10 weeks. At the cessation of the diet, weight loss results are promised in the range of 50 to 55 pounds. Note, however, that this is a fad diet, and even if you manage to lose somewhere near the claimed weight, you will likely regain it all upon abandonment of the plan.

Diet Theory

• The theory of the Mayo Clinic Diet revolves around the alleged fat-burning properties of grapefruit. The supposed key to the diet was consumption of grapefruit at every meal, to "kick start the fat-burning process." Aside from grapefruit, dieters were encouraged to fill up on nothing but fat and protein, with no discrimination between healthy and unhealthy fats.

Mayo Diet Benefits

• If you have some pre-existing nutritional knowledge and understand the distinction between healthy and unhealthy fats, the Mayo Clinic Plan is not a horrible way to lose weight. Consuming a balanced diet low in starchy carbs and high in protein is a tried-and-true method for losing weight. Additionally, the 12-day, two-day cycle provides dieters with a needed psychological break from the rigors of enduring a strenuous plan.

Mayo Diet Drawbacks

• If, however, you are a relative dieting neophyte with little to no knowledge of what constitutes healthful food, the fake Mayo Clinic Plan is a good way to increase your cholesterol levels while providing little in the way of lasting weight loss. As this is an extreme style of dieting, it will teach you little about proper nutrition after the diet. Thus, you will be likely to revert to your old, pre-diet habits--regaining your lost weight in no time. A good diet will provide take-home lessons so that you can survive without the rigors of a formulaic plan, something which this diet fails to do.

Considerations

• On balance, the fake Mayo Diet Plan cannot be safely recommended. There are many other, healthier dieting plans available on the market that will teach you more about proper nutrition than merely repeating "eat grapefruit" ad infinitum. If you are in the market for a free diet plan, you would be better off steering clear of the fake Mayo Clinic Protein Plan.