How does it work?
The Mayo Clinic Diet is the official weight-loss program developed by Mayo Clinic experts. It is based on research and clinical experience.
The program focuses on eating delicious healthy foods and increasing physical activity. It emphasizes that the best way to keep weight off for good is to change your lifestyle and adopt new habits that you enjoy and can stick with. This program can be tailored to your own individual needs, health history and preferred eating style.
The Mayo Clinic Diet has two phases:
- Lose It! This two-week phase is designed to jump-start your weight loss, so you may lose up to 6 to 10 pounds (2.7 to 4.5 kilograms) in a safe and healthy way. In this phase, you focus on lifestyle habits that are associated with weight. You learn how to add five healthy habits, break five unhealthy habits and adopt another five bonus healthy habits. This phase can help you see some quick results — a psychological boost — and start practicing important habits that you’ll carry into the next phase of the diet.
- Live It! This phase is a lifelong approach to health. In this phase, you learn more about food choices, portion sizes, menu planning, physical activity, exercise and sticking to healthy habits. You may continue to see a steady weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilograms) a week until you reach your goal weight. This phase can also help you maintain your goal weight permanently.
To support your weight-loss journey, the Mayo Clinic Diet also makes available electronic tools, such as a food and exercise journal and a weight tracker, to help you stick with the program.
Focus on choosing healthy foods
The Mayo Clinic Diet makes healthy eating easy by teaching you how to estimate portion sizes and plan meals. The program doesn’t require you to be precise about counting calories. Instead, you’ll eat tasty foods that will satisfy you and help you lose weight.
Mayo Clinic experts designed the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid to help you eat foods that are filling but low in calories. Each of the food groups in the pyramid emphasizes health-promoting choices. The pyramid encourages you to eat virtually unlimited amounts of vegetables and fruits because of their beneficial effects on both weight and health.
The main message is simple: Eat most of your food from the groups at the base of the pyramid and less from the top — and move more.
Increase your physical activity
The Mayo Clinic Diet provides practical and realistic ideas for including more physical activity and exercise throughout your day — as well as finding a plan that works for you.
The program recommends getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day and even more exercise for further health benefits and weight loss. It provides an exercise plan with easy-to-follow walking and resistance exercises that will help maximize fat loss and boost mental well-being. It also emphasizes moving more throughout the day, such as taking the stairs instead of an elevator.
If you’ve been inactive or you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor or health care provider before starting a new physical activity program. Most people can begin with five- or 10-minute activity sessions and increase the time gradually.
What’s a typical daily menu?
The Mayo Clinic Diet provides a choice of five different eating styles at several calorie levels. Whether you would like to follow the Mayo Clinic Diet meal plan, are vegetarian or prefer the Mediterranean eating style, you will find an abundance of recipes and meals that won’t leave you hungry.
Here’s a look at a typical daily meal plan at the 1,200-calorie-a-day level from the Mediterranean eating plan:
- Breakfast: Overnight oats with berries and pear
- Lunch: Tuscan white bean soup with pesto drizzle
- Dinner: Sheet-pan roast chicken with broccolini, onion and tomatoes
- Snack: 1 cup sliced bell peppers and a banana
What about dessert? You can have sweets but no more than 75 calories a day. For practicality, consider thinking of your sweets calories over the course of a week. Have low-fat frozen yogurt or dark chocolate on Monday, and then hold off on any more sweets for a few days.
What are the results?
The Mayo Clinic Diet is designed to help you lose up to 6 to 10 pounds (2.7 to 4.5 kilograms) during the initial two-week phase.
After that, you transition into the second phase, where you continue to lose 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilograms) a week until you reach your goal weight. By continuing the lifelong habits that you’ve learned, you can then maintain your goal weight for the rest of your life.
Most people can lose weight on almost any diet plan that restricts calories — at least in the short term. The goal of the Mayo Clinic Diet is to help you keep weight off permanently by making smarter food choices, learning how to manage setbacks and changing your lifestyle.
In general, losing weight by following a healthy, nutritious diet — such as the Mayo Clinic Diet — can reduce your risk of weight-related health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.
If you already have any of these conditions, they may be improved dramatically if you lose weight, regardless of the diet plan you follow.
In addition, the healthy habits and kinds of foods recommended on the Mayo Clinic Diet — including lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish and healthy fats — can further reduce your risk of certain health conditions.
The Mayo Clinic Diet is meant to be positive, practical, sustainable and enjoyable, so you can enjoy
