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The Truth About The Unofficial Fad Mayo Clinic Grapefruit Diet
The grapefruit diet, like most fad diets, promise you can lose weight fast by reducing the types and amounts of food you eat. It is also known as the “Mayo Clinic grapefruit diet”, although the Mayo Clinic did not invent the diet, or even approve it.
Let’s say that the so-called key in this diet consists of the thermogenic properties of grapefruit, it means that the body must consume more calories to process the food than the calories the food actually contains. Therefore, eating more grapefruit naturally will produce a caloric deficit without any additional effort. So, what does this diet mean and does it give you results?
The grapefruit diet: how does it work?
As noted above, the grapefruit diet was developed with the assumption that grapefruit acts as a thermogenic food. But of course, the diet mainly works, just like any other fad diet, limiting the amount and variety of foods for the purpose of controlling the number of calories you ingest.
Although this diet allows you to choose portion sizes in some food categories, the diet provides a total of 800 calories per day. Therefore, you will lose weight simply because your body needs around 1500-2000 calories so you can maintain your current weight.
The menu in three daily meals
Meals on this diet are highly regulated. One of the peculiarities is that it reduces the number of daily meals to three, breakfast, lunch and dinner, to be consumed in a continuous period of 12 days. Here are the different proposals for each of the meals:
Breakfast
- Half a grapefruit or 8 ounces of grapefruit juice,
- 2 eggs cooked in any style,
- 2 slices of bacon
Or
- Half a grapefruit
- 2 cooked eggs
- Coffee or tea without sugar or 1 toast.
Lunch
- Half a grapefruit or 8 ounces of grapefruit juice,
- Salad with dressing of your choice,
- Meat of any kind and quantity.
Or
- 2 eggs (prepared without fat) or alternate with 100 grams of meat,
- Tomatoes at will,
- 1/2 grapefruit,
- Coffee or tea without sugar.
Dinner
- 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces of grapefruit juice,
- Salad with dressing,
- Meat or ×sh of any kind and quantity, cooked in any style
- Black coffee or tea
Or
- 2 eggs,
- Lettuce, celery, cucumber at will,
- 1 toast, coffee or tea without sugar.
You should eat until you are full, you should drink at least 64 ounces of water per day, you have to limit the amount of caffeine you drink. As for prohibited foods, the restriction is notorious, so you should leave aside the following:
- Fats,
- Sugars,
- Foods high in starch (cereals, all bread, rice, pasta, potatoes…),
- Vegetables and legumes,
- Dairy products,
- Most fruits except grapefruit.
Does it work?
Just like in the vast majority of fad diets, you will no doubt see results at the end of the 12- day period. You should see a weight loss in a range of 4 to 6 kilos and possibly more. However, you should keep in mind that this is a short-term solution. If you continue with this diet beyond the 12 day period, your body will begin to adapt to fewer calories.
Basically, you will begin to enter hunger mode, and your metabolism will slow down while your body will naturally try to retain as much energy as it can. This, in turn, will cause your weight loss to reach the plateau and you will not see the same results after this period.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Among the advantages we can mention is that it is a diet easy to carry out, as it does not require an excessive culinary preparation. Additionally, if it is urgent that you lose weight fast for a beach party, this diet will provide you with the initial weight loss boost you are looking for.
As for the drawbacks, it can not last more than 14 days and, if this period is exceeded, you would endanger your metabolism due to the low and insufficient caloric intake that your body receives. Also, you will realize that the weight you initially lose will come back fairly quickly once you start eating normally again and you can even gain more kilos due to the yo-yo effect. Moreover, you should pay attention to the following warnings:
– Deficiencies in protein, calcium, potassium, vitamins and many other nutrients are inevitable.
– This diet can cause fatigue and even dizziness as the body regains its energy in adipose tissues (fat) but also in muscle tissues.
– The feeling of hunger is high.
Therefore, to avoid greater evils, do not forget to carry out a healthy diet that allows you to maintain your levels of nutrients, proteins, and vitamins in place. You may be able to follow the grapefruit diet for a short time, but as a long-term solution to losing weight and for your overall health, this diet is not the right one for you.
