The Real Mayo Clinic Diet

Although the label has been incorrectly applied to any number of restrictive fad diets throughout the years, the Mayo Clinic has finally set the record straight by inventing a diet of its own. Based on a general "food pyramid" approach, the Mayo Clinic diet is designed to promote healthy weight loss at a reasonable rate while instructing dieters about the value and importance of good nutritional habits, so that they can continue eating well even while not expressly trying to lose those last few pounds.

Mayo Clinic Diet

Follow the recommended food pyramid approach to put the Mayo Clinic Diet into action. The base of this pyramid is occupied with fruits and vegetables, which should form the foundation of your diet. While on the plan you are allowed an unlimited number of servings from both fruits and vegetables every day.

The next level of the pyramid is occupied by whole grains and other nonfruit and vegetable carbohydrates. Limit your consumption of these items to between four and eight daily servings.

On the third tier of the pyramid comes protein sources, such as meats and dairy products. Three to seven daily servings are recommended. Next comes foods that primarily contain fat; limit yourself to between three and five of these.

Note that this is a low-fat diet that stresses avoidance of saturated and trans fats. Thus, while you are permitted to consume three to five daily servings of foods containing fat, you should limit these foods to items that contain mostly unsaturated fat with only trace amounts of saturates or trans fats. Good foods that qualify include nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.) and seeds (sunflower, legumes, pumpkin, etc.).

Finally, you are permitted to indulge in no more than 75 calories from "sweets" on any day. Sweets include sugary items such as cookies, candies and other "junk" or empty calories.

Meal Control and Other Considerations

To make following the plan simple, attempt to balance each of your meals roughly in proportion to the structure of the pyramid itself. This means consuming a copious amount of fruits and vegetables with each meal, a lesser amount of grains, a moderately sized protein source, and a tiny bit of unsaturated fat (with sweets being optional). A meal that complies with these requirements includes lobster (to satisfy the protein requirement) served with whole wheat rolls (grains), and a fresh garden salad (fruits/vegetables) with a light olive oil dressing (unsaturated fat).

Finally, note that exercise is an important part of this diet. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should perform between 30 and 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity at least four days per week. Moderate intensity means that your heartrate should increase, you should experience mild sweating, and your breathing rate should likewise be elevated. Sample activities include light cycling or brisk walking.