The TOP Line

The Mayo Clinic Diet is a balanced meal plan focused on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. You’re meant to cook your own meals from scratch and exercise daily.

The diet possibly aids weight loss, but no comprehensive studies exist.

While it does not require you to count calories, it recommends servings of various food groups based on a target calorie level.

If you’re looking for a diet that you can maintain for life, the Mayo Clinic Diet is a balanced option.

The Mayo Clinic Diet may help you lose weight for several reasons.

It encourages exercise alongside a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains — all of which may aid weight loss.

Eating foods high in fiber may boost weight loss by decreasing hunger and making you feel more full.

In one study in over 3,000 people at risk for diabetes, a diet high in fiber from fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat was linked to a lower weight after 1 year compared to people who did not increase their fiber intake (1Trusted Source).

Additionally, studies show that exercising while on a lower-calorie diet is more effective at promoting weight loss than dieting alone.

For example, a review of 66 studies found that combining low-calorie diets with exercise — especially resistance training — is more effective at promoting weight and fat loss than dieting alone.

Plus, simultaneous dieting and exercise help retain more muscle mass, which could further promote weight loss by boosting metabolism (2Trusted Source).

The only research on the Mayo Clinic Diet comes from the Mayo Clinic itself and has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Thus, no independent studies exist on the effectiveness of the Mayo Clinic Diet.

More research is necessary to determine whether it’s effective for weight loss.

If You Want To Know

What Is Mayo Clinic Diet For Weightloss?   Click Here

Follow these Mayo Clinic Diet Guidelines:

Do you know the guidelines to follow when trying to lose weight? You are not alone if you are asking that question. Many people need help understanding how to get started losing weight. Here are some of the Mayo Clinic diet guidelines that can help you get started with your weight loss journey:

What Are The Guidelines?

1.   Don’t skip meals. The Mayo Clinic diet suggests not skipping meals as it can cause overeating or food cravings later in the day. If you find yourself hungry, try snacking on a piece of fruit or have a glass of water to keep your hunger down and provide beneficial nutrients for your body.

2.   Be cautious about how much sugar and salt you eat. The Mayo Clinic diet recommends lowering the amount of salt and sugar in your meals to improve your health and lose weight more effectively. You can reduce how much salt and sugar you eat by avoiding processed foods, such as canned soups and frozen dinners; choosing fresh fruit over juices; and adding spices instead of salt for flavor.

3.   Reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat. The Mayo Clinic diet suggests eating less red meat and high-fat dairy products, which are high in saturated fat. If you often eat red meats, try replacing it with poultry or plant protein. Swap butter for soft tub margarine or healthy oils such as olive, safflower or canola oil.

4.   Eat more vegetables, whole grains and fruits. The Mayo Clinic recommends increasing the amount of vegetables, whole grains and fruits in your daily food intake to improve your health and lose weight. You can also alternate between different types of carbohydrates every other day to promote weight loss, including beans, peas, corn, potatoes, pasta and rice.

5.   Drink more water. The Mayo Clinic diet suggests drinking at least eight glasses of water a day to improve your health and enhance weight loss. In addition, try eating lots of vegetables and fruits that are high in water content to help promote hydration. You can also drink sugar-free beverages or low sodium vegetable juice as substitutes for sugary drinks.

6.   Exercise regularly. The Mayo Clinic diet encourages doing 30 minutes of exercise every day to improve your health and enhance weight loss. You can sign up for a gym membership, take up jogging or walk daily to achieve your goal. Remember to vary your exercising routines so you can enjoy it more and get better results in the process.

7.   Eat mindfully and stop when you feel full. The Mayo Clinic diet recommends eating slowly and not rushing meals to improve your health and enhance weight loss. Chew your food well, sit in a quiet place and focus on the enjoyment of eating to help you eat less without feeling deprived or stressed. You should stop eating when you feel full.

8.   Monitor your progress and adjust accordingly. The Mayo Clinic diet encourages monitoring your weight loss and adjusting eating patterns to achieve your desired goal at a gradual pace to improve health and enhance weight loss. Remember to take into account other factors that may contribute to losing weight, such as exercising more or drinking more water for example. Consider setting goals for your progress.

9.   Find ways to stick with your diet plan. The Mayo Clinic diet suggests learning creative ways of creating low-fat recipes or finding substitutes for food you crave to improve your health and enhance weight loss. You can also exercise with family or friends or make time in your schedule to break up long periods of sitting or standing to keep yourself active throughout the day.

10. Plan your meals ahead of time. The Mayo Clinic diet recommends planning your meals ahead of time to improve health and enhance weight loss. You can also pack snacks for work or bring a healthy, low-fat dinner from home instead of going out to eat after a long day at work.

The Promises

Lose up to 10 pounds in 2 weeks — and that’s just the beginning of what the Mayo Clinic Diet says it can do for you.

The Mayo Clinic Diet is the official diet developed by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It focuses not just on what you eat and how much you weigh but also on your overall health and lifestyle. The plan provides tips on breaking old, unhealthy habits (like eating while watching TV) and forming new, healthy ones (like exercising).

The program has two phases: “Lose It!” and “Live It!”

The “Live It!” phase lasts the rest of your life. During this phase, Mayo Clinic claims you can drop 1-2 pounds a week until you reach your goal weight.

How does Mayo Clinic Diet work?

The diet drastically reduces one’s calorie intake, but does not eliminate any particular food group. It limits total fat to 20 percent of daily calories, while carbohydrates are reduced to 50 grams a day. The Mayo Clinic recommends that people on the diet get between 20 and 30 grams of fiber per day. It permits unrestricted use of nuts and seeds (as long as they are unsalted), fish, oils other than olive oil, and dried fruit. Red meat can be eaten once per week, but only two 3-ounce servings, with the rest of the diet consisting of poultry (with giblets removed), plus up to 2 eggs per day (cooked without fat). The diet limits fluid intake during meals to six ounces. People following this diet should drink lots of water and supplement their diets with multivitamins containing potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium.

As a Mayo Clinic dieter, you will have a diet plan that is personalized for you by your MNSure team before starting the diet. The customized kcals goal will be determined by your MNSure team and will depend on many factors such as age, gender, activity level, and current BMI. This is very important because it does not eliminate any particular food group; rather it limits foods in each food group in certain amounts that are appropriate for you. It is necessary to consult with a licensed medical professional before starting a new diet.

There is no time limit on the Mayo Clinic Diet, which can last anywhere from two weeks to one year or longer. The plan is intended to provide about 1,200 calories daily when following it for 12 weeks.

Once you have finished your first 12 weeks on the diet, you may need an additional week to transition to the Maintenance Stage, where you continue to reduce your kcals to about 1,500 per day. Then after this stage is done, the process repeats itself; there are two weeks for Pre-Maintenance and one week for Maintenance. If necessary, Pre-Maintenance can be done again after you reach your weight loss goal (this is typically within 12-18 months of starting the diet).

During your diet, you will meet with your MNsure team to check progress and possibly modify your kcals goal if needed. You will also receive coaching by phone, email, text message or online chat.

After reaching your weight loss goal, you can transition to the Maintenance Stage where you continue to reduce your daily kcals by about 500 per day until you establish a weight maintenance goal.

The Mayo Clinic Diet is designed to help people lose up to 6-10 pounds (about 3-4 kg) in two weeks, and then continue losing 1-2 pounds (0.5-1 kg) per week until they reach a healthy weight.

The Mayo Clinic Diet is a restrictive diet for people with elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes, heart disease or obesity. Its purpose is to use fat loss and low calorie consumption to achieve a healthy weight while minimizing the risk of malnutrition or deficiencies in essential vitamins and nutrients. It can be followed long-term, but is typically undertaken only by adults.

The Mayo Clinic Diet is a six-week nutritional program consisting of 40 kcals/day for women and 50 kcals/day for men. The diet requires regular exercise to reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and obesity. During the diet you get to eat three meals a day with snacks, and you get one cheat day each week. In addition to food recipes, weekly exercise routines and workout tips are provided to help people lose weight.

What You Can Eat and What You Can’t

The diet gives you lots of food choices within six food groups:

1. Fruits
2. Vegetables
3. Whole grains
4. Lean proteins such as beans and fish
5. Unsaturated fats such as olive oil and nuts
6. Sweets, in small amounts

Sample Menu

Here is a 3-day sample menu for a 1,200-calorie plan. Higher-calorie plans will include more servings of carbs, protein, dairy, and fats.