The phrase “I am on a diet” often implies something that’s rigid, focuses on what you can’t eat, and that’s a negative experience.  As a result, it’s common for people to abandon their diets and swiftly regain any weight they may have lost.

Diet fads come and go, but experts agree that developing and sticking with healthy habits is a smart approach for lasting changes.

One program that adheres to this idea is the Mayo Clinic Diet. It has consistently ranked high among the top-rated diets for weight loss, per U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey. 

Related: Fad Diets: The Best and The Worst

What Is The Mayo Clinic Diet

Mayo Clinic experts have developed the medically backed lifestyle approach known as the Mayo Clinic Diet, which can help individuals lose weight and improve their health.

This approach revolves around two core principles: enjoying a flavorful and satisfying meal plan that is low in calories and increasing physical activity to burn more calories.

The program empowers individuals with the knowledge and tools needed to make significant lifestyle changes, without prescribing specific actions or timelines.

By avoiding extreme dietary restrictions or fixation on specific food groups, this approach is more conducive to long-term, sustainable weight loss compared to more rigid diets.

The diet has two distinct phases, “Lose It!” and “Live It!”, with the former designed to jump-start weight loss and the latter focused on maintaining healthy habits over the long term.

Apart from following the phases, The Mayo Clinic Diet book also gives you many recipes and encourages you to track your progress by journaling it. The Mayo Clinic Diet Journal is one such tool. They also give a short Readiness quiz for you to take before embarking on the journey.

Below are the basics of the two phases of the Mayo Clinic Diet.

Two Phases of The Mayo Clinic Diet

Lose It!

During this phase, you can lose 6 to 10 pounds by making some sudden changes in your habits. Lose It! Can be repeated any time you’d like.

This phase is about adding  5 Habits, breaking 5 habits, and adopting 5 habits.

Add 5 Habits

• Eat a healthy breakfast: Consuming breakfast can aid in weight loss by curbing overeating later in the day. 
• Eat at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruits every day: Fruits and vegetables offer a high bulk-to-calorie ratio, enabling you to consume more food while ingesting fewer calories, thereby promoting feelings of fullness. 

• Eat whole-grain breads and pastas, brown rice, oatmeal, and other whole-grain products, instead of white, refined, and highly processed foods: Whole grains are also beneficial in promoting fullness due to their high fiber and bulk content, and they can lower the risk of weight gain.
• Eat healthy fat like olive oil, vegetable oils, avocados, nuts, nut butters, and the oils that come from nuts: These fats are beneficial for heart health.
• Include at least 30 minutes of physical activity or exercise in your schedule every day:  Increasing physical activity leads to more calorie burn.

Break 5 Habits

• No screen time while eating: Excessive screen time is linked to elevated health risks and weight gain. 
• Avoid sugar from common sources like table sugar, brown sugar, honey, soda, etc. Eat fruit instead: Sugar consumption can have detrimental health effects and adds to caloric intake.

• If you snack between meals, make it only vegetables or fruits and nothing else. Common snack options are often high in calories but lack nutritional value. Additionally, such snacks often contain saturated fat and calories.
• Choose healthier alternatives over meat and full-fat dairy: They contain saturated fat and calories.
• Avoid eating out unless the food you order follows the diet’s rules: Eating out is associated with weight gain.

Adopt 5 Bonus Habits

Recommended bonus habits to adopt include:

• Keeping food journal
• Keeping activity journal
• Exercising for 60 minutes or more per day
• Avoiding processed foods,
• Creating daily goals.

Live It!

Live It! is a phase focused on developing healthy habits for life. Through this phase, you learn about making appropriate food choices, portion control, menu planning, physical activity, exercise, and adhering to healthy habits.

Weight loss progress may continue with a steady loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week until reaching the desired weight goal. Furthermore, this phase can promote the maintenance of goal weight over the long term. 

The lifestyle changes made during Live It! can help individuals sustain their weight loss achievements.

Related: What is a Sustainable Diet?

Summary

• The Mayo Clinic Diet is a structured program based on Habit change and is divided into Lose it and Live it phases.
• The Mayo Clinic provides a lot of information resources and tools for the diet.
• The diet is intended for overall weight reduction and may require adaptation for individuals with specific health conditions or uncertainty about fitting the diet into their lifestyle. It’s advisable to consult with your healthcare team in such cases.
• Significant modifications to your diet and physical activity, as well as rapid weight loss, can occasionally result in symptoms like dizziness and fatigue or entail changes to medications. If you encounter these symptoms while on the Mayo Clinic Diet or if you are taking medications, it is recommended that you speak with your physician.

References: Hensrud, D. D. (2023). The Mayo Clinic Diet: Reshape your life with science-based habits (Third ed.). Mayo Clinic Press.