What to Know About the New Mayo Clinic Diet
A Healthier Michigan
| 3 min read
Sometimes when we’re talking about ways to lose weight and get healthier, a string of fad diets will crop up in the conversation. Who can forget the diets built on eating bowls of grapefruit? Or the suggestions that we really get back to paleolithic basics with caveman-type meal plans? But every once in a while, a new weight-loss plan starts generating a buzz. This year, that buzz belongs to the new Mayo Clinic Diet.
Designed by team members of the well-known medical clinic headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic Diet made its debut recently with national headlines and positive reviews in news and health magazines. It’s being described not as a quick fix or a fad, but as a long-term program that teaches people how to reach - and maintain - a healthy weight while reshaping their lifestyle. The focus is on showing people how to take simple steps toward better habits.
The Mayo Clinic Diet invites people to start with a quick online assessment of their current health. The program does not rely on calorie-counting, food points, or color-coded food systems. It offers its own sample meal plans to get people started, and has other plans that cater to fans of the Mediterranean Diet, vegetarians, or those who practice healthy Keto.
Overview
Let’s take a look at the main pieces of this new weight-management program. The primary pillars are:
- Healthy eating tailored to a person’s preferences, with an emphasis on unlimited fruits and vegetables
- Increased physical activity
- Lifestyle changes that create long-term healthy habits
Two phases
Here’s how the Mayo Clinic Diet team describes its new diet’s short- and long-term phases:
- Lose It: A two-week phase that gives people an initial shot of confidence during which they lose anywhere from 6 to 10 pounds. The focus is on learning healthy habits that help people drop weight.
- Live It: This is the long-term phase that guides people through all the tools they’ll need to make lifestyle changes that will help keep them healthy. It covers everything from how to choose foods and plan weekly menus to how to get the hang of portion sizes and regular exercise. In this phase, people typically lose a pound or two a week until they achieve a healthy weight.
Simple changes become good habits
The new Mayo Clinic Diet asks people to commit to a foundation of easy changes which ultimately can become regular habits that make them healthier. Some of these basic habits include:
- Eating more fruits and vegetables each day
- Not eating in front of the television
- Moving your body for 30 minutes each day
- Set achievable - not unrealistic - goals
Membership
Like most weight-management and lifestyle programs, the new Mayo Clinic Diet has a few different membership pricing plans, with the lowest coming in at less than $5 a week. It includes:
- Personalized meal plans. Options include healthy Keto, high protein, vegetarian and Mediterranean
- Food tracker
- Access to the plan’s digital platform
- Virtual sessions with Mayo Clinic doctors
- Digital reminders to keep people on track
- At-home workout guide
** As with any weight loss program, consult your health care provider before you begin.
photo credit: Getty Images
