Most people have heard of the Mayo Clinic, world-famous health center located in Rochester, New York. And in fact, they do endorse their own healthy eating plan, but that's not what the Mayo Clinic "Diet" is. Be careful, here, because this is really a fad diet that you should be careful about. What is it, really?

The "real" Mayo Clinic diet

First, let's talk about what the "real" Mayo Clinic diet is. The Mayo Clinic does endorse a kind of "diet," but it's not a restrictive or faddish plan. Instead, it's meant to focus on foods like lean protein, moderate amounts of unsaturated fats that are healthy for the heart, and plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains. They also endorse doing a moderate amount of physical activity as endorsed by your own health care professional, depending on your level of physical ability.

Now, about the "fad" Mayo Clinic "diet"

The real Mayo Clinic says that this faddish diet, which has been circulating for many years, usually pushes one food to the exclusion of others, to the point where nutrients are missed and the diet itself is definitely unhealthy. Typical food choices that are pushed to the exclusion of others include grapefruit, cabbage (including cabbage soup), eggs, or an overabundance of meat. It promises fast weight loss and in fact, you do experience fast weight loss, but it's not lasting weight loss and it can cause significant health problems. Much of the weight you lose comes from water, too, which means it's not only unhealthy weight loss, but it's not going to be lasting weight loss.

No weight loss plan is "all you can eat" -- as long as you eat some grapefruit

Grapefruit is certainly healthy for you if you like it, and it's true that eating a half a grapefruit before you eat a meal can cause you to eat less overall because you're filling yourself up with a low-calorie and healthy citrus fruit to take the edge off your appetite. But rest assured that you will NOT drop pounds just because you eat a half a grapefruit, then pig out on pizza, junk food, or even simply overeat healthy foods.

The key to any weight loss is that you eat healthy foods in moderation (including grapefruit, eggs, and cabbage if you so choose), and that you eat a variety of foods, drink plenty of water, and get enough exercise.

Restrictive diets don't last

It's true that restrictive diets, too, will help you lose weight over the short term. Point is, though, you're not going to be able to stick to them because they are so restrictive. Eventually, you're going to get tired of them because they don't provide you enough variety, and it's likely that you'll lose out on some nutrients, too, if it's very restrictive. This is true of the Mayo Clinic "diet" (the fad one), just as it is for any other type of restrictive fad diet. Eventually, you're going to need a wider variety of foods, so it's best to just set up a meal plan of healthy foods that you like, and make lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight slowly over the long-term instead of trying to rely on crash "fad" diets like the so-called Mayo Clinic "diet."

The bottom line?

Set up a good, healthy eating plan for yourself that contains foods you enjoy and restricts calories enough so that you create a calorie deficit with your food intake along with burning calories through exercise; however, this eating plan should provide you all the nutrients you need and can be followed over the long-term. Most people need about 1500 to 2000 calories a day for good health, depending on gender and level of activity. Check with your health care practitioner or nutritionist to find out what's best for you if you're not sure.