The Mayo Clinic Diet is a weight-loss program developed by experts at the Mayo Clinic. It aims to promote a healthy lifestyle through sustainable habits and balanced nutrition, rather than short-term fixes. The Mayo Clinic Diet was first published in 1949 by the Mayo Clinic Committee on Dietetics as the Mayo Clinic Diet Manual. The program has evolved over the years, with the latest updates focusing on user-friendly tools and a practical approach to long-term adherence. The Mayo Clinic Diet emphasizes that the best way to keep weight off for good is to change your lifestyle and adopt new habits that you enjoy and can stick with.
Overview of the Mayo Clinic Diet
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a membership-based program that uses a pyramid illustration to guide people on the diet through diet and exercise. The diet is designed to reduce intake by 500-1,000 calories per day during the second phase so that you lose 1-2 pounds (0.5-1 kg) per week. The Mayo Clinic Diet is based on several habits that may benefit your health.
The program includes preapproved meals and recipes, with a range of diet plans to choose from, such as Mediterranean, keto, vegetarian, and high protein. It also provides access to educational content, virtual group sessions with Mayo Clinic doctors, a digital platform with a food tracker and other tools to help reinforce health-promoting habits, and practical at-home, equipment-free workouts. The online component of the Mayo Clinic Diet include habit, food and physical activity trackers, meal plans, recipes and an online support group.
Key Principles
The Mayo Clinic Diet is designed to help you reshape your lifestyle by adopting healthy new habits and breaking unhealthy old ones. It focuses on changing your daily routine by adding and breaking habits that can affect your weight. Simple habits, such as eating more fruits and vegetables, not eating while you watch TV, and moving your body for 30 minutes a day, can help you lose weight.
The fundamental aspects of the diet emphasize unlimited consumption of fruits and vegetables and moderate amounts of whole-grain carbohydrates, lean sources of protein, and low-fat dairy.
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The Mayo Clinic Diet eating plan is low in fat and calories and prioritizes whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid
The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid is divided into three sections that provide guidance on food and lifestyle choices. Fruits, vegetables, and physical activity make up the base of the pyramid, meaning these are the fundamentals of your diet and lifestyle. Each layer upward gets smaller, representing less of what you’re eating. Carbs comprise the next layer, followed by protein, fats, and finally, sweets. While the pyramid defines carbs as breads and grains, note that certain starchy vegetables - like corn and potatoes - also count as carbs in this diet.
Both promote the intake of whole grains, a variety of vegetables, whole fruits, and low fat protein and dairy. They also encourage you to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies and limit your fat and sugar intake (1). However, the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid also emphasizes exercise as an essential component of a healthier life - something MyPlate doesn’t mention. In addition, since the Mayo Clinic Diet focuses on weight loss and maintenance, it recommends smaller portions than you may see in MyPlate and other food proportion tools.
Program Phases
The Mayo Clinic Diet program is structured into two distinct phases: "Lose It!" and "Live It!".
"Lose It!" Phase
This initial two-week phase is designed to jump-start weight loss, with an expected loss of 6 to 10 pounds (2.7 to 4.5 kilograms). In this phase, you focus on lifestyle habits that are associated with weight. You learn how to add five healthy habits, break five unhealthy habits and adopt another five bonus healthy habits. During this phase, there's no calorie counting, and you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want. The more habits you change, the more weight you will lose.
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The healthy habits that you'll try to add are:
- Eating a healthy but moderately sized breakfast
- Eating vegetables and fruits
- Eating whole grains
- Eating healthy fats
- Exercising (including walking) for 30 minutes or more a day
Habits you'll try to ditch are:
- Eating added sugar
- Snacking on anything but fruits and veggies
- Eating a lot of meat or full-fat dairy
- Eating while watching TV
- Eating out, unless you can follow your eating plan's rules
Some of the bonus habits include: maintaining a diary of your foods, activity and goals, exercising more than an hour a day and eating minimally processed foods.
"Live It!" Phase
This phase is a lifelong approach to health. In this phase, you learn more about food choices, portion sizes, menu planning, physical activity, exercise and sticking to healthy habits. You may continue to see a steady weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilograms) a week until you reach your goal weight. You can break some of the rules you followed in the "Lose It" phase, and you should still lose 1 to 2 pounds each week.
In the "Live It" phase, you estimate (without measuring) and count servings of food, rather than calories, which the program teaches you how to do. You try to eat a certain number of servings of certain types of food each day based on your personal program. You also exercise on a regular basis.
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Dietary Recommendations
The Mayo Clinic Diet makes healthy eating easy by teaching you how to estimate portion sizes and plan meals. The program doesn't require you to be precise about counting calories. The program recommends getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day and even more exercise for further health benefits and weight loss. It provides an exercise plan with easy-to-follow walking and resistance exercises that will help maximize fat loss and boost mental well-being.
The Mayo Clinic Diet provides a choice of five different eating styles at several calorie levels.
The Mayo Clinic Diet emphasizes vegetables and fruits, whole grains and healthy fats like olive oil and avocado and includes smaller amounts of meat, cheese and eggs.
There are six meal plan options available:
- The Original Mayo Clinic Diet, which is intended to be family friendly and easy to follow.
- The simple diet, which emphasizes efficiency and fewer ingredients. It’s also less costly.
- Higher protein, which balances protein across your meals to help control your appetite.
- Healthy keto, a high-fat, low-carb diet that highlights olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.
- Vegetarian, which includes eggs and dairy as well as protein from beans and soy.
- Mediterranean, which is plant-based and includes fish and some meat.
The Mayo Clinic Diet allows you a certain number of servings from various food groups. For example, a 1,400-calorie plan includes 4 or more servings each of vegetables and fruits, 5 servings of carbs, 4 servings of protein or dairy, and 3 servings of fats.
While no foods are strictly off-limits, some foods are recommended over others. The diet recommends:
- fruits: fresh, frozen, or canned in juice or water - including up to 4 ounces (120 mL) a day of 100% fruit juice
- vegetables: fresh or frozen
- whole grains: cereal, oatmeal, whole grain bread, pasta, and brown or wild rice
- protein: canned beans, low sodium tuna, other fish, skinless white meat poultry, egg whites, tofu
- dairy: low fat or fat free yogurt, cheese, and milk
- fats: unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, avocados, and nuts
The Mayo Clinic Diet also discourages overconsumption of sweets - including cookies, pastries, table sugar, and so on - for as long as you’re following the plan. In fact, during the first phase, you should avoid sweets entirely. It’s only in the second phase that the restriction loosens slightly. In that phase, you’re allowed up to 75 calories per day of sweets. Alcohol falls into the same boat as sweets and sugar under the Mayo Clinic Diet’s treatment and counts towards the 75 calories allotted to sweets during the second phase.
Foods you should limit or avoid on the Mayo Clinic Diet include:
- fruits: fruits canned in syrup, more than 4 ounces (120 mL) a day of 100% fruit juice, and juice products that are not 100% fruit
- vegetables: starchy vegetables, such as corn and potatoes - which count as carb choices
- carbohydrates: white flour - such as in white breads and pastas - and refined sugars, such as table sugar
- protein: meats high in saturated fats, such as ground beef and sausages
- dairy: full fat milk, cheese, and yogurt
- fats: saturated fats, such as those in egg yolks, butter, coconut oil, and red meats, as well as trans fats found in processed foods
- sweets: more than 75 calories per day of candies, pastries, cookies, cake, or alcoholic beverages (during the first phase you should completely avoid this category)
Sample Menu
The following 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.
Day one
- Breakfast: 3/4 cup (68 grams) of oatmeal, 1 apple, and black coffee or tea
- Lunch: 2 cups (472 grams) of mixed greens with 3 ounces (85 grams) of tuna, 1/2 cup (43 grams) of low fat shredded cheese, 1 whole wheat toast slice with 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 grams) of margarine, and 1/2 cup (75 grams) of blueberries
- Dinner: 3 ounces (85 grams) of tilapia cooked in 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) of olive oil, 1/2 cup (75 grams) of roasted potatoes, and 1/2 cup (75 grams) of cauliflower
- Snacks: 1 orange and 1 cup (125 grams) of baby carrots with 8 whole grain crackers
Day two
- Breakfast: 1 slice of whole wheat toast with 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 grams) of margarine, 3 egg whites, 1 pear, and black coffee or tea
- Lunch: 3 ounces (85 grams) of grilled chicken, 1 cup (180 grams) of steamed asparagus, 6 ounces (170 grams) of low fat yogurt, and 1/2 cup (75 grams) of raspberries
- Dinner: 3 ounces (85 grams) of shrimp cooked in 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 grams) of olive oil, 1/2 cup (75 grams) of brown rice, and 1 cup (150 grams) of broccoli
- Snacks: half a banana and 1 cup (100 grams) of sliced cucumbers with 2 rice cakes
Day three
- Breakfast: 3/4 cup (30 grams) of oat bran flakes, 1 cup (240 mL) of skim milk, half a banana, and black coffee or tea
- Lunch: 1 slice of whole wheat toast with 3 ounces (85 grams) of sliced turkey, 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 grams) of margarine, and 1 1/2 cups of grapes
- Dinner: 1 cup (100 grams) of cooked whole wheat pasta, 1/2 cup (120 grams) of low fat tomato sauce, 3 ounces (85 grams) of grilled chicken breast, and 1/2 cup (58 grams) of green beans cooked in 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) of olive oil
- Snacks: 1 pear and 10 cherry tomatoes
Effectiveness and Benefits
The Mayo Clinic Diet may help you lose weight for several reasons. It encourages exercise alongside a nutritious 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 full for a longer period of time.
Studies show that a diet high in fruits and vegetables can lower your risk of heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality (4). Second, the Mayo Clinic Diet recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, which can reduce your risk of certain chronic conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. Finally, the Mayo Clinic Diet focuses on behavior-based changes, such as exercise and adding fruits and vegetables to your routine. Behavioral-based weight loss interventions may result in greater weight loss compared with other diets.
The changes to your habits that are encouraged by the Mayo Clinic Diet are based on science and have some support for weight management. And eating more plant-based foods - which the diet encourages - is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Tracking, or self-monitoring behaviors, can also promote weight management. That’s because they keep you connected to what you’re doing and what’s working for you.
Expert Opinions
The principles in the Mayo Clinic Diet are safe and supported by research. The Mayo Clinic Diet encourages people to adopt lifestyle changes that are practical, realistic and enjoyable, which helps make them sustainable. It will not only help people manage their weight but improve their health in the process.
This diet is focused on promoting healthful foods like fruits and vegetables and whole grains, and it’s also focused on helping you establish healthier habits. It has a lot going for it.
Potential Downsides
The biggest downside of the diet is that it can be demanding and labor-intensive. You are responsible for planning your meals, grocery shopping, and preparing your food in accordance with the guidelines, so you can expect to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Furthermore, the diet discourages some foods that may provide health benefits and important nutrients, such as egg yolks.
Following the Mayo Clinic Diet may not be convenient. Eating out can be difficult, and snacks are restricted to fruits and vegetables.
Also, while cutting out all processed foods and exercising daily are great habits to incorporate into your daily life, doing it within a 2-week time frame can be challenging, which could make it difficult for some to stick to the plan.
Finally, the Mayo Clinic Diet is high in fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. If you switch from eating a low fiber diet to the Mayo Clinic Diet, you may experience temporary bloating and gas. This is because dietary fiber gets partially fermented in your intestines, promoting gas production and retention (8).
Cost and Support
There are no meetings to attend or brand-name foods that you must buy for this diet. There is an online support service that you may choose to join. If you do register, it costs $49.99 a month or $39..9 a month for a 3 month plan, $29.99 a month for 6 months, and $19.99 a month for a year.
You can follow the Mayo Clinic Diet simply by reading the book, without any support. Once you subscribe, you can receive personalized meal plans and recipes, have access to food tracking tools, use real-time tracking tools to help you stick to new habits, and get fitness plans that are custom-made for you. There are also virtual group video sessions with doctors that you can join in on.
User Reviews and Feedback
Reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. People appreciate the program's comprehensive approach to diet and lifestyle changes, highlighting its effectiveness in achieving weight loss goals and fostering healthier eating habits. Consumers find the meal plans easy to follow, with simple recipes and readily available ingredients. The app receives high praise for its user-friendly interface and helpful tracking tools. People report that the program provides valuable information, support, and motivation, empowering them to make sustainable changes and improve their overall well-being.
Some users have noted that the food database is not comprehensive and missing a lot of items. Others have expressed frustration with the "FREE personalized Diet Plan" not actually being free, requiring payment to access.
Comparison to Other Diets
The Mayo Clinic diet is similar to:
- Mediterranean diet, which also emphasizes whole, plant-based foods.
- DASH diet, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which aims to reduce or control high blood pressure.
- MIND diet, which combines the Mediterranean and DASH diets to help promote brain health.
- Flexitarian diet, a primarily vegetarian diet that includes some meat.
- Blue Zones diet, a plant-focused diet modeled after the food choices of the people in the world who live the longest.
Is the Mayo Clinic Diet Right for You?
The Mayo Clinic Diet is generally safe for most adults. For most people, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is a good thing - these foods provide your body with important nutrients and fiber. Also, the natural sugar in fruit does affect your carbohydrate intake - especially if you eat a lot of fruit. This may temporarily raise your blood sugar or certain blood fats. If you have diabetes or any other health conditions or concerns, work with your doctor to adjust the Mayo Clinic Diet for your situation. For example, people with diabetes should aim for more vegetables than fruits, if possible.
This diet could be challenging if it’s a complete overhaul of your eating habits or for people who don't want a low-calorie and low-fat approach. It’s OK to feel like your health behavior is somewhat of a stretch, but it still has to feel like it can fit within your lifestyle. And if the diet brings up any disordered eating habits, you might want to find a different approach.