The Mayo Clinic Diet is a short term fad diet. It is a very popular fad diet that is passed via the internet and word of mouth.

The weight loss plan promises a weight loss of up to 7 pounds / 3.5 kilos in a week.

The diet is based on grapefruit, salad, vegetables, egg and meats. These basic ingredients are not bad and with them the diet belongs to the low carb / low G.I. family

The weight loss program cannot be considered a balanced diet that is appropriate for longer periods of time. As a fad diet it is also very likely that a yo-yo effect occurs after the diet. It is therefore very important to also have a good diet plan after the diet to return to normal, healthy eating. This is vital to keep the weight off long term.

We do not recommend the diet program for more than one or two weeks.
However, if you like the food combination of the diet program, it can be a good diet if you only have a few pounds to lose. If followed strictly, the diet effect seems generally good. This could be mainly driven by the absence of "bad carbs". (See the food facts section)

The Mayo Clinic states that the diet did not originate with them. It does also not endorse the weight loss program.