
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a 12-week program that is designed to establish healthy habits for life using evidence-based behavioural science. It is a doctor-developed weight loss program backed by research and clinical experience. The program is flexible, personalized to your needs, and supported by digital tools like a food journal and weight tracker. The diet gives you lots of food choices within six food groups, and you can also eat your favourite foods in moderation. The program has two phases: Lose It! and Live It!. The Live It! phase lasts the rest of your life, during which you can drop 1-2 pounds a week until you reach your goal weight.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Program Duration | 12 weeks |
| Phases | "Lose It!" and "Live It!" |
| Phase 1 Duration | 2 weeks |
| Phase 2 Duration | 10 weeks |
| Focus | Weight loss, healthy eating, exercise, overall health, and lifestyle |
| Calorie Counting | Not required |
| Snacking | Allowed on fruits and vegetables |
| Weight Loss | Up to 6-10 pounds in the first phase |
| Food Choices | Six food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and favorite foods in moderation |
| Alcohol | Not allowed in Phase 1; limited to 75 calories per day in Phase 2 |
| Flexibility | Personalized and flexible, with various meal plans |
| Tools | Food journal, weight tracker, meal plans, food tracking, fitness plans, group coaching, webinars, and medication support |
| Support | Online community, virtual group sessions, and 1-on-1 coaching |
| Resources | Books, website, and app |
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What You'll Learn

Evidence-based behavioural science
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a 12-week program designed to establish healthy habits for life. It is based on evidence-based behavioural science and backed by clinical experience and research.
The program consists of two phases: "Lose It!" and "Live It!". The first phase focuses on breaking unhealthy habits and adopting new ones, with an emphasis on lifestyle habits that contribute to weight gain. During this phase, participants are encouraged to avoid eating while watching TV, as studies have linked this behaviour with weight gain. Instead, they can snack on fruits and vegetables and are not required to count calories. The second phase, "Live It!", focuses on making smart food choices, understanding portion sizes, meal prepping, physical activity, and committing to healthy habits for life.
The Mayo Clinic Diet offers a unique food pyramid that emphasises fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, helping individuals recalibrate their eating habits. It also provides a variety of digital tools, such as a food journal, weight and food trackers, grocery lists, and home workouts. Additionally, the program offers unlimited group coaching sessions, 1-on-1 sessions with registered dietitians, and monthly webinars with guest speakers.
The diet is flexible and adaptable, allowing individuals to eat foods they enjoy and providing a range of meal plans, including plant-based, Mediterranean, and low-carb options. It also emphasizes the importance of exercise, recommending at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity daily.
The Mayo Clinic Diet has shown promising results, with members losing an average of 5 pounds in the first two weeks and 11.7 pounds after 12 weeks. Furthermore, 69% of members surveyed reported improvements in health conditions by following the diet.
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Two phases: Lose It! and Live It
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a 12-week program designed to establish healthy habits for life. It is based on evidence-based behavioural science and is divided into two phases: "Lose It!" and "Live It!".
The first phase, "Lose It!", lasts for the first two weeks of the program and focuses on lifestyle habits that contribute to weight gain. During this phase, you adopt 10 healthy habits and break five unhealthy ones. You are not required to count calories, and you can snack freely on fruits and vegetables. The Mayo Clinic Diet states that you can lose up to 6 to 10 pounds during this initial phase.
The second phase, "Live It!", makes up the remaining 10 weeks of the program. Here, you learn about making smart food choices, understanding portion sizes, meal prepping, and incorporating physical activity and exercise into your routine. This phase is about committing to healthy habits for life, so no food group is completely off-limits. You can still eat your favourite foods, like pizza, but in moderation. For example, instead of eating an entire pie, you might have a slice, and alcohol is limited to about 75 calories a day on average.
The diet is flexible and adaptable, with eight different meal plans available, including a Simple meal plan, a Plant-based meal plan, a Mediterranean meal plan, and a Healthy Keto meal plan. It also includes tools like a food journal and weight tracker to help you stay on track. The program offers unlimited group coaching sessions with Mayo Clinic diet experts and monthly webinars with guest speakers.
The Mayo Clinic Diet emphasizes that it is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach, so you can eat foods you like and treat yourself occasionally. It provides clear and specific rules and suggestions, along with guidance on behavioural modification, to help you make sustainable changes.
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Balanced meals and portion sizes
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a 12-week program designed to establish healthy habits for life. It is based on evidence-based behavioural science and does not include rigid meal plans or prepackaged meals. Instead, it encourages the creation of balanced meals based on the Mayo Clinic's food pyramid, which emphasizes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
The food pyramid provides guidance on food and lifestyle choices, with fruits, vegetables, and physical activity forming the base. Each layer upward gets smaller, representing a decreasing proportion of your diet. Carbohydrates, including breads and grains, as well as starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes, comprise the next layer. This is followed by a layer of protein, then fats, and finally, sweets.
To create balanced meals, the diet recommends piling up on produce and whole grains, with unlimited amounts of vegetables and fruits. Lean chicken or plant-based sources of protein are also encouraged. Balancing protein across meals helps control appetite and curb cravings. The diet also includes a high-fat, low-carb meal plan, which includes healthy fats from extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds, while keeping daily net carbs around 50 grams.
The Mayo Clinic Diet does not focus on calorie counting, but it does recommend servings from various food groups based on a target calorie level. It also provides adaptable meal plans and group coaching to support an effective path to weight loss and better overall health.
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Weight loss and health improvements
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a doctor-developed weight loss program that promotes healthy eating, exercise, and lasting results. It is based on the idea that a balanced, healthy diet can lead to weight loss and help prevent disease. The diet is flexible and personalized, with eight different meal plans to choose from, including a simple meal plan, a plant-based meal plan, a Mediterranean meal plan, and a Healthy Keto meal plan. The program also offers unlimited group coaching sessions with Mayo Clinic diet experts and monthly webinars with guest speakers.
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a 12-week program broken up into two phases: "Lose It!" and "Live It!". The first phase, "Lose It!", focuses on lifestyle habits that contribute to weight gain, specifically adopting ten healthy habits and breaking five unhealthy ones. During this phase, dieters can potentially lose up to 6 to 10 pounds. The second phase, "Live It!", focuses on making smart food choices, portion sizes, meal prepping, physical activity, exercise, and committing to healthy habits for life. In this phase, dieters can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week until they reach their goal weight.
The Mayo Clinic Diet uses a proprietary food groups system to help create nutritionally balanced meals. The diet is based on the Mayo Clinic's unique food pyramid, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It is important to note that no food group is completely off-limits, and dieters can still enjoy their favorite foods in moderation. The diet also recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day, such as brisk walking or working in the yard.
The Mayo Clinic Diet offers a variety of tools and resources to support weight loss and health improvements. These include digital tools such as a food journal, weight tracker, meal planners, and recipes. The program also provides mindset assessments and a private members-only Facebook community for extra motivation and peer support. Additionally, the Mayo Clinic Diet Score is a unique 100-point scoring system that helps dieters make smarter food choices and increase their potential for sustainable weight loss.
The Mayo Clinic Diet has been shown to be effective, with 69% of members surveyed reporting improvements in health conditions. The diet is designed to be flexible and personalized, allowing individuals to eat foods they enjoy while still achieving their weight loss and health goals. Overall, the Mayo Clinic Diet provides a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to weight loss and health improvements.
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Personalised planning and support
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a doctor-developed weight loss program that is flexible, adaptable, and personalized to your needs. It is based on evidence-based behavioural science and backed by clinical experience and research.
The program consists of two phases: "Lose It!" and "Live It!". The first phase focuses on adopting healthy habits and breaking unhealthy ones, while the second phase is about making smart food choices, portion sizes, meal prepping, physical activity, and committing to healthy habits for life.
The diet offers personalized planning and support through digital tools like a food journal, weight and food tracking tools, grocery lists, and home workouts. It also provides access to a private Facebook community for extra motivation and peer support.
Additionally, the Mayo Clinic Diet offers unlimited group coaching sessions with diet experts and monthly webinars with guest speakers. Optional 1-on-1 sessions with registered dietitians can also be arranged to tailor guidance for specific needs, such as menopause, men's health, or other sex-specific concerns.
The diet is flexible and gives you a variety of food choices within six food groups. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and recommends a balanced, healthy diet for weight loss and improved overall health.
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Frequently asked questions
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a weight loss program that promotes healthy eating, exercise, and lasting results.
The Mayo Clinic Diet is based on the idea that a balanced, healthy diet can lead to weight loss and help prevent disease. It is underpinned by evidence-based behavioural science and clinical experience.
The diet has two phases: "Lose It!" and "Live It!". "Lose It!" focuses on lifestyle habits that contribute to weight gain, specifically adopting 10 healthy habits and breaking five unhealthy ones. "Live It!" is about making smart food choices, portion sizes, meal prepping, physical activity, exercise, and committing to healthy habits for life.
The diet is flexible and gives you lots of food choices. It also offers extensive support, including group coaching, 1-on-1 sessions, and digital tools.
The Mayo Clinic Diet book is available to purchase, and the website has some free tools and weight loss ideas. However, to access all the online support features, it costs $65 for the first 13 weeks of access.











































