The Mayo Clinic Diet

When Anna from FSB Associates asked me if I wanted to review The Mayo Clinic Diet I jumped at the opportunity, mainly because it is written by the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic.  The folks at the Mayo Clinic are the #1 experts in health as far as I'm concerned and various family members have relied on their expertise over the years. Along with the book,  the Mayo Clinic Diet Journal is available to record your daily progress.  

The book has three sections. Part one is Lose It!.  The section  details a two week quick start way to lose those first 6 to 10 pounds and gets you ready to go, suggests 5 habits to add, 5 to break and 5 bonus habits to adopt.   Part two is Live It!   5 chapters composed of setting goals, eating to the pyramid, practicing portion control, burning calories and review.   Part three is All The Extra Stuff!  8 chapters about finding your healthy weight, nutrition, the Mayo clinic pyramid, how to change, easy meals and sticking to your diet when eat out, plus what do you do when you slip up.  Even a few delicious recipes.

I received the book around the beginning of the year and Father happened to see the book on the counter, picked it up, started reading it and liked all the ideas suggested.  We both decided to follow their suggestions.  The book is chock full of great suggestions.  In part one, two of the 5 habit to break - sugar and snacks.   My sugar habit - soda's, especially Pepsi and Canada Dry.   I was up to 3 pepsi's a day.  Plus a Canada dry in the evening along with a snack of sour cream dip and Doritos.  Father's sugar habit - A couple bowls of Cocoa Puffs or Fruit Loops as an evening snack.   Real Healthy!  My blood pressure seemed to be steadily creeping up too.  Plus, I had issues with my esophagus narrowing and ended up have an endoscopy to widen it.  The doctor had mentioned it could be related to allergies, but he didn't find anything in the test, so couldn't explain why it had happened.

Well, when I was a child, I was allergic to wheat, corn and eggs, but grew out of it.  Or so I  thought.  Last year, we had switched to the healthy whole wheat breads, organic corn chips, brown rice.  All the stuff that's supposed to be good for you - and what the Mayo Clinic recommends.   And it is good for you - unless you are allergic to the stuff.   So we both took the plunge and I gave up my beloved soda's and chips, he gave up the sugar cereals. At the same time, I gave up the pepsi and chips, I decided to eliminate the corn and wheat.  Anything with corn - corn syrup, corn chips, corn tortilla's, etc.  And eliminated all fast food.    We started watching our serving sizes as suggested and found we were getting full eating smaller portions.  We both have been feeling healthier and more energetic due to all the changes. Occasionally I have some chips and the resulting heartburn makes me remember why I gave them up.  I rarely weigh myself and so was shocked when I stepped on the scale the other day and found I had dropped 12 pounds.  

So if you are looking to make some changes, maybe lose a few pounds, exercise more, check out the Mayo Clinic Diet.  It will put you on the path to eating sensibly and improve your health.  I highly recommend it.  Thank you Anna for providing me with a copy of the book.  

What to read an excerpt: Action guide to Weight Loss Barriers

Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H., is chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine and a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He is also an associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. A specialist in nutrition and weight management, Dr. Hensrud advises individuals on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. He conducts research in weight management, and he writes and lectures widely on nutrition-related topics. He helped publish two award-winning Mayo Clinic cookbooks.


Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy that the needs of the patient come first. Over 3,600 physicians and scientists and 50,000 allied staff work at Mayo, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, Mayo Clinic treats more than 500,000 patients a year.

For more than 100 years, millions of people from all walks of life have found answers at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic works with many insurance companies, does not require a physician referral in most cases and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

For more information, please visit www.goodbooks.com/mayoclinicdiet.

Other thoughts:  

Caribousmom:

"So, I was very happy to see that The Mayo Clinic Diet is not like other diets out there. The weight experts at the Mayo Clinic have put together a book which is not only colorful and easy to read, but makes losing weight more about lifestyle changes than about hard and fast dieting."

Sheila of Book Journey:

"This book has motivated me to do what I need to do to get back on track. Using the journal as a guide and the book to help me with those pitfalls I am looking forward to and expecting success."

The Girl from the Ghetto:

"The book is very cool, it is extremely visual and easy to read, and it includes everything from recipes to visual clues on serving sizes (page 88, you were my favorite, as you were filled with beautiful images of steak) to many strategies for all of the behavior obstacles every emotional eater and junk food junkie faces. "