The fad Mayo Clinic diet is also referred to as the
grapefruit diet because grapefruit or unsweetened
grapefruit juice is consumed at every meal.
Diet promoters
claimed that grapefruit burned fat, resulting in
weight loss. Some diets also called for the consumption
of eggs, so the diet was referred to as the grapefruit
and egg diet. Other elements of the diet included
proteins like meat.
The diet specified portion sizes for
some foods. For other foods, dieters could eat as much
as they wanted. Fried food was allowed in most plans.
The fad diets promised that the person could eat
until full and would not experience hunger. For that to
occur, the dieter had to follow diet instructions that
included not eating between meals and avoiding all
fruit except grapefruit.
The diet also limited the consumption
of vegetables. The Mayo Clinic fad diet is
believed to have originated as the Hollywood Diet of
the 1930s.
The weight loss plan followed for three weeks
consisted of the daily consumption of grapefruit. For
21 days, dieters followed a meal schedule of:
-A breakfast of half of a grapefruit and black coffee.
-A lunch of a half-grapefruit, an egg, cucumber, a
piece of melba toast, and coffee or plain tea.
-A dinner of a half of a grapefruit, two eggs, half of a
head of lettuce with a tomato, and coffee or tea.
In some versions of the plan, dieters could eat
small portions of meat or fish. The daily calories consumed
each day totaled less than 800.
The Mayo Clinic Diet
The Hollywood Diet evolved into the weight-loss
plan known as the Mayo Clinic diet or the grapefruit
diet. The citrus fruit remained a key element of the
numerous versions of the fad diet.
Dieters could eat
meat and fats, items that were said to produce the
sensation of feeling full. Fruits and vegetables were
restricted, and the diet was a temporary plan that
generally lasted 12 days.
In one version of the diet, people followed this
plan:
-Breakfast consisted of a half-grapefruit or 8 ounces
(0.24 liters) of grapefruit juice, two eggs, two slices of
bacon, and black coffee.
-Lunch was a grapefruit half or 8 ounces (0.24 liters)
of grapefruit juice, salad and salad dressing, and as
much meat as the person wanted to eat.
-Dinner consisted of a half-grapefruit or 8 ounces
(0.24 liters) of grapefruit juice, salad or green and
red vegetables, and unlimited meat.
-The evening snack consisted of 8 ounces (0.24 liters)
of skim milk or 8 ounces of (0.24 liters) tomato juice.
Some diets allowed fish or poultry. In one version,
the dieter ate eggs and grapefruit for every meal for
several days. There was no limit on the amount of eggs
eaten at lunch, a meal that included spinach.
After
several days, the dieter could eat pork chops or lamb
chops. For some dieters in the 1950s and 1960s, the
plan was a steady diet of grapefruit and steak.
Most versions of the Mayo Clinic fad diet are
based on a 12-day cycle. For the dieter wanting to
lose more weight, the person diets 12 days, takes two
days off, and then starts the cycle again.
Some plans
recommended starting the plan on a Monday so the
dieter would have the weekend off to indulge in forbidden
items. Some dieters satisfied their cravings for
pastries; others enjoyed alcoholic beverages.
