It has been around for 60 years but the grapefruit diet is still at the top of almost any list of fad diets that you will see. It promises to help you lose ten pounds in less than two weeks if you stick strictly to it. The theory is that something in the grapefruit when combined with protein creates a powerful fat burner that will speed up your weight loss.
This is not a diet for someone who has a significant amount of weight to lose; it is a crash diet that can shed pounds quickly and wants to look better at the beach in a few weeks in her bikini. There are a number of variations of the diet which is also known as the Hollywood diet or mayo diet. The basic plan calls for three small meals a day and a snack before bedtime, it also allows for plenty of black coffee and water in between meals.
It is called the grapefruit diet because you must eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice with each of the three meals. A sample breakfast might include a half of grapefruit plus two eggs and bacon. The lunch menu would be a half of grapefruit or 8 ounce glass of juice plus a chefs salad with plenty of meat on top. Dinner allows an unlimited amount of meat, vegetables or a salad and of course a half of grapefruit. Your bedtime snack is an 8 ounce cup of low fat milk.
The experts who have studied the grapefruit diet say you will probably lose weight whether you eat the grapefruit or not because the plan strictly limits the intake of calories. There is no scientific research which can confirm the fat burning effects of grapefruit but there are those who swear by the program and it has been talked about enough to still be around 60 years later. Doctors do seem to agree that grapefruit is good for you but they say it is not any more or less than healthy than other fruits or vegetables which should be a part of any healthy diet.
Please be aware that a very strict, very low caloric diet is very dangerous and should only be done under the supervision of your doctor. This is a very hard diet to stick to, because of the low calories, mostly resulting in failure to complete. So, again, just another Fad Diet.
