Grapefruit Diet
One of the popular fad diets in Hollywood was the grapefruit diet. Stars and starlets used it as far back as the 1930s. It became part of xerox lore, faxed from machine to machine, in the 1970′s. The diet is attributed to the Mayo Clinic, which clearly states that it has nothing to do with diet and that the diet is not good.
Originally the grapefruit diet was an Atkins style diet that added one half grapefruit before each meal. There was no cheating on this diet has only three meals a day and no in between meals snacks. The diet claimed that people could lose 10 pounds in 10 days, or 5 pounds in five days. As wild as that sounds, this is wilder because the diet claimed someone might not lose weight for 9 days, but then suddenly drop 10 pounds in the last day. It was based on the claim that grapefruit contains fat burning enzymes, something that has never been proven.
Researchers showed that the diet may work in a 2004 study. Eating 1½ grapefruit prior to meals helped people in the study lose 3.6 pounds in twelve weeks. Those who drank the serving of grapefruit juice at each meal lost just slightly less weight in the same period of time. Some people lost as much as 10 pounds in the 12 week study. Researchers attributed the weight loss to decreased insulin levels caused by eating grapefruit. However, all the participants slightly enhanced their exercise programs, which may account for the lost weight.
Here’s a typical grapefruit diet:
- Eight 8 ounce glasses of water each day, this is a must.
- Eat until full.
- Eat every item of food listed for each meal because the menus are formulated to burn fat.
- Grapefruit is a catalyst that starts fat burning. Do not change the amount of grapefruit.
- One cup of coffee can be consumed at each meal.
- No snacking.
- Eat butter if you want.
- Avoid sweets and starches such as bread and potatoes.
- Do eat meats and vegetables.
- Eat until full in order to maximize weight loss.
- Skip two days between each 12 day diet period.
- Grapefruit with each meal is 1½ or 18 ounces of juice.
Now you can go try the grapefruit diet.
