Review: The Mayo Clinic Diet and Companion Journal

The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat Well. Enjoy Life. Lose Weight
and A Handy Companion Journal

by Mayo Clinic

Published by Good Books

Read Excerpt Reviews

Here's What the Book Says:

For more information, visit The Mayo Clinic Diet book Web site.

In our work with literally thousands of patients, we've identified the critical habits of people who maintain a healthy weight, and the habits of those who don't.



With The Mayo Clinic Diet, we've boiled this research down to five simple habits to help you take off the extra weight -- and five habits to break so that you can keep it from coming back. Plus, we've made it easy, because what works best when it comes to weight loss is keeping it simple!


The Mayo Clinic Diet is composed of three sections to get you started, to keep you on track, and to give you the knowledge and tools you need to keep those unwanted pounds off for good


1.Loose it! is a two-week quick-start program designed to help you lose 6 to 10 pounds in a safe and healthy way.


2.Live it! is a long-term plan in which you continue to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week until you reach your goal. Then, you learn how to maintain your healthy weight for life.


3.All the extra stuff includes meal planners, recipes, tips on overcoming challenges and much more to help you along the way.The Mayo Clinic Diet puts you in charge of reshaping your body and improving your health -- for a lifetime.

Your Guide to Healthy Ethnic Cuisine

By the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic and Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H.

Authors of The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat well. Enjoy life. Lose weight.

These suggestions will help you savor the exotic, while keeping calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium under control.

Chinese
Look for: Stir-fried (ask to have it prepared in little or no oil) or steamed dishes with lots of vegetables, steamed rice, poached fish, and hot and sour soups.
Avoid: Fatty spareribs, fried wontons, egg rolls, shrimp toast and fried rice. To limit sodium, ask that your food be prepared without salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG). Request soy sauce (high in sodium) and other sauces on the side.

French
Look for: Steamed shellfish, roasted poultry, salad with dressing on the side, and sauces with a wine or tomato base, such as bordelaise or à la Provençal.
Avoid: French onion soup (high in sodium; high in fat if it has cheese), high-fat sauces (béchamel, hollandaise and béarnaise), croissants and pâte.

Greek
Look for: Plaki (fish cooked with tomatoes, onions and garlic), chicken kebabs (chicken broiled on a spit with tomatoes, onion and peppers), or a Greek salad.
Avoid: Dishes with large amounts of butter or oil, such as baba ghanouj (eggplant appetizer) and baklava (dessert made with phyllo dough, butter, nuts and honey). To limit sodium, avoid olives, anchovies and feta cheese.

Italian
Look for: Marinara (tomatoes with garlic and onions), Marsala (based in wine), clam sauce and pasta primavera with fresh vegetables and a small amount of oil. Simply prepared fish and chicken dishes also are good choices.
Avoid: Pasta stuffed with cheese or fatty meat and dishes with cream or butter sauces. Veal scaloppine and parmigiana (cooked with Parmesan cheese) contain added fat.

Japanese
Look for: Steamed rice, soba or udon noodles, yakisoba (stir-fried noodles), yakitori (chicken teriyaki), shumai (steamed dumplings), tofu, sukiyaki, kayaku gohan (vegetables and rice).
Avoid: Shrimp or vegetable tempura, chicken katsu, tonkatsu (fried pork), shrimp agemono, fried tofu (bean curd).

Mexican
Look for: Grilled fish, shrimp and chicken with salsa made of tomato, chilies and onion. Order corn tortillas (they're lower in fat and calories than are flour tortillas) as long as they aren't deep fried. For a side dish, order rice or beans (black, pinto, refried). Make sure your side dishes aren't cooked with fat or lard -- ask your server about this.
Avoid: Dishes with large amounts of cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. Chips also can add a lot of fat and calories.
The above is an excerpt from the book The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat well. Enjoy life. Lose weight., by the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic and Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Reprinted from The Mayo Clinic Diet, © 2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Good Books (www.GoodBooks.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved.





About the Author:

Here's What I Say:
This book is a step by step plan to a healthier you. My very favorite aspect of this book is that it is a Lifestyle makeover, not just focused on any one thing (exercise, nutrition, emotions, etc.). The main focus of the book is trading your unhealthy habits for healthy ones. Since I have a degree in Exercise Science I was able to review this book from a clinical perspective. I have spent a lot of time trying to find that perfect balance between real life and a healthy lifestyle. Although I am just starting out (yes I am truly going to give this program a try), I really think that this is a program that could work for a vast majority of people. It is general enough to be adapted to just about anyone's current situation, yet specific enough to guide you on an easily followed path. I think if you are truly ready to get in shape and get healthy you should check out this book. The huge amount of information in this book will make it a frequent reference source in the years to come. And -huge bonus - the proceeds from this book go to support medical education and research at the Mayo Clinic.
Do you have this book? Have you been on the Mayo Clinic Diet? What do you think?

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book from FSB Associates (Thanks so much Anna S. ), I was in no way compensated to post this review. These are my real thoughts.

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.