Mayo Clinic diet is endorsed by a reputable medical organization the Mayo Clinic. The authors include a nutritionist as well as a physician editor. The book is divided into 3 basic concepts: Lose it, Live it, and the extra stuff. My overall opinion of the book is that it is somewhat outdated approach but has some valid aspects that will be helpful for a beginner health journey. The book is readable, well organized, and overall worth a read especially in regards to obstacles to successful mindset.

Part 1 starts with the psychological aspect of weight loss and encapsulate this into a 2-week period. I believe this is beneficial to establish some initial momentum but may not be dogmatic enough about changes that should be made. The book recommends adding 5 habits, breaking 5 habits, and adopting 5 bonus habits. This is an approach to helping with inner motivation and establishing initial momentum. By doing these 5 things and not doing 5 other things, a person will see some results and results are motivating. I agree with this. They do recommend a start date for the program and I also recommend this but suggest more time for mental mindset and being self-aware prior to starting any program. The Mayo Clinic diet but does not touch as much on the soft aspects of health success but these are vital from my experience. The following points are relevant for the initial stage of lose it:

Be accountable to a friend family member or coworker.

Record your initial weight and determine your BMI

Set a start date

Write down your 5 habits to do and not do

Assess your readiness by looking at obstacles

Editorial positive: I especially agree with this last recommendation as readiness is critical for success long-term. Establishing the right mindset, looking at life obstacles and commitments, as well as the level of pain and pleasure derived from food are all important ways to assess readiness. There is a readiness assessment questionnaire provided.

Editorial negative: 1 significant critique I would have with the book is the reference to the food pyramid. The food pyramid as discussed in literature has been highly influenced by special interest and is relatively simplistic in its approach without much reference to evidence-based nutrition. Another citique I would provide is the recommendation of a nutritionist to eat a healthy breakfast. Again this is somewhat outdated advice as intermittent fasting for a period of no calorie intake has been shown to be effective for weight control for those in Hollywood. These are the folks in which body size and appearance are worth millions of dollars. The nutritionist also erroneously attributes eating breakfast to being less ravenous later in the day but does not recognize the contribution of processed carbohydrates to the ravenous cycle if those are consumed at breakfast. In fact she mentions eating French toast for breakfast using whole-grain breath as a healthy breakfast! She also mentions grabbing a piece of fruit as she walked out the door if she did not have time for breakfast however this would result in a sugar infusion without buffer. This approach is highly unlikely to help someone have an appropriate appetite throughout the day. Again the author recommends whole-wheat tortillas not recognizing the danger of processed grains and using the word "whole" is still processed. She recommends orange juice reduction but not elimination at breakfast, another very evident indicator that nutritionist is not aware of the addictive nature of such processed sugar infusion, even when naturally based.

On the positive recommendations noted, the author suggest using frozen vegetables as a 1 year and occurring and this is a fundamental plan for those experiencing success. Even those who are able to manage her first produce well should have a backup frozen vegetables available. The author does correctly assert that the more fibrous nature of whole grains is beneficial as compared to whole-wheat. The author does not recognize that whole-grain still has a significant degree of processing which equates to pre-digestion. Flavored Vinegar and oil vinegar dressings for Salad is recommended and this is agreeable however reduced calorie fat-free dressings should be avoided contrary to the nutritionist assertion. The author does correctly point away from trans fat like Marg And shortening. The author does also correctly advised choosing meat with less physical fat but does not give a more realistic litmus test like the frying pan test I discuss.

Regarding the section on move for exercise the author does not indicate the stage of the journey in which this is appropriate. Evidence has suggested and the journey I have shared with many shows that exercise during a period of weight loss will mitigate or even eliminate weight loss attempts by increasing hunger. While exercise is certainly healthy, in general a focus on food quality and intake is necessary first and exercise added when near goal weight and body composition. The author does suggest telling yourself that if you agree to only exercise for 5 minutes and generally the exercise will continue longer. This type of mental exercise is indeed helpful from my experience.

The chapter on breaking habits is written by a psychologist and overall is useful for mindset although more depth would be helpful. The psychologist recommends not giving into urges waiting 20 minutes when there is an urge to eat which I believe is a somewhat simplistic view on eating patterns. Further the psychologist suggests that willpower is the root of success through this and the author does not mention being self-aware and being in tune with how your body feels and your emotions which are certainly correlated with success. There is a helpful suggestion of correlating screen time to be exercise time but taken more seriously, screen time is unhealthy. The author also recommends moving the TV out of your primary room but does not go further to avoid TV. The author does recommend no sugar as a boundary except fruit and avoiding high fructose corn syrup drinks as well as alcohol during the loseit phase. The author does also recommend correctly in removing conventional snacks such as cookies chips candy and ice cream when starting on the start date but does not emphasize this as a new lifestyle choice but protrays it as a temporary sacrifice. . Commonsense advice for planning ahead when shopping, shopping the perimeter of the store rather than the center of the grocery store, and not shopping when hungry are all agreeable points. There is a good section on obstacles and strategies to overcome the obstacles and I would say this is the most useful part of the book as it helps address mindset.