Instructions for a Grapefruit Diet

The grapefruit diet has enjoyed great popularity, even though early claims that the diet was developed by the highly esteemed Mayo Clinic have long since been denied. The diet and its variations are founded on the premise that grapefruit can reinvigorate your metabolism, thus speeding the rate at which fat is burned. It is, however, a very low calorie diet that would likely reduce your weight purely on the basis of a sharply reduced caloric intake.

Basic Guidelines

The one constant seen in all variations of the grapefruit diet, according to the Diet Channel website, is the inclusion of one-half grapefruit or eight ounces of unsweetened grapefruit juice with your breakfast, lunch and dinner over the course of the 12-day diet. As previously noted, the rationale behind this aspect of the diet is that grapefruit triggers your body's fat-burning engine, a claim for which no scientific evidence has yet been produced.

Most variations of the diet also limit your daily caloric intake to 800 calories, making this a very low-calorie diet indeed. If you decide to follow this diet, you should drink eight or more eight-ounce glasses of water daily and as much black coffee as you please, according to Diet Channel.

Proponents of the diet claim that if you adhere to its guidelines you will lose 10 or more pounds after 12 days, according to AboutGrapefruitDiet.com. Because the diet calls for such low daily caloric intake, according to the Diet Channel, it is unlikely that you get sufficient nutrition from the diet alone. Therefore, Diet Channel recommends that take a break of at least two days between every 12 days of the diet.

Allowable Foods

Among the foods that you are allowed on the grapefruit diet, according to AboutGrapefruitDiet.com, are green and red onions, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, green beans, spinach, tomatoes, butter pickles and coleslaw. You can also have chili without beans, hot dogs, cheese, mayonnaise, regular salad dressings and a teaspoon of dried nuts daily. It is your responsibility to keep a careful count of caloric intake to ensure that the daily 800-calorie limit is not exceeded.

Foods to Avoid

If you're following the grapefruit diet, according to AboutGrapefruitDiet.com, avoid the following foods: potatoes, corn and other starchy vegetables, peas, celery, potato chips, jelly or jam, pretzels, corn chips, peanut butter, fruit and low-fat or fat-free salad dressings.

A Sample Menu

For a typical day's meals on the grapefruit diet, according to the website of YourTotalHealth, you would begin with a breakfast of two eggs, two slices of bacon and the requisite grapefruit half or juice. Your lunch might consist of a grilled chicken breast and a salad with salad dressing, preceded by the grapefruit component. After eating or drinking your dinner serving of grapefruit, you might enjoy a lean meat, allowable vegetable and salad with dressing. For a nighttime snack, you might have a glass of skim milk or juice.