So I decided to go on the Grapefruit Diet. I always thought it was a real fad diet, but recent studies have made me change my mind.

The American Dietetic Association president-elect, Connie Diekman says that “There is no evidence that grapefruit has fat-burning enzymes nor is it a magic bullet for weight loss”

Dr. Fujioka, principal researcher at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic, tends to differ: ‘For years people have talked about the grapefruit diet, and some even swear by it, but now, we have data that grapefruit helps weight loss,’

In his study, there were 100 participants. Some were instructed to eat graprefruit with every meal and others to drink the juice. They did not change their diet but increased their physical activity just a bit.

On the average, they lost 3.5 pounds with some people losing up to 10 lbs.

Not that I recommend the grapefruit diet or that it has been proven effective but  here is a sample of what it entails:

12 days on – 2 days off

Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
2 Eggs (any style)
2 Slices Bacon

Lunch
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount)
Salad (any kind of dressing)

Dinner
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount) (fish may be substituted for meat)
Vegetables (any green, yellow, or red vegetables cooked in butter or any seasoning)

Bed Time Snack
1 glass tomato juice or 1 glass Skim milk

No snacking, cut down on coffee, drink lots of water and stay away from sweets, breads and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, beans and corn and peas vegetables.

Now, if you ask anybody who has been on a diet, having a regime like that, grapefruit or not, could help you shed some pounds due to the low calorie content. In fact the diet is very similar to the Atkins program. The problem is that following such a strict program gets boring and it is very difficult to maintain. There is also not enough variety of foods.

Be that as it may, taking into account the health benefits of grapefruit and the proven results as presented by Dr Fujioka, I don’t see anything wrong with adding grapefruit to one’s diet. Other researchers believe that certain properties in the grapefruit help reduce insulin levels and encourage fat loss so why not give grapefruit a chance.

I certainly lost the weight even though I cheated just a little. However since this diet is so rigid, it is not good for someone who needs to lose more than 8 or 10 pounds.

An excess of 10 pound of more requires a life change. Yes really.

There aren’t easy solutions. If you gained 40 pounds in the last few years is because you were eating more calories than you were burning. Going on a diet and then back to old habits only brings the weight back and usually, even more.

Changing one’s lifestyle to a healthier way of eating and exercising on a regular basis is on way to permanent weight loss.