Does the Mayo Clinic Diet Work?

Updated July 2026

Disclaimer: I did my internal medicine residency and a cardiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic, and I love my alma mater. But I feel confident I can give an unbiased review of the Mayo Clinic Diet, especially since it has been around since the 1940s. It has been updated over time, the book is in its third edition, and there's now an online option with tracking, habit-formation help, and group support. The diet is also highly ranked by US News and World Report, so many people have heard of it without knowing what it actually involves.

How does the Mayo Clinic Diet work?

It runs in three phases. "Lose It" (2 weeks), "Live It" (10+ weeks, during which you build healthy eating habits for life), and finally "Love It" (an indefinite maintenance phase that begins once you reach your target weight). The program emphasizes that weight loss isn't the ultimate goal; setting you up to eat better and exercise more for the rest of your life is. And who wouldn't get behind that?

What's the problem with the "Lose It" phase?

Its weight-loss promise doesn't add up. The diet claims you can lose 6 to 10 pounds in the first two weeks, the same kind of pledge a lot of quick-fix plans make. But losing even 4 pounds in that time requires cutting roughly 1,000 calories a day. For many women, that would mean halving their daily food intake, or walking an extra 10 miles every day. Losing 8 pounds would mean eating almost nothing. Which suggests the diet is either counting on people who start with a very high calorie intake, or banking on some of that early drop being water weight, which isn't permanent.

The first two weeks are intense for another reason, too: the diet asks you to start or break 15 different habits at once. The ten to add include eating a healthy breakfast, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, exercising daily, setting goals, and keeping food and exercise records. The five to break include eating in front of the TV, added sugar, restaurant meals, snacking, and heavy meat and dairy. All worthy goals, but that's a lot to change in two weeks while also trying to lose significant weight. Just reading the list feels exhausting.

Does the diet get better after that?

It does. Once past the first two weeks, I'm on board. The "Live It" phase aims for a more sensible one to two pounds a week while you hold onto the lifestyle shifts you've made, and it's less restrictive on calories and food choices. This is where you imprint the new routines so they become permanent in the "Love It" phase.

Is the Mayo Clinic Diet worth it?

On balance, yes, with one caveat. It isn't cheap: a year of app access runs close to $500 on the top plan, though the book is only about $30, and food isn't included. But most of what it teaches is solid, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, getting active, cutting sugar, limiting meat and processed foods, and setting goals. Do that and stick with it, and you'll lose weight and keep it off. So overall, I give the Mayo Clinic Diet two thumbs up.

But as I reflect on the advice, it seems like a more complicated route to the simple instruction I give all my patients: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. And move your body every day. Do that, and a healthy weight tends to follow on its own, no books, apps, or food logs required.

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