Premise
The following indications are for informational purposes EXCLUSIVELY and are not intended to replace the opinion of professionals such as a doctor, nutritionist or dietician, whose intervention is necessary for the prescription and composition of PERSONALIZED food therapies.
Mayo diet
The Mayo ketogenic diet (which has nothing to do with the well-known and contemporary "Mayo clinic diet") is a dietary strategy invented at the beginning of the last century and revived with some modifications in the 80s.
The Mayo diet lasts about 14 days, of which 12 for weight loss and 2 for rest or recovery; it is a fairly extreme method and absolutely NOT RECOMMENDED, which aims to significantly reduce weight in a useful time of two weeks.
The Mayo diet is NOT weighted but uses daily caloric intake well below 1000kcal and divided into just 3 daily meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cardinal principles of food choice according to the Mayo diet are as follows:
- Abolition of ALL condiments, except those for the CONTOUR
- Abolition of milk and derivatives, except 1 yogurt within 14 days
- Abolition of cereals and derivatives, except 1 slice of bread per day
- Abolition of legumes
- Abolition of potatoes
- Abolition of fruit, except GRAPEFRUIT
- Abolition of added sugars and sweet foods
- Consumption of vegetables limited exclusively to: celery, tomato, cucumber, salad and spinach
- Consumption of 6-36 eggs per week, with the possibility of substituting them for meat or fish cooked on the grill or steamed
- Free consumption of beverages such as coffee and tea.
The main meals of the Mayo diet (28 in total) "should" be managed as follows:
- 10-12 egg meals
- 10-12 meat meals
- 3 fish-based meals
- 2 fruit-based meals
- 1 yogurt-based meal
Downsides of the Mayo Diet
I reiterate that the Mayo diet is NOT balanced, therefore it represents a highly NOT ADVISABLE diet plan; obviously, if the primary requirement of weight loss therapy were the weight reduction effect, the Mayo diet would certainly have a great reputation, but it isn't. In fact, the first objective of the "diet", whatever it is, is to preserve the health of those who carry it out and, obviously, this is not the case!
The Mayo diet is EXTREME; as such, it can only cause a considerable level of stress for the organism. First of all, the Mayo diet CANNOT be applied to sports subjects or even simply "active", since the caloric and carbohydrate intake are absolutely insufficient to support any type or level of physical and motor activity. Secondly, the balance of macro and micronutrients is almost non-existent and the fact that the authors advise against extending it beyond 14 days is to be interpreted as a warning. The intake of animal fats (attributable to the quantity of eggs and meat) is worrying to say the least; in 14 days a person following the Mayo diet could take almost 10.000mg of cholesterol (the lipid which, if present in excess in the blood, is potentially responsible for atherogenic phenomena). In this regard, considering that a good portion of the obese population has AT LEAST one form of metabolic alteration (related to the reduction of life expectancy), I would dare to say that the Mayo diet is absolutely not the most suitable solution for weight loss. Last but not least, the potential for muscle tissue depletion; this happens in the body's attempt to meet the daily energy needs, therefore following the massive demolition of tissue proteins for hyper-activation of hepatic neoglucogenesis, in turn aimed at glycemic maintenance.
Useful food supplements for the Mayo diet
The supplements useful for the Mayo diet are, more or less, all those on the market! This statement is by no means excessive or provocative, but it faithfully respects the nutritional needs of anyone who dares to follow it.
This means that the Mayo diet can NOT be considered a harmless or applicable food strategy; making use of many supplements COULD reduce physical discomfort and related imbalances, but certainly with it it would be a respectable choice.
Food supplements MUST have the function of completing the nutritional supply of a diet compromised by valid or unavoidable reasons, and not that of limiting the damage caused by obsolete and potentially harmful nutritional strategies.
Example 7 days of the Mayo diet
WARNING! In the following example, it will be my concern to modify the frequency of consumption of foods of animal origin by drastically reducing eggs and favoring the consumption of fish, so as to make the dietary scheme less unbalanced as possible (a feat, alas, however impossible!)
Mayo Diet Example - Day 1
Breakfast | |||
Rye bread | 30g, 77,4kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
Grilled turkey | |||
Turkey breast, skinless | 300g, 333kcal | ||
Cucumbers | 300g, 45kcal | ||
Price | |||
Baked sea bream | |||
| Fillet of sea bream | 300g, 270kcal | |
Lettuce | 100g, 18kcal |
Mayo Diet Example - Day 2
Breakfast | |||
Rye bread | 30g, 77,4kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
Grilled veal | |||
Veal sirloin | 300g, 330kcal | ||
Tomatoes | 300g, 48kcal | ||
Price | |||
Fruit yogurt | |||
| Fruit yogurt | 240g, 152,6kcal | |
Spinaci | 300g, 69kcal |
Mayo Diet Example - Day 3
Breakfast | |||
Rye bread | 30g, 77,4kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
Grilled horse | |||
Horse Steak | 300g, 399kcal | ||
Lettuce | 100g, 18kcal | ||
Price | |||
Grapefruit | 900g, 234kcal | ||
Celery | 300g, 48kcal |
Mayo Diet Example - Day 4
Breakfast | |||
Rye bread | 30g, 77,4kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
Grilled chicken | |||
Chicken breast, skinless | 300g, 330kcal | ||
Cucumbers | 300g, 45kcal | ||
Price | |||
Baked sea bass | |||
| Sea bass fillet | 300g, 291kcal | |
radicchio | 100g, 23kcal |
Mayo Diet Example - Day 5
Breakfast | |||
Rye bread | 30g, 77,4kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
Grilled beef | |||
Beef fillet | 300g, 444kcal | ||
Tomatoes | 300g, 48kcal | ||
Price | |||
eggs | |||
| Whole eggs | 150g, 214,5kcal | |
Spinaci | 300g, 69kcal |
Mayo Diet Example - Day 6
Breakfast | |||
Rye bread | 30g, 77,4kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
| Grilled horse |
| |
Horse Steak | 300g, 399kcal | ||
Lettuce | 100g, 18kcal | ||
Price | |||
Grilled pork chop | |||
Lean pork chop | 300g, 381kcal | ||
Celery | 300g, 48kcal |
Mayo Diet Example - Day 7 - Rest
Breakfast | |||
Partially skimmed cow's milk | 300ml, 150kcal | ||
Finger biscuits | 50g, 182,6kcal | ||
Snack | |||
Apple, with peel 200g | 104kcal | ||
Lunch | |||
Spaghetti with tomato sauce | |||
Semolina pasta | 90g, 320,4kcal | ||
Tomato Sauce | 100g, 24kcal | ||
Parmesan | 10g, 39,2 kcal | ||
Endive | 100g, 17kcal | ||
Extra virgin olive oil | 10g, 135kcal | ||
Whole grain bread | 90g, 218,7kcal | ||
Snack | |||
Pear | 200g, 116kcal | ||
Price | |||
ricotta cheese | |||
Cow ricotta, from partially skimmed milk | 125g, 172,5kcal | ||
Potatoes | 300g, 231kcal | ||
Extra virgin olive oil | 5g, 45kcal | ||
Whole grain bread | 90g, 218,7kcal | ||
Red wine 120ml | 102kcal |