Grapefruit Diet

For decades, people have been hyping the grapefruit as a ‘magical’ dietary supplement.  The thought behind this notion that the grapefruit has special powers when it comes to weight loss is that there is a special enzyme found in grapefruits that when added to a healthy, low-calorie diet it will help produce rapid weight loss.  It is because of this preconceived notion that dieters have continually participated in the Grapefruit Diet for years.

While it has never been scientifically proven that grapefruits contain a magical weight loss enzyme, people that go on the Grapefruit Diet have successfully lost weight.  This fact has led the Grapefruit Diet to spread around through word of mouth, print and online.

What is the Grapefruit Diet?

The Grapefruit Diet is a low-carbohydrate, moderate-protein diet that aims at dramatically reducing your daily caloric intake.

Most versions of the Grapefruit Diet allow for 800-1000 calories per day, which is much lower than the average recommended daily amount of calories.  It is because of this dramatic reduction of daily calories that participants lose weight, not because the grapefruit contains special weight loss enzymes.

What can I eat while on the Grapefruit Diet?

The meals are simple and offer little variety when it comes to the Grapefruit Diet.  A typical meal plan may consist of:

• eggs, bacon, coffee and half of a grapefruit or 8oz of grapefruit juice for breakfast;
• a small salad containing low-fat, lean meat along with half a grapefruit or 8oz of grapefruit juice for lunch;
• red or green vegetable, salad, low-fat meat or fish and half a grapefruit or 8oz of grapefruit juice for dinner.

As long as you stick to low calorie foods and eat some amount of grapefruit with every meal, you will be following the Grapefruit Diet as it was intended.

Will I lose weight with the Grapefruit Diet?

As is the case with every diet plan, dieters want to know if they will actually lose weight with a certain program before they get started.  While people who have gone on the Grapefruit Diet previously have lost weight, it is because of the dramatically reduced calorie amounts not because they are eating a grapefruit with every meal.  Grapefruits can certainly be included with every diet program because of its excellent nutritional value; however, this fruit will not provide the magical weight loss answer people are looking for.  In fact, many people who have gone on the Grapefruit Diet have gained back the weight that they lost because it was primarily a reduction of fluids that caused their weight loss and not a loss of fat.