he Mayo Clinic Diet: How It Works continued...

This initial phase focuses on learning how to create healthy lifestyle habits. In this phase you will:

• Add five healthy habits, such as eating breakfast, or eating more fruits and vegetables.
• Break five unhealthy habits, such as giving up sugar, or substituting fruits and vegetables for unhealthy snacks.
• Adopt five bonus habits, such as keeping food and activity records, or exercising more.

The second phase, called "Live It!" gives you the tools and techniques you need to sustain the healthy habits you learned in the first phase, including:

• Setting weight loss goals.
• Eating according to the Mayo Healthy Weight Pyramid.
• Understanding portions.
• Being more physically active.

Expect weight loss to slow to 1-2 pounds per week during the Live It! phase; it can also work as a maintenance plan.

The Mayo Clinic Diet: What the Experts Say

Most people know they need to eat less and exercise more, but they don't know how to go about it. 

Ruth Frechman, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says she gives The Mayo Clinic Diet a thumbs-up because it gives dieters simple recommendations and tools and teaches them how to lose weight in a fun and encouraging way.

"It is a reliable approach for the entire family, whether you want to lose or maintain weight, because it is based on eating healthy food and becoming more active," she says.   

However, she warns that it may be unrealistic to expect to lose 6-10 pounds during the initial "Lose It!" phase of the diet. "In my 20 years of experience helping patients lose weight, most people lose about 1% of their weight in a week," she says, "so a 200-pound person will average a 2-pound loss, and that includes initial fluid loss." 

The Mayo Clinic Diet: Food for Thought

The Mayo Clinic Diet is more than a diet. It's a template to help dieters change their lifestyles to achieve real and lasting weight control. Based on the latest scientific research and delivered in an easy-to-understand and motivating style, The Mayo Clinic Diet is a standout among the diet plans on the market. 

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, is director of nutrition for WebMD. Her opinions and