The Mayo Clinic diet Journal is a very handy tool that complements The Mayo Clinic Diet. Journaling, in my lifetime of dieting, has proven to be the most effective way to track the whys and wherefores of a program's success (or failure). Bottom line: The Journal keeps me honest! ( )

I actually finished this book several weeks ago, but since it is a diet book, how could I rightfully review it without testing out its advice? I need to lose at least fifteen pounds anyway, so what better way to start the process than by doing the Lose It! portion of the book to see just how easy or difficult it is to follow. I have had great success with Weight Watchers in the past, but once I figured out how to fool the system, it stopped working for me. I have tried the Spark diet; I have tried just cutting back on portions myself. I do a lot of reading about substitutions and ways to lighten up foods. I work in the food industry. I am a self-professed foodie. In other words, I feel very confident in my ability to determine whether a diet plan is worthwhile or not.

In general, what I found is that The Mayo Clinic Diet is really not a diet. It is a common sense approach to weight loss and weight management. There is nothing earth-shattering in the advice it gives. As one would expect, eating lots of fruits and vegetables and exercising are two of its strongest keys to weight loss. Also at the top of their list is writing down everything one eats and drinks, as well as overall portion control. The authors address every objection, excuse and myth about dieting and exercise, ensuring that readers literally have no excuses left to avoid getting healthy.

While it might not be rocket science, the beauty of The Mayo Clinic Diet is the fact that it does not rely on food scales or calorie counters. Everything is an estimate based on guidelines that the authors continually stress throughout the book. As one who could tell you just how much pasta is in a serving, being able to eyeball is a wonderful piece of advice and definitely makes this plan easier to use. In my opinion, it is not only easier to follow than other weight loss plans, due to the lack of measuring or calorie counting, there is a lot less guilt associated with the plan. If one slips up and over-eats one day, you write down what you ate and cut back another day. The guilt of overeating is typically what stresses me out and causes me to fail in a diet plan, so this lack of guilt was very refreshing.

Let's face it - there is no such thing as a quick-fix diet that is sustainable long-term. If one truly wants to lose weight and keep it off, it requires a life-long commitment to balanced eating and exercise. I found The Mayo Clinic Diet to be a well-researched, more palatable approach to making that life-long commitment.

As for my personal test, I did follow the two-week Lose It! program. It requires forgoing sugar, eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and promotes healthy habits to help you get used to them for the long term. The first week, I went through major sugar withdrawal and felt horrible. Not only that, but I was pretty awful in regards to my attitude towards others. It was ugly. I started feeling more like myself around day five and felt much better after the first full week. That first week, without exercising at all, I managed to lose 2.5 pounds. The second week, I did not do as good a job of following the plan because I did not eat as many vegetables as I should have. I still tried to avoid sugar as much as possible, but I would say I followed the Live It! plan more than the Lose It! plan the second week. Even then (and again without exercising), I was able to lose an additional 0.5 pounds, which is a completely healthy weight loss for a female.

Overall, I am satisfied with my results and plan to continue to follow the diet in an effort to get down to where I want by spring. The Lose It! section is specifically designed to shock your body into losing weight, which it does with great success. Your body's reaction to that plan shows you just how much of an impact one ingredient can have on your overall well-being. The Live It! section focuses on advice for life, again taking the long-term approach to health and wellness that I personally find very refreshing in a diet plan. I am definitely keeping this particular book on hand for reference and will be going back to it to refresh my memory and try out a few of the recipes they include. To me, The Mayo Clinic Diet is definitely worthwhile.

don't know if anybody will see this, but does anybody know if there's a way to buy something like a printable version of the journal? i bought the kindle version of the book, and i really want this journal to complement it, but as i live in brazil it will take more than eight weeks to get here, unless i'm willing to pay u$40.00 just for shipping : ( )