The Mayo Clinic Diet: The Healthy Approach to Weight Loss

With more than two-thirds of U.S. adults either overweight or obese, weight is clearly a national health concern. But how important is it for you to lose weight? Learn how your body-mass index, waist circumference, and medical history each impact your health. You'll be surprised to learn which factors are most important and why.

Learn how to prepare your kitchen and what other tools you'll need to begin Lose It! - the two-week jump-start phase of The Mayo Clinic Diet. But first, take this quiz to answer a fundamental question: Is this the right time for you to start a weight-loss program? Or are there other underlying issues to be addressed first?

Learn the five specific habits to add to your daily routine for the first two weeks of the program, the five habits to remove, and the bonus habits that will give your weight-loss journey the best possible jump-start. These changes are designed to bump you out of your comfort zone and head you in a different, healthier direction - but in ways that are both doable and nutritionally sound.

If you couldn't follow every detail of the Lose It! program for the full two weeks, don't worry. Chances are you did change some habits, and that is the beginning of success. Going forward, you can give yourself a bit of leeway on some habits - but others are too fundamental to your weight-loss success to be negotiable.

As you move into the long-term Live It! portion of the Mayo Clinic Diet, you'll learn how to realistically set your personal outcome and performance goals, as well as your daily caloric intake. With The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid as your guide, you'll see that no foods are completely off limits as long as you understand the crucial difference between serving size and portion size.

While you can use any method that's convenient for you to track your daily food intake and activity - from pencil and paper to smartphone apps - the tracking itself is crucial for success as you begin the long-term portion of The Mayo Clinic Diet. Learn exactly what and when to track for maximum efficacy. But tracking your weight? That's a more personal matter.