Weight Loss & Diet Plans

The Grapefruit Diet

The Grapefruit Diet: What It Is

The Grapefruit Diet has been around a long time -- since at least the 1930s. It's a short-term, quick weight loss plan.

The plan lasts for 12 days. Most versions promise a 10-pound weight loss during that time.

Unfortunately, the results aren't likely to last. The weight you lose is mostly fluid, and because you don't change your long-term eating habits on the diet, there's a good chance you'll gain it all back.

The Grapefruit Diet: What You Can Eat

Most versions of the Grapefruit Diet include a small variety of foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at bedtime.

In the Grapefruit Diet, you can use all the butter and salad dressing you want and prepare foods in any method, including fried.

The grapefruit juice must be unsweetened. Any food or beverage not on the diet is not allowed. Snacking is only permitted after dinner. The plan calls for drinking 64 ounces of water daily and also allows you to drink black coffee.

The Grapefruit Diet: How It Works

Because the calories are very low -- averaging 800-1,000 calories in most versions -- most people will lose weight on this plan.

That has nothing to do with grapefruit. There is no scientific proof of any "enzyme" in grapefruit that supposedly burns fat.  

While grapefruit is a very nutritious low-calorie fruit (66-84 calories per serving), loaded with vitamin C and fiber, it is not a fat burner.

Expert Perspective

Don't look to this plan for lasting weight loss. The diet is so limited in the foods it permits that it doesn't help you improve your eating habits, and it can get boring.

Healthy weight loss is a process. "Look for a flexible weight loss diet individualized to your needs, [one] that addresses behaviors, includes a wide variety of healthy foods, exercise, and can be enjoyed," says Connie Diekman, RD, LD, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St Louis.

Along with a well-balanced, sensible, calorie-controlled diet, don't forget to include a regular dose of physical activity -- a scientifically proven way to burn fat and lose weight.