OneMoreDiet.com

This is one of the oldest diets in the book, and yet, the Grapefruit diet seems to have real staying power, despite all of the popular diets of today, such as the Zone and Atkins.  For those who don’t know, the premise of the Grapefruit Diet is that there is an ingredient in grapefruits, that, when eaten with meals triggers fat burning and causes weight loss. The diet is designed to promote fast weight loss; but weight lost is primarily from fluids and not fat and generally returns as soon as the dieter goes off the diet.  Most versions of the diet promise a weight loss of 10 pounds during the 12 days of the diet and those who want to lose more and stay on for more than 12 days have to wait two days before starting the diet again. Long-term weight control is not part of the diet plan.  So what do you eat on the diet besides grapefruit?  Here’s what a sample diet plan might look like:

* Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, black coffee, 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces grapefruit juice
* Lunch: Salad with dressing, all you want to eat-meat, and 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces grapefruit juice
* Dinner: Red or green vegetables (except starchy ones) or salad, unlimited meat or fish, and 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces grapefruit juice
* Bedtime snack: 8 ounces skim milk

On this diet you can use all the butter and salad dressing you like and even fry your foods.  The grapefruit juice must be unsweetened and you are not allowed any food or beverage not on the diet list of foods.  Best of all, you’re allowed to snack after dinner. You are supposed to drink 64 ounces of water daily.
So clearly the calories are low on this diet, but what’s the effect of the grapefruit here?
Recently the Scripps clinic, based in San Diego carried out a clinical trial and discovered some new info on the grapefruit factor.  It was a 12-week pilot study, led by Dr. Ken Fujioka, and weight and insulin secretion were monitored in 100 men and women who participated.  On average, those participants who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost 3.6 pounds, while those who drank a serving of grapefruit juice three times a day lost 3.3 pounds.  Many patients in the study even more than 10 pounds.  The researchers think that the chemical properties of grapefruit reduce insulin levels and encourage weight loss.
There’s certainly no harm in adding half a grapefruit to your meals and see if you lose some weight due to more stabilized insulin levels!