The grapefruit diet is a diet that comprises of a protein-rich meal plan that requires the consumption of grapefruit or grapefruit juice after each meal.
The goal of the diet is to lose weight quickly, and it is done within 12 days. Although there exist several versions of this diet, the commonly practised ones include a daily intake of less than a thousand calories.
Following the prepared guidelines of the diet, the foods in the grapefruit diet can be made with any amount of salad, spices, or even butter.
Examples of grapefruit diet meals include
- Breakfast: Two slices of bacon, two boiled eggs, and 8 ounces of grapefruit juice or half of a grapefruit.
- Lunch: Meat in any quantity, salad with dressing, and 8 ounces of grapefruit juice or half of a grapefruit.
- Dinner: Any type of meat prepare anyway you like, tea or coffee, green and red vegetables or salad, and 8 ounces of grapefruit juice or half of a grapefruit.
- Bedtime snack: Skimmed milk (8 ounces)
The results
The grapefruit diet guarantees immediate results due to fat-burning enzymes present in grapefruits.
You could lose as much as 10 pounds in just less than 12 days without having to starve yourself. You don’t even have to skip meals.
Pros and cons of the grapefruit diet
The most evident pro of the grapefruit diet is the obvious results. A number of people have attested to the fact that the diet helps with weight loss, and is very effective especially when fat needs to be burned for special occasions where fat is not needed.
It is also an alternative in kick starting weight loss before switching to another diet, after the grapefruit diet plan has been completed.
Introducing low-calorie, nutritious foods like grapefruit is a wise and healthy choice, not only for losing weight, but to optimize overall health. The vitamin C in grapefruit alone helps to protect the immune system.
Despite all the wonders of a grapefruit diet, it is yet to be backed scientifically. The goal of the grapefruit diet is the intake of low-carb and low-calorie, which gives the result of a fast, temporary weight lose even though the grapefruit is excluded.
Losing up to 10 pounds in a space of 12 days can be termed unrealistic and could expose you to losing muscle mass and water, and even possibly, too much needed fat.
While fresh grapefruit and grapefruit juice can be incorporated into a balanced, and healthy diet, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), certain medications can sadly be tampered with, including:
- Blood pressure medicines like nifedipine
- Some anti-histamines, like Allegra
- Organ transplants rejection pills
- Anti-anxiety drugs, such as buspirone (BuSpar)
- Some anti-arrhythmia medications, such as amiodarone
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs, including simvastatin (Zocor), atorvastatin (Lipitor), and pravastatin (Pravachol)
It is very easy for grapefruit to interfere with how these drugs work. For instance, taking grapefruit juice while on statins can increase the absorption of the drug directly into the bloodstream.
Talk about too much rush!
Too much concentration of statins in the bloodstream can lead to some health complications. These may also include kidney and liver issues.
Grapefruit with other drugs like anti-histamines minimizes the effect of the drug, by reducing the amount of the absorbed medication.
Consult with your pharmacist or doctor if you are on a grapefruit diet, or you want to include grapefruit juice to your diet, while on these or any other medications.
Another drawback of the grapefruit diet plan is its restrictions. Such a restrictive diet in just less than two weeks may be possible, but repeating the same foods through out the duration of the grapefruit diet plan could bore some people into changing their minds, and abandoning it.
Conclusions
All forms of misunderstanding and misconceptions about grapefruit needs to be cleared up.
There is yet to be any presented evidence to support the fact that grapefruit possess magical powers, asides the fact that it is a low-calorie, and richly nutritious citrus fruit.
The upside of the grapefruit diet is if you are looking into slimming down fast, however, weight loss can be regained almost as quickly.
The weight that you lose using the grapefruit diet is referred to as “water weight”, simply because it is mostly the water in the body and not fat. It is what we commonly refer to as a “quick fix”, and it doesn’t last long.
In retrospect, it isn’t a healthy option!
Besides, some meats and salad dressing- types like daily morning bacon- are packed with cholesterol and saturated fat.
So while you’re settling for the grapefruit diet as a quick option to lose weight, it might cause more long-term damage than you can imagine.
Simply put; grapefruits are amazing, but the grapefruit diet definitely isn’t.
Have you tried the grapefruit before? How did it turn out? Were you able to see it through? Share with us in the comments.
