The Cleveland Clinic Diet
Review and Recommendations

Cleveland Clinic Diet Overview
The Cleveland Clinic Diet was not developed nor endorsed by the Cleveland Clinic. In fact, the Cleveland Clinic claims no association with this diet whatsoever.

"Cleveland Clinic Medical Diet" as it is also known, has circulated around the Internet for several years. In a nutshell, it is a low-calorie 3-day diet that limits carbohydrates as a macronutrient. The basic claim of the Cleveland Clinic 3-day diet is that it is a “cleansing” diet, where you eliminate toxins from your body, and you can lose as much as 10lbs in the three days.

Being that this diet is one of the most popular fad diet types, the simple fact that this diet is a 3-day diet is the first indication that the diet is not viable. For any diet or weight loss program to be considered valid, it must have a long-term emphasis. Even if you lose 10lbs in three days by severely limiting your food choices and calories, that weight will likely come right back! It is not sustainable, nor is it healthy.

The second indication that the Cleveland Clinic Diet is not a viable path to successful weight loss is that the diet subscribes to restricting a specific macro-nutrient, carbohydrates. In order to achieve successful and healthy weight loss, you need to adopt a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats while reducing your total calorie intake and exercising regularly.

Just Another Variation of the 3-Day Diet
This diet is often called the Cleveland Clinic 3-Day Diet and is really just another name for a 3-day diet that is also commonly referred to as the American Heart Association 3-Day Diet, Dr. Perricone 3-Day Diet, Kaiser 3-Day Diet, 3-Day Navy Diet, and 3-Day Army Diet. Like the Cleveland Clinic’s emphatic denial of any association with this diet, the American Heart Association denies any association with the American Heart Association 3-Day Diet.

The menu for the Cleveland Clinic 3-Day Diet, as well as most other variations of a so-called 3-day diet, consists of a very restricted caloric intake that includes mostly fruit, small protein servings (eggs, tuna, sandwich meat, hot dogs, etc.), toast and, oddly enough, vanilla ice cream.

You can find specific daily menus for this diet at various other websites. Most variations of this 3-day diet include menus that are very specific about the amounts and types of foods that you are to eat for the three days. There are three meals each day, and the total daily calorie intake on this and similar diets is about 600 calories. A common recommendation of this diet is to take at least four days off before starting another cycle of the 3-day diet menu.

I have not included specific menus here because I don’t want to encourage you to use this diet.

Conclusion
A 3-day diet program is not a healthy or sustainable approach to losing weight. As such, I do not recommend using the Cleveland Clinic Diet, or any of the other 3-day diet variations, as a weight loss program. There are many nutritionally-sound and healthier options available.

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