Grapefruit Diet – Part 2 - Health Plus Digest

Some people advocate an individual use this diet for 12 days and take two days off but then return to the grapefruit diet after that. The meal plan is specific with vegetables that are allowed and vegetables that are to be avoided. The list of vegetables which are allowed are high in vitamins and mineral content but the foods which are required are also high in cholesterol.

For instance, every morning’s breakfast consists of one half a grapefruit, two eggs and two slices of bacon. Lunch contains meat as does dinner so the individual is eating well over the recommended daily allowance of three to four ounces of meat per day. The diet is also high in protein and fats. And the number of calories is limited to not more than 800 – 1000 calories per day.

Most published material states that the individual will not feel starvation or be deprived even though they are eating well below the 1200 calories per day which most dietitians and researchers believe is the bare minimum amount of calories an individual requires in order to function. Every person’s body has a basic basal metabolic rate which is the number of calories required in order for the heart, brain and lungs to function even when the individual is laying in bed all day. That number usually hovers around 1200 calories per day. When an individual eats 800 calories on the grapefruit diet they are essentially throwing their body into starvation mode.