The "Higher Protein" meal plan
Following a high-protein diet can lead to weight loss along with promoting feelings of fullness, boosting metabolism, and building and maintaining muscles.
Following a high-protein diet can lead to weight loss along with promoting feelings of fullness, boosting metabolism, and building and maintaining muscles.
Backed by scientific research, this tasty meal plan includes protein-rich ingredients at each meal. Distributing protein evenly across each meal can help to control appetite and curb cravings. The Higher Protein meal plan includes 6 weeks of delicious protein-packed meals.
Want a taste of the recipes in the Mayo Clinic Diet Higher Protein meal plan? Submit your name and email address to get instant access to a sample menu!
The delicious recipes are packed with real, whole foods that support weight loss while keeping hunger at bay.
The Higher Protein meal plan includes a variety of healthy protein-rich foods such as fish, skinless poultry, lean meat, legumes, eggs, and low-fat dairy products. The portions provide just the right amount of protein required to fill you up without overloading your plate with meat.
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A high protein diet plan typically means that a greater share of your daily calories comes from protein—usually around 30%. This translates to roughly 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. This level of protein intake can help support satiety, muscle maintenance, and healthy metabolism, especially when you’re trying to lose weight or maintain lean muscle mass.
On the 1,200-calorie version of the Higher Protein meal plan, you’ll get an average of 95 grams of protein daily. That’s about 34% of your total calories—well above the standard intake—making it a sustainable high protein diet plan designed to help you feel full, support muscle health, and promote weight loss.
Yes! A high protein diet plan can be an effective tool for weight loss. Protein keeps you feeling full longer, helping to reduce overall calorie intake and curb cravings. It also has a slight metabolic boost since your body uses more energy to digest protein. Perhaps most importantly, higher protein intake helps preserve lean muscle mass while you lose fat, supporting a healthier metabolism over time.
No, the Mayo Clinic Diet Higher Protein meal plan is not a low-carb or keto plan. While it emphasizes more protein, it still includes moderate, healthy carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and low-fat dairy. Unlike keto diets, which severely limit carbs, this plan provides a well-rounded balance of macronutrients for sustainable weight loss.
Absolutely! The Mayo Clinic Diet allows for flexible food swaps, so you can follow the high protein diet plan using plant-based protein sources. You can substitute animal proteins with tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils, edamame, eggs, and low-fat dairy products like yogurt and cheese. The plan is designed to meet your protein needs while supporting your lifestyle and preferences.
If you have kidney disease or another medical condition, speak with your doctor to determine if a high protein diet plan is right for you. High protein intake can put stress on the kidneys, especially if kidney function is already compromised. A healthcare provider or registered dietitian can help tailor your eating plan to ensure it’s both effective and safe for your specific health needs.
Need a protein boost between meals? Some easy and satisfying high protein snacks include hard-boiled eggs, low-fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, roasted chickpeas, a handful of almonds, or veggies with hummus. These options are quick, portable, and align perfectly with a high protein diet plan.
The Mayo Clinic Diet offers a range of meal plans to fit different protein needs—from moderate protein options like the Simple and Vegetarian plans to higher protein choices such as the Higher Protein and Protein Balance for GLP-1s menus. If you’re following a high protein diet plan, you can adjust portion sizes or swap protein sources to better match your individual goals. The built-in Food Tracker makes it easy to monitor your protein intake and make real-time adjustments to stay on track.
Unlike some high protein diet plans that cut out entire food groups, the Mayo Clinic Diet Higher Protein meal plan offers a more balanced, flexible approach. It includes lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and healthy fats—so you get all the nutrients your body needs. It’s designed around evidence-based nutrition principles, portion control, and habit-building—not fads or restrictions. That makes it easier to stick with long term.
If you don’t like or can’t eat a particular meal, you have the ability to swap meals to suit your personal needs. The Mayo Clinic Diet also offers three gluten-free meal plans.
Yes, all of our meal plans are meant to be sustained in any lifestyle at any budget.
No, the Mayo Clinic Diet is about making sure you’re getting enough of the foods that are right for you. We are not focused on calorie counting.
Yes, all of the Mayo Clinic Diet meal plans come with a weekly grocery list that you can customize to cater for your family and needs.
Along with the Higher Protein meal plan, the Mayo Clinic Diet offers 8 different meal plan options to choose from including the Original Mayo Clinic Diet, Simple, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, and Healthy Keto. We also have gluten-free meal plan options available for our 3 most popular meal plans.