The Mayr method enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in August 2020 after Australian actor Rebel Wilson started posting photos to social media showcasing her weight loss and her experiences following the VivaMayr lifestyle. But even celebrity ties to a diet may be misleading. Although Today and other outlets reported that Wilson attended the program at VivaMayr Altaussee, a medical spa in Altaussee, Austria, she later denied following the Mayr method diet, says E! News. Still, in 2022, she posted on her Instagram that she was back at the pricey med spa, writing, “it’s soooo gooood to be back at @vivamayraltauesse working the Mayr method to reset my system!” Regardless of whether the Mayr method alone caused Wilson’s weight loss, two things are for sure: There is currently no data backing this method, and experts aren’t certain it’ll lead to sustained weight loss. The Mayr method is a plan that treats your body and mind as a whole. According to the resort’s website, which refers to it as the “FX Mayr cure,” the program is “based on four pillars: diagnostics, medicine/therapies, detox, and regeneration.” Treatments for its wellness programs might include a medical examination, metabolic and urine analysis, provided food, detoxing, body wraps, massage, dietary advice, a colonoscopy, and more, the website notes. For people looking to lose weight, there is a specific weight loss program, which includes both unproven treatments it calls “fat-burning infusions” as well as traditional weight loss guidance like nutrition consultation and personal training. Wilson reported that she took part in activities including vitamin drips, nasal reflexology, aerial yoga, and massages during her time at a VivaMayr resort. The details on exactly what the diet involves are murky; this is a program offered at an expensive medical clinic and spa. Even if you aren’t interested in jet-setting to a wellness retreat and forking over thousands, that doesn’t mean you can’t adopt the principles and teachings and apply them to your own life no matter where you are, but there isn’t a strict blueprint or set of guidelines for how to do so. Eating in this way may bear some health benefits.
Mayr Incorporates Plant-Based Foods
Breakfast on Mayr includes warm buckwheat bread rolls and vegetarian spreads, as well as sheep’s milk yogurt, a midmorning snack is a vegetable bouillon, lunch consists of light fare individualized to your needs, and dinner is an alkaline broth or soup. These are considered healthy plant-based foods. That’s a plus because a plant-based diet focused on nutrient-rich foods is health promoting, says Emmaline Rasmussen, RDN, the owner of Sound Nutrition in Chicago. People who follow a plant-based diet have a 19 and 11 percent lower risk, respectively, of death from cardiovascular disease and any other cause, compared with people who eat fewer plants and more animal products, according to one study.
Mayr Encourages Mindful Eating
You’ll also practice mindful eating on the Mayr method. Harvard Health Publishing defines this as eating without distractions, stopping to appreciate your food before you eat it, taking small bites, and slowly (and fully) chewing to savor the aromas and textures of your food. “Mindful eating is a game changer, [when] you slow down and remove external stimuli, like the TV or phone from the dinner table. When your eyes are not looking at your food, you’re not mentally registering what’s on your plate,” Rasmussen explains. In a small randomized, controlled trial, adults who completed a 15-week weight loss program, which included training in mindfulness eating, lost about 4 pounds, compared with a control group that lost about a half pound. One element of that mindful eating? Chewing food to liquefy it. Duan notes in the blog post that resortgoers are instructed to chew their food 30 times before swallowing. There is benefit to chewing thoroughly. Research indicates that people who chew their food more thoroughly and for a longer duration are more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI), compared with fast, incomplete chewers. That said, 30 times is a lot. It would likely be tiring and would turn your food into liquid, thus destroying its texture and flavor, which is among life’s pleasures — and chewing thoroughly, while healthy overall, can tip into unhealthy territory. “This rule feels a little obsessive and rings of disordered eating,” says Rasmussen.
Mayr Prioritizes Stress Management and Healthy Sleep
Last, there is an emphasis on stress and sleep, as part of the whole-body approach. That is a huge positive. Research has found that people who get sufficient sleep and stick to a consistent schedule are more successful in losing weight. As for stress, one small study concluded that adults at a medical obesity clinic who attended an eight-week stress management program (focused on deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided visualization) reduced their BMI more than the control group, and lessened depression and anxiety to boot.
Mayr’s Medical Clinics Aren’t Accessible to All
One of the bigger problems with Mayr is that you’re supposed to travel to one of the medical clinics that offer the Mayr method and stay there for some time. That has its own limitations in terms of expense, resources (including time), and ongoing travel complications during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s a Lack of Research to Support the Mayr Method
Mayr is one of many strict diets without scientifically proven results. “These quick-fix ideas are appealing. People are feeling discouraged with their current situation, and having a set of rules or restrictions imposed on you sounds really desirable,” says the New York City–based Samantha Cassetty, RD, the coauthor of Sugar Shock. What’s more, other treatments touted by Mayr, including cryotherapy and massage, are unproven to help you lose weight or release toxins, says Rasmussen. And the method as a whole does not have any research behind it. The Toronto-based registered dietitian Abby Langer writes on her blog that you may even experience serious illness from some of the reported tenets of Mayr, which include bloodletting, severe calorie restriction (600 calories a day), and laxatives.
Mayr Results Can Be Difficult to Maintain
Beyond these potentially dangerous therapies, a trip to any sort of wellness retreat that touts weight loss as an end goal is not likely to provide sustainable results, says Rasmussen. “When you get back to regular life, everyday stresses and being surrounded by fast food, snacks, and processed food will make it really tough to maintain any weight loss. If this center is not just removing stimuli and temptations and is teaching long-term healthy behaviors that you can apply to your life outside, then you may be successful,” she says. Put differently, in real life, you won’t have a chef make meals for you, a resort that controls what you eat, and massages at the ready, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to maintain that brand-new you. In the beginning of the diet, you’ll be required to fast, cleanse, restrict the foods you’re eating, and take vitamin and mineral supplements, according to Today. This is a huge red flag. Not only do you have working organs that do these jobs, but detoxing hasn’t been shown to be a viable long-term strategy for good health or weight loss. “If we look at the people who live the longest, healthiest lives in the world, they are not doing detoxes. They adhere to healthy pillars of a plant-focused diet that includes pulses and vegetables, limit their alcohol, get movement in their daily life, and nourish their social connections and sense of community,” says Cassetty. “When we look at the whole picture, we know people do not need to detox to be healthy.” For a more accessible option, as long as your healthcare team okays it, you can start with the book The Viva Mayr Diet: 14 Days to a Flatter Stomach and a Younger You. The book was written by Harald Stossier, a general practitioner and VivaMayr founder, and it was published in 2010. The book includes guidelines for following the diet. For example, if you’re choosing between wine and water at dinner, drink wine every time, eat more mindfully and with intention, and eat breakfast but make dinner optional. This advice appears to be a bit different from what you’d receive at one of the wellness retreats, as alcohol is not allowed during the program. But the book seems an attempt to bring the plan more into the real world and make it more doable. The scientifically unproven elements of Mayr (like herbal wraps or laxatives) can be at best a waste of money and at worst dangerous. “You don’t need to go to a spa to get these results. If you need help addressing the areas of your life that may be impeding weight loss, you’re far better off speaking to a registered dietitian who can help tailor a program to your lifestyle now for long-lasting results,” says Rasmussen.
