What is the 30-30-30 method for weight loss — and is it safe?

“I would not say that breakfast needs to be eaten within 30 minutes of waking. I would typically say eat breakfast within a few hours. … Not everyone can stomach food that early,” said Mayo Clinic lead registered dietitian Tara Schmidt, who added that “there is a benefit to having 30 grams of protein.”

The Recommended Dietary Allowance is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight — or 0.36 grams per pound. For a 150-pound person, that’s 54 grams.

Schmidt recommends adding other foods besides protein to your breakfast, such as fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and even carbohydrates.

While she notes any fitness is “absolutely beneficial,” the regimen’s post-breakfast timing is giving Schmidt pause.

“I don’t think we have a lot of research to support it needs to be that quickly after a meal,” Schmidt said.

“We keep finding newer ways to do the same thing we’ve been trying to tell people the whole time, which is you need to be exercising, you need to be eating a balanced diet, and it needs to be sustainable,” she added.

That’s not to say there aren’t benefits to the 30-cubed rule, especially if it’s getting a person to be more active.

“If you’re not doing any exercise and now you’re doing 30 minutes a day of low-intensity cardio, that’s better than nothing,” Jason Machowsky, an exercise physiologist and registered dietitian at Hospital for Special Surgery, told Today.

“The (method) doesn’t seem to be harmful to try, but it’s not one-size-fits-all,” he added, noting that weight loss should simply focus on the number of calories burned.

Machowsky does acknowledge that a psychological factor might come into play with the 30-30-30 rule.

“Some people find the act of exercising in the morning makes them more mindful of their eating choices the rest of the day, so it can have a positive ripple effect,” he explained.