Mediterranean diet for weight loss– one of the most popular weight loss methods today. It is not for nothing that the method has gained recognition among fashionistas. The method allows you to eat delicious food and at the same time lose extra pounds. If you study the diet carefully, it turns out that it is not a way to lose weight at all. The method is based on the traditional diet of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean countries. However, if you follow the basic principles of the diet, you can get rid of extra pounds or keep your body in shape for a long period of time.
The Mediterranean diet doesn't just help you lose weight. With its help, a girl can extend her youth by 7-10 years. It is not for nothing that the inhabitants of countries that have used this diet as a traditional diet since ancient times look fit and wealthy. It is not for nothing that the second name of the diet is "Diet of Aphrodite". This indicates the aesthetic component of the diet. By eating a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, a girl not only gets rid of extra pounds, but also improves her appearance and general condition. Although the diet is gentle, you still need to follow some rules. However, this will not cause any difficulties for the fashionista. A variety of products saturates a woman's body with all the necessary substances. You need to start losing weight by studying the basic principles, on which the diet is based. We will continue to talk about the peculiarities of the method, cooking recipes and the rules that must be followed to accelerate weight loss.
The essence of the Mediterranean diet
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, supporters of the diet always advise paying attention to the mortality rate of Mediterranean residents. This indicator is low. Experts say that this condition is largely due to the diet of the inhabitants of these countries. The diet is easy to follow. A girl who sticks to a weight loss method can easily stick to the plan for a month or more. The Mediterranean diet is based on understanding the principles of proper nutrition. Because of this, it can become a permanent pattern in which a person consumes their food.
Nutrition has a number of positive effects on the human body:
- leads to normalization of blood pressure,
- contributes to improving the quality of life,
- saturates the body with antioxidants,
- minimizes the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease,
- reduces the risk of diabetes mellitus,
- reduces the likelihood of emphysema,
- minimizes the likelihood of breast and rectal cancer,
- reduces the likelihood of developing chronic bronchial diseases.
The essence of the Mediterranean diet is that to lose weight, you should eat more red, orange and dark green vegetables and fruits.
Take note!You should only eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
If you want to lose weight, you need to eat a lot of fish and seafood in addition to plant-based foods. This diet is a classic for Mediterranean people.
There are a number of other principles that you should know in advance:
- Sugar must be replaced with honey,
- Daily fluid intake should be at least 6 glasses,
- You need to add olive oil to your usual diet,
- You need to eat meals that consist of meat and carbohydrates.
- With the main meal you should drink 1 glass of red wine,
- The diet should include as many legumes, vegetables and fruits as possible.
Mediterranean people eat 4-5 times a day. If a girl wants to lose weight on a diet based on her traditional diet, she needs to increase the number of meals.
That is interesting!Today there are several variations of the Mediterranean diet. The varieties not only allow you to lose excess weight, but also improve your overall health. That's why today there is a program designed specifically for people with diabetes. This method is a therapeutic and preventive diet.
In variations of the Mediterranean diet, parts of the meals can be omitted. So if a person suffering from diabetes chooses this nutritional method, the greatest burden will occur at lunch and breakfast will be skipped completely.
Expert opinion
It is most likely that it can be argued that the Mediterranean diet is not a diet at all, but simply a normal diet that contains only healthy foods. Basic principles such as the exclusive use of fresh vegetables and fruits, the absence of refined carbohydrates, a high fluid intake, vegetable oils and the significant use of seafood, even fresh, allow you to maintain a good balance of nutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The Mediterranean is a traditional wine-growing region, so moderate consumption of natural red wine with resveratrol reduces the risk of developing malignant tumors and increases life expectancy. Unfortunately, the Mediterranean diet is completely impossible in the outback, even if you eat in the best and most expensive supermarkets. To do this, you need to at least move to the sea in order to have in your diet at least a semblance of all the useful components that are included in the diet. From a medical point of view, we can say that if everyone ate this diet, the problems with cancer and cardiovascular diseases would be many times less than they are today.
Allowed and prohibited products
If a girl decides to follow a Mediterranean diet, it will not be difficult to compose a menu for every day. It is necessary to choose dishes in accordance with ideas about proper nutrition. Today experts have compiled a list of products that can be used in the daily menu. This will make the preparation much easier.
According to the rules of the Mediterranean diet, a girl can eat:
- Fruits of which you must eat at least 3 servings per day,
- Fish and seafood – no more than 4 times a week,
- yogurt, cheese or sour milk - 1 time per day,
- 1 glass of red wine – 2 times a day,
- lean meat – 2-5 times a week,
- Vegetables – 2 times a day,
- Eggs – 2-4 pieces per week,
- red meat – 1-2 times a week.
If a girl likes the Mediterranean diet, she should find out in advance which foods are allowed to be eaten and which are forbidden. Despite the abundance of permitted foods, there are foods that are strictly prohibited. Violation of the rule leads to the girl gaining back the lost kilos.
The list of foods prohibited in the Mediterranean diet includes:
- sausages and semi-finished products,
- Fast food,
- refined vegetable oil,
- refined grains,
- Foods containing hydrogenated fats.
In addition to the quantity of products, their ratio must also be taken into account.
According to the established rules, a fashionista's daily menu should look like this:
- 50% carbohydrates,
- 30% fat,
- 20% proteins.
It is not recommended to deviate from the established scheme.
Mediterranean diet drinks
If you decide to lose weight with the Mediterranean diet, you need to make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Its main source should be water that does not contain gases. Daily fluid intake is 1. 5-2 liters. The permitted amount must be divided into equal portions and drunk throughout the day. The Mediterranean way of losing weight involves completely avoiding numerous drinks.
In order for the figure correction to be successful, it is forbidden to drink:
- Lemonade,
- Juices,
- Lemonade,
- fruit drinks,
- compotes.
The Mediterranean method of losing weight does not prohibit the consumption of fresh juices, but they must be drunk with caution. It should be borne in mind that such drinks contain a lot of fructose. If it enters the human body without fiber, excess fat is formed.
The method does not advocate the use of coffee, but does not completely exclude it from the diet. If a girl really likes this drink, she can drink it in the morning. However, no sugar should be added to coffee. In addition, you need to limit yourself to 1 small cup of drink.
Rules of the Mediterranean diet
Unlike other weight loss methods, the Mediterranean diet does not cause the girl to quickly get tired and collapse. The figure correction scheme does not impose strict restrictions. All prohibitions are based on ideas about proper nutrition. However, there are still a number of rules.
If a girl wants to lose weight using the Mediterranean method, she must:
- eat lots of vegetables and fruit,
- Drink 1. 5-2 liters of liquid per day,
- Eat carbohydrate foods for breakfast and protein foods for dinner.
- Soak for at least 1 day before cooking cereals,
- Cooking meat and vegetables by steaming, baking or grilling,
- it is better to give preference to eating fresh foods,
- replace all cooking fats with olive oil,
- replace sugar with honey,
- You can drink tea and coffee, but in small quantities,
- Alcohol is allowed to be consumed, but only in the form of red wine and no more than 1-2 glasses per day.
If a girl decides to consume honey, she must remember that it should not be added to tea or spread on baked goods. This makes the product carcinogenic. Such a diet will not be beneficial.
Sample menu for the week
The Mediterranean diet involves a healthy diet. If the girl adheres to this, she can eat delicious and healthy food. With the Mediterranean method, you put together your own daily diet. However, it can be difficult to get right. For this reason, experts have developed an approximate scheme designed for 14 days. It makes it clear what foods you are allowed to eat. After that, the girl will not only lose weight, but also improve the general condition of the body.
An approximate daily menu, drawn up in accordance with the principles of nutrition, is presented in the table below:
| weekday | Eat | Sample menu |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Breakfast | Oatmeal + fruit or berries You can add a little honey to the porridge to sweeten it, but only after it has cooled. |
| Dinner | Fish or vegetable soup Salad + sour cream or butter or yogurt |
|
| Dinner | Boiled or baked fish + vegetables + some steamed beans | |
| Tuesday | Breakfast | Wheat or millet porridge + baked pumpkin and apples |
| Dinner | Chicken and vegetable salad with pumpkin seeds or chicken cream soup | |
| Dinner | Braised chicken + vegetables or fish | |
| Wednesday | Breakfast | Baked potatoes + butter + vegetables |
| Dinner | Buckwheat soup + tomatoes + meatballs | |
| Dinner | Baked turkey cutlets with pumpkin + vegetable salad with sour cream | |
| Thursday | Breakfast | Macaroni + cheese sauce |
| Dinner | Cauliflower casserole + beef rice soup | |
| Dinner | Lasagna + vegetables + chicken, kefir | |
| Friday | Breakfast | Braised rice + vegetables |
| Dinner | Vegetable soup + salad with boiled fish | |
| Dinner | Cottage cheese casserole + apples + pumpkin, kefir | |
| Saturday | Breakfast | Oatmeal + dried fruits + honey, kefir cocktail + flax seeds + banana or berries |
| Dinner | Fish soup and steamed vegetables | |
| Dinner | Fish + vegetables, flatbread | |
| Sunday | Breakfast | Eggs + slice of bread + cheese |
| Dinner | Pasta + rabbit meat | |
| Dinner | Omelet + vegetables | |
| Week 2 repeats the previous week |
Recipes for dishes
Today there are recipes for the Mediterranean diet adapted to other countries. This allows the girl to follow a diet and eat delicious food. The foods that can be consumed are diverse.
A girl can cook:
- Minestrone soup.To prepare it you will need: 100 g of spinach, 85 g of green peas, 6 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 liters of chicken broth, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 potatoes, 2 zucchini, 2 eggplants, ¼ head of cabbage, a pinch of salt. To prepare the soup, you need to heat the oil in a container and then fry the onions, celery, carrots and cabbage in it. Then you need to chop the remaining vegetables, pour the broth into the pan, add spices and cook until cooked.
- Pasta with seafood.Ingredients: 300 g cherry tomatoes, 200 g seafood cocktail mix, 200 g rye pasta, bunch of basil, olive oil. Boil the pasta, fry the tomatoes and basil a little in oil. The "sea cocktail" must be thawed and then boiled in lightly salted water for 10 minutes. Next, mix seafood with vegetables and serve with pasta.
- Red tuna with tartar sauce.Ingredients: 400 g bluefin tuna, 50 ml olive oil, 50 ml soy sauce, 30 g tomatoes, 30 g walnuts, 20 g onions, 20 ml vinegar, 10 g spring onions, 8 asparagus tails, 1 lemon. Squeeze out lemon juice and mix with soy sauce. Add the tuna to the resulting mixture and soak for 2 hours. Finely chop the tomatoes, spring onions and onions, add to the tuna and mix. Place the finished fish and vegetables on a plate. Garnish the dish with asparagus, which must first be fried in a pan with vinegar, olive oil and chopped walnuts.
The recipes are not particularly difficult to prepare. No special skills are required to bring them to life. Dishes based on adapted recipes can be prepared in a normal kitchen. By preparing delicious Mediterranean food every day and following the rules, a girl can lose weight effortlessly. Following a Mediterranean diet will not be a burden.
Reviews from those who have lost weight
- "It was no coincidence that I chose this diet because I heard about it not only from my friends but also from my mother. The main advantage of the diet is that you do not have to choose low-calorie analogues for your favorite foods. Even my favorite Italian pasta and all kinds of cereals that I like are not forbidden. The result of the diet will satisfy even skeptics - it is quite possible to get rid of 4-6 kg. "
- "The first diet that almost stopped me from trying to lose weight was a low-calorie diet. Now I even remember with a shudder my torment - not only was I hungry, but I also felt disgusting, I was constantly irritable. The Mediterranean diet saved me - pleasant cuisine, wonderful health, excellent results (minus 10 kg in 2 months). "
- "I was pleased with the variety and low number of prohibitions in the Mediterranean diet. There was no need to hysterically search for low-calorie foods. It was possible to reduce not only the waist, but also the hips, the folds on the stomach disappeared, cellulite almost completely disappeared, and in just a month and a half! "