The Mediterranean diet gets a lot of popularity for a number of reasons: Weight loss potential, health benefits & exotic foods, among other things. This basic guide will help you understand and find out if this diet plan is ideal for you.
Contents
Mediterranean Diet Summary:
For the most part you are going to be eating in a way that resembles what people in the eastern Mediterranean areas eat. This will involve foods and drinks that are not very common in western culture. In this diet plan there isn’t much focus on weight loss as much as it is on changing your eating habits to adopt this plan’s style.
This is said to lead to health benefits and regulation of weight. In it’s basic form, this plan shouldn’t be used as a diet, but rather a healthy way of eating which will indirectly lead to weight loss.
Additionally as you experience the many health benefits of this plan, the weight will start to come off by itself. But even though it isn’t going to be fast, it will be gradual and long term.
Foods you will eat with this plan:
Mostly white meat (very limited red meat), fish, vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, cereals, red wine & using mono saturated fats when frying foods. These are basically oils which turn to liquid under warmer temperatures and become solid when under cooler temperatures. Also you should limit and even completely get rid of salt in your food.
Ideally you’d want to stick to anything organic to get the most benefits. Though there is a lot of variety when you get into it, there is a food pyramid for the Mediterranean diet which places each of the above foods in a certain area. For example, vegetables and fruits can be eaten in basically unlimited proportions and are at the bottom of the pyramid whereas at the top is wine, which is recommended, but in limited proportions.
This basic guide is meant to give you an overall idea of the plan so if you need specifics, there are a number of books available on the subject which contain tons of recipes and guidelines you can use if you wish to try this plan.
Health benefits:
There are a number of them with this diet, but overall a lower…
- Cholesterol.
- Risk of heart disease.
- Risk of cancer.
- Parkinsons.
- Alzheimer’s disease.
- Type II Diabetes.
Certainly these benefits are more than enough to get someone to start adopting a Mediterranean way of eating.
But what about weight loss?
Results vary. You can certainly use this plan for that, but if you follow it in the traditional way, you’ll likely see gradual results. This isn’t a short term fix plan. In many ways it has a lot of similarities to the DASH diet, which is also very healthy, but not so much focused on weight loss. Like it was mentioned before, the Mediterranean diet is really a a way of life plan, not a diet, at least not in the traditional sense.
Pros:
- Good solid diet.
- Focuses on healthy eating.
- Reduces risks of many diseases.
- Provides long term results.
- Lots of exotic food choices.
Cons:
- Not a short term fix.
Mediterranean Diet Score:
3.5 stars out of 5. Great, healthy diet, although it will require commitment. See #1 rated diet.
Conclusions on the Mediterranean diet:
There’s really no major complaints against this plan. In fact there really isn’t much you can nitpick at either. This plan is great and because it provides a lot of health benefits and reduces the risks of major diseases makes it that much better.
The only thing that may cause a problem for western cultures is getting used to this way of life in the long while. It’s difficult to maintain such a diet with all the bad foods surrounding us. Ultimately your will power is what will determine your results with this plan and if you can stick to it, you should see great results overall.
As for fast weight loss, you can add important techniques from the get started section that will boost results greatly, or you can also try the #1 rated diet for diversity if you’re in a hurry. But overall if you’re seeking long term results and to live a healthy life, the Mediterranean diet is one of those plans that’s worth trying.