There are no prohibitions: a personal experience of mastering the Mediterranean diet. Unusual properties of the Mediterranean diet: weight loss for the benefit of the body Mediterranean diet contraindications

25.11.2020

The Mediterranean Weight Loss Diet is more than just a diet, it is a complete Mediterranean lifestyle. In the world there are many myths about the right, healthy for the body, diet. Nutritionists are constantly developing new schemes, and culinary specialists - dishes and food menus for a month or a week according to the rules of new diets.

However, as you know, the result of the diet directly depends on many individual factors human health, genetic predisposition to weight gain and the efficiency of the digestive system.

What is the essence of such a diet?

60% of the diet is: fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates, 30 percent is the share of vegetable fats (olive oil), 10 percent is proteins (seafood, fish, lean meat, cheese).

The process of losing weight occurs due to the low consumption of unnatural and starchy foods, fatty, starchy foods, sweets and carbonated drinks.
The Mediterranean diet is especially pleasantly observed on a sea holiday on vacation. But for city dwellers, such a diet will not be a problem, because stores offer a good variety of natural products.

Mediterranean diet. Menu for the week, recipes you will find in our article

To evaluate the result of a balanced diet in Italy, Spain or France, no additional research is required.

Statistics show that the Mediterranean diet has a positive effect on the body as a whole, is effective prevention various diseases, and most importantly, it has a positive effect on the slimness of the figure and muscle growth.

Interesting fact! Compliance with the Mediterranean diet has no strict contraindications. An exception is an allergic reaction to a certain ingredient or medical prohibitions due to diseases of the digestive tract.

The principles of dieting include 3 key points:

choose the right (allowed) products to form the menu;
take food at a strictly defined time;
play sports to activate metabolism and energy hunger.

The main advantage of this type of food is a wide variety of dishes. Unlike rigid mono-diets, the Mediterranean diet includes a lot of different products, and the body does not experience "dietary" stress.

The combination of fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, legumes and dairy products provides all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It should not be overlooked that all of the above is easily adapted for the Russian population, from the Caucasus to Siberia.

Mediterranean diet rules

Eat vegetables every day. Fresh, boiled, stewed - very useful. Keep your consumption of potatoes to a minimum. Eat more cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, olives. By the way, nutritionists say that olives and olives speed up the metabolism.
Seafood and fish are very healthy, but fish should be low-fat varieties. Choose a dietary cooking method: boiled or baked fish and seafood.
Every day, try to consume 1-2 jars of fermented milk product. It can be kefir or yogurt. They contribute better job intestines and speed up metabolism. Besides, dairy products contain calcium, which helps strengthen bones.
Eat complex carbohydrates only at breakfast. These are buckwheat, rice, wholemeal bread, pasta. Complex carbohydrates help to recharge your batteries in the morning and for the whole day, and those eaten in the morning do not have time to be deposited in the form of excess weight.
Olive oil is a fat that won't make you fat! Dress salads with olive oil. Avoid mayonnaise and sour cream.
Mediterranean people love cheese. Give preference to low-fat varieties.
Meat is an important component of nutrition. Steam or boil the meat.
Replace sweets with fruits. But be careful with bananas. They are very high in calories.
Replace sugar with honey.
Try to exclude potatoes, cottage cheese, pastries, sweets, alcohol, carbonated drinks from the diet. You can only afford a little red or white wine.

Benefits of a diet for health and what results can be achieved

The main questions are: what are the benefits of Mediterranean cuisine, what results can be expected? A balanced menu is based on the regular consumption of fresh herbs, seasonal vegetables and fruits, cereals, and a moderate amount of meat. The contained useful trace elements are more than enough to maintain the health and performance of all body systems.

According to medical research, the benefits of the menu of such a diet are expressed in the following:

normalizes blood pressure, sugar levels;
elimination of puffiness and stabilization of the kidneys;
prevention of benign and malignant neoplasms;
prevention of the development of vascular and heart diseases;
strengthening the immune system;
proper and stable functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

The last point is one of the key ones. According to highly qualified nutritionists, normalization of the digestive system is an important component in losing weight. It is with cleansing that any proper nutrition system begins. Many losing weight exclude this stage, sincerely surprised that the chosen diet does not bring results.

Adhering to the Mediterranean cuisine, weight loss is observed after a week and a half. Moreover, losing weight does not mean a sharp loss of kilograms, “ proper weight loss”- slow weight loss throughout the diet.

Prohibited Products

It is difficult to strictly distinguish between “right” and “wrong” foods, because Mediterranean cuisine is very diverse, but there are a number of foods that should be completely abandoned.

Prohibitions and restrictions in the menu of the Mediterranean diet (a guide to making recipes for a week)
Forbidden	Allowed with restriction
Butter	Game: three times a week
Pork	Lamb, beef, lamb meat: once a week
Sugar, confectionery	Salt
High fat cheeses	Sweet juices
Fast food, pastries, white flour products	Grapes, bananas - in limited quantities
Sweet carbonated drinks
Refined fats and sugars
Whole milk

Sample menu of the Mediterranean diet for a week

When compiling a weekly diet, it should be as varied as possible. By eating different foods, the body will receive the maximum amount of vitamins, nervous system will be strengthened, and the rejection of prohibited ingredients will go unnoticed.

Interesting fact! The order of dishes is allowed to be changed, the main thing is to follow 3 rules: carbohydrates before lunch, proteins - after dinner, main course - at lunch. Vegetables are allowed at any time of the day, but their total volume should not exceed 1 kg.

	Breakfast	Dinner	Dinner
Day #1	two onion sandwiches pickled cucumber and sardines	seafood soup with vegetables	Greek salad with beans, celery, olives and chopped herbs
Day #2	two sandwiches with ham, low-fat yogurt or kefir.	rice, salmon sour cream sauce with chopped herbs.	tomato soup with fried slices of bread and fresh herbs.
Day #3	muesli with nuts and fruits (dried fruits).	grilled vegetables (red and green bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant).	boiled shrimp, toast or cheese sandwich.
Day #4	sandwiches with mozzarella cheese and fresh slices of tomato, banana or kiwi, freshly squeezed carrot juice.	pasta with lamb meat stewed with vegetables (bell pepper and zucchini).	vegetable salad with olive oil (radishes, pickled gherkins, red and green Bell pepper, olives, tomatoes, leeks).
Day #5	fruits (papaya, melon, pineapple, banana, kiwi).	stewed vegetables with mozzarella seasoned with nutmeg.	salad with shrimp and avocado.
Day #6	ham sandwich, rice cake with low-fat butter.	light vegetable soup with chicken broth.	fish cutlets, boiled buckwheat, cherry tomatoes.
Day #7	sandwiches with salami, slices of sweet bell pepper, and a leaf of lettuce.	risotto with shrimp.	baked chicken meat with fresh vegetable salad and feta cheese.

The weekly or monthly menu of the Mediterranean diet does not imply compliance with strict prohibitions between meals. Snack recipes (lunch and afternoon tea) should consist of light meals: fruits, vegetables, refreshing drinks.

Nutritionists recommend limiting them to fresh fruit, natural yogurt, or low-fat kefir. Each meal should be at a certain time, this is the key to the proper functioning of the digestive system.

Priority drinks - filtered water, natural juices. Coffee, green or black tea is drunk without sugar, 3-4 mugs per day are allowed. Dry wine is recommended for lunch or dinner, no more than 100 - 150 ml per day.

Sweets are allowed once a week, these include dried fruits, honey, homemade cakes or desserts, for example, jelly, mousse, smoothies. It is better to opt for fresh fruits, but rarely eat homemade cookies quite safe.

It is important to know! If the menu for the week looks too exotic, Mediterranean diet recipes can be adapted. It is allowed to replace the main dishes with cereals, wholemeal pasta, vegetable stews.

Mediterranean Diet Recipes

When preparing first or second courses, olive oil is always added, it is best to choose cold-pressed oil. The amount should be moderate.

The menu of the Mediterranean diet should be composed of products of natural cuisine.

The diet includes all kinds of dishes: first, second, desserts. The most difficult thing to cook is soups and side dishes, especially if they are included as a regular dish of a weekly or monthly diet menu program.

Desserts, as a rule, are fruits (dried fruits), yogurt, dietary homemade cakes adapted to the daily diet.

Soup Ministerone

Soup main ingredients:

All vegetables are fried in olive oil in a saucepan, spices are added. The broth is poured several times in portions and the soup is boiled for 50 minutes.

Vegetable risotto

Main Ingredients:

All vegetables are cut into small cubes, spread on a greased baking sheet and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Onions and garlic are stewed separately in a pan with high walls, adding rice and then broth, and stew for another 15-20 minutes (the water should evaporate and be absorbed). The baked vegetables are transferred to a pan with rice and mixed.

Baked fish

Main Ingredients:

Sea fish fillets are laid out on a baking sheet, greased with oil. Mix lemon juice, kefir, herbs and salt, put the resulting mixture on the fish meat. The top layer is grated cheese. The dish is prepared for 15-20 minutes in the oven at a temperature of 180 ° C.

Vegetable salad with avocado and shrimp

Main salad ingredients:

The traditional dressing is olive oil, the salad is seasoned with basil, cilantro, lemon juice and pepper.

Shrimps are cleaned, slightly salted and fried in olive oil on all sides. Avocados are cut into slices, sticks or cubes, sprinkled with lemon juice. Lettuce leaves are laid out on a plate, chopped avocado is laid out on top. Then comes a layer of shrimp.

Cherry tomatoes are cut into quarters and spread on top. Fresh basil and cilantro should be coarsely chopped, pepper and salt to taste.

Diet exit rules

Despite the fact that this program nutrition is not a diet that must be strictly observed, the transition to the usual diet must be properly organized. It is not recommended to abruptly return to the use of large amounts of sugar, fatty meat, potatoes and alcohol.

When leaving the diet, you should gradually introduce familiar dishes into the daily diet, cook red meat more often, add potatoes to vegetable dishes. You can gradually add butter to cereals, in the early days - limit yourself to a minimum amount. They also increase the volume of fruits and vegetables, eat bananas and grapes more often.

Completion of the diet will take 4 weeks, during which time the body will gradually rebuild. If you switch to fatty foods prematurely, indigestion is not ruled out. or heartburn.

Before you start changing the power system, it is useful to spend 2-3 fasting days. To do this, it is not at all necessary to starve, the usual dishes are replaced with stews or fresh vegetables drinking kefir, carrot juice. Then you can begin to change the diet, after a few fasting days, the transition will be invisible.

The main mistakes of losing weight and how to avoid them

The key mistakes of the diet are an incomplete understanding of which foods are allowed and which should not be in the recipes for the week. The diet allows you to enter bread, pasta into the menu, but they should not be made from white flour.

Regular consumption of olive oil can be a big problem in losing weight on the Mediterranean diet, because it contains a large number of"useless" calories.

According to nutritionists, “a small serving of olive oil will not hurt a healthy and active person.” A sedentary lifestyle or the abuse of vegetable fat can reduce the entire result to a minimum.

Breakdowns are one of the biggest mistakes of any diet.. Since the Mediterranean cuisine is varied, a daily breakdown and one-time overeating will not block all the efforts made. It is enough to spend 1-2 unloading days and return to the correct nutrition program.

To avoid disruptions, you should clearly plan the menu, a properly balanced diet will ensure the full saturation of the body with useful trace elements.

Opinions of doctors, nutritionists about the Mediterranean diet

Experts believe that the Mediterranean diet can be considered a reference diet for a healthy person.

Properly compiled menu for a week, month or longer period of time, with recipes for healthy meals, and regular exercise, guarantee the normal functioning of the digestive system, maximum digestibility useful substances due to enhanced metabolism, and excellent human condition without bad habits.

The program prevents the development of various diseases and heals the body as a whole. Reducing cholesterol levels, normalizing pressure and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract contribute to the full digestion of food, excellent health allows you to play sports more often or introduce it into your lifestyle.

This nutrition system has no age restrictions, it is allowed during pregnancy or lactation.

An important aspect is physical activity, which is mandatory when following the Mediterranean diet. An active lifestyle keeps the whole body in good shape, promotes correct work digestive system, has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system.

It is not necessary to play sports professionally, the standard minimum is daily exercises in the morning and evening. And the Mediterranean diet is simple, pleasant, and at the same time, very effective!

Mediterranean diet. Menu for the week, recipes in this useful video:

Mediterranean diet menu for the week:

There are many diets based on the nutritional principles of some countries. Among the effective methods of losing weight is the Mediterranean diet, which uses the features proper nutrition. There are options that are recommended as a health food.

Mediterranean diet - what is it?

The Mediterranean countries have their own gastronomic features, which became the basis of a special food system, and it was proposed by Dr. Ansel Kiis. He believes that human health directly depends on how much fat of animal origin he consumes. Many are interested in what the Mediterranean diet includes, and so traditionally it is based on the use of foods with a small amount of fat, but at the same time, the emphasis in nutrition is on cereals.

Mediterranean diet - pros and cons

To understand whether the presented method of losing weight is worthy of attention, one should consider its advantages and disadvantages. An important plus is that the principles of nutrition are similar to the basic rules of dietary and healthy nutrition. You can appreciate the benefits by learning how the Mediterranean diet can help you lose weight, improve your health, preserve your beauty, and prolong your youth. Another advantage is the wide choice of permitted foods, and due to the diversity of the diet, the risk of relapse is minimized.

It has a Mediterranean diet and cons, for example, with its help it is impossible to cope with obesity and lose weight in a short period of time. This method of losing weight requires serious financial costs and necessary products are often unavailable. Due to the presence of a large amount of fiber, the diet should not be used for ulcers and other problems with the digestive system.

Principles of the Mediterranean Diet

Thanks to the basic rules of this weight loss technique, the risk of a breakdown is greatly reduced. She doesn't mean strict restrictions in nutrition and is based on the characteristics of PP. There is a pyramid of the Mediterranean diet, according to which you can determine which foods and how often you need to eat. At the bottom are items for the daily menu, and at the top, what can be included in the diet infrequently. The basics of the Mediterranean diet are as follows:

Vegetables and fruits are allowed to eat in unlimited quantities, but it is better to choose unsweetened and non-starchy fruits. They should be consumed mostly raw, but heat treatment is also allowed: steaming, in the oven and on the grill.
Cereals are recommended to be soaked for a day before cooking to remove excess starch.
For supporting water balance you should drink at least 1.5-2 liters per day.
Instead of all cooking fats, only one that contains important omega-3 fatty acids is allowed to be used.
The Mediterranean diet involves eating small, frequent meals.
It is recommended to abandon salt, replacing it with herbs and spices. Sugar is bad and it is better to use honey or natural substitutes like stevia.

Mediterranean diet for weight loss

To create your own menu, you need to consider some recommendations for each meal. Breakfast worth choosing cereal crops, and pasta, rice and vegetables are suitable for lunch. Dinner includes protein foods supplemented with vegetables. The Mediterranean diet, the weekly menu of which you can make yourself, allows the use of desserts, but only fruit ones. It is important to exclude fast food, vegetable oils, sausages and other junk food from your diet.

Mediterranean diet - Russian version

Since some products from the original diet of the Mediterranean countries are expensive for Russia, some substitutions have been made. The Mediterranean diet, the menu of which is compiled according to the rules, involves the use of olive oil, and high-quality varieties are expensive, so they are replaced with unrefined sunflower oil, adding pumpkin or sunflower seeds to the diet. Instead of red fish, you can eat mackerel or even herring, supplementing the menu with linseed oil. Use pasta from durum wheat and cereals of a domestic manufacturer.

The New Mediterranean Diet Ra'anana

The presented technique is aimed at healthy weight loss and consolidation of the results obtained. You can use its principles for a long time and even all your life, since it only benefits the body. Anti-inflammatory and Raanana was proposed by Dr. A. Sterngarz, who presented excess fat mass as a chronic inflammatory process. This technique has a number of advantages.

Balanced BJU ratio.
Reduces existing inflammatory processes.
supplies healthy fats important for health.
The Mediterranean diet includes natural products that are good for the body.
The diet contains foods that contain organic matter.
The menu is varied, so the risks of disruption are zero.

mediterranean diet to lower cholesterol

The presented method of losing weight is beneficial for health, helping to cope with various diseases and other malfunctions in the body. The Mediterranean diet is recommended for people with high cholesterol levels. The diet implies the use of healthy food, in which there are no substances that worsen the condition of the vessels. Healthy Mediterranean Diet Foods to Lower Cholesterol: Green vegetables, nuts, flax seeds, olive oil, red fish and whole grains.

mediterranean diet for diabetes

One of the modifications of the Mediterranean diet is the method proposed by Lidia Ionova, and it is recommended for diabetics. Unlike the original, it contains less bread and cereals, but more vegetables, fruits and meat. Water is important, the amount of which should be calculated depending on body weight. The Mediterranean diet for diabetics Ionic helps to avoid sharp spikes in blood glucose, lowers cholesterol and normalizes lipid metabolism.

Mediterranean Diet - Recipes

Considering wide range of permitted products, it is understandable that there are a huge number of recipes for preparing different dishes. Appetizers, salads, side dishes, first and second courses, and desserts, all this can be used to compose your diet. Recipes for the Mediterranean diet are simple and do not require special culinary skills. An example is the method of preparing gazpacho and vegetable risotto.

gazpacho recipe

Ingredients:

tomatoes - 6 pcs.;
cucumber - 1 pc.;
red pepper - 1 pc.;
onion - 1 pc.;
garlic - 3 cloves;
salt - 5 g;
white bread - 2 slices;
wine vinegar - 2 teaspoons;
olive oil - 35 g;
salt, pepper and herbs.

Cooking

Mince the garlic and rub it with salt. Add dried bread, butter and thoroughly rub everything until smooth.
Grind the vegetables in a blender, add the bread mass and wine vinegar. Add spices and herbs to taste.

risotto recipe

The concept of "Mediterranean diet" was introduced in the 50s of the last century by the Chase spouses, who studied the nutrition of the inhabitants of the island of Sicily and the province of Salerno. During this study, attention was drawn to the fact that local residents are less prone to diseases than "continental" Europeans. of cardio-vascular system, respiratory organs, as well as obesity and diabetes. The reason for this is in a complete and properly organized diet. Such principles of nutrition were the basis of the Mediterranean diet. In addition, it organically includes the main food traditions of other European Mediterranean countries - Spain, France and Greece (of course, Albania, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro can also be considered among the Mediterranean countries, but in the 50s of the last century these countries were inaccessible to the Chase spouses for research).

It is difficult to call the Mediterranean diet a diet, it is rather a diet - a properly selected diet, devoid of almost any shortcomings.

I would like to highlight the most important advantages of the Mediterranean diet.

Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Firstly, the basis of the Mediterranean diet is a fairly large amount of vegetables and fruits, which are the main supplier of carbohydrates to the human body. The diet provides for about a kilogram per day of these useful products. Moreover, preference is given to any vegetables, with the exception of potatoes, and any fruit. Moreover, everything that grows in these areas is used in nutrition. The quantitative and qualitative composition of fruits and vegetables is quite diverse: these are cabbage, herbs, olives, tomatoes, citrus fruits, grapes, apples, peaches and nectarines.

Secondly, the diet provides for the presence of suppliers of complex carbohydrates: bread and pasta from wholemeal flour and whole grains, certain cereals (mainly buckwheat and rice).

Thirdly, one of the principles of the Mediterranean diet is a special diet: in the first half of the day, carbohydrates are mainly eaten, after lunch and for dinner - proteins along with the obligatory vegetable side dish.

Basic principles

Like any diet, the Mediterranean diet for weight loss has its own principles. Vegetables are a must every day. The norm per person is a kilogram of vegetables per day. In addition to potatoes, it can be any vegetables: all varieties of cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, leeks, carrots, zucchini, olives and olives. (Nutritionists claim that olives (both green and black) are rich in vitamins and contain very healthy vegetable fats, sugars, proteins, and pectins.)

Proteins: meat, fish, eggs. In the Mediterranean diet, seafood is taken as the basis of a healthy diet. You need to regularly - at least 5 times a week - eat fresh fish, seafood (lobster, squid, mussels and scallops). It is allowed to eat lean meat two to three times a week - exclusively with grains and vegetables. The menu also includes eggs (no more than 2-4 eggs per week). From dairy products - natural yoghurts, yogurt, low-fat kefir, in a small amount but daily - a piece of cheese.

The diet is also specified. Breakfast is offered with carbohydrate food (muesli, cereals), and for dinner - protein and vegetables. This approach is explained by the fact that during the whole day the flour has time to assimilate, and the energy is used up, so bread, cakes and pita bread, which Mediterranean residents prefer to eat in the morning at breakfast, are not deposited in the form of extra pounds on the waist and hips. Bread products are served with honey or homemade jam. As a rule, vegetables, homemade pasta (noodles) or rice are served for lunch.

Carbohydrates: pasta and cereals. Whole pasta, bread, rice, cereals (muesli, cereals) are good for health and should be eaten.

More legumes, they should be included in most salad recipes.

You will have to limit refined carbohydrates, whole milk, cottage cheese. Exclude - canned food, convenience foods and fast food.

Among the oils for cooking, vegetable oils are preferable, and of them - olive oil. Moreover, the more olive oil in your dishes, the better: you need to fry it, season salads with it and even spread it on bread, it is olive oil in this diet that is considered the main supplier of fats.

The Mediterranean diet will be useful for absolutely everyone. The only thing is, there are some reservations, without neglecting which you will get truly incredible results.

Do not abuse pasta, especially seasoned with all kinds of sauces and mayonnaise - this will not contribute to the normal state of the body and its performance.

Some fruits (like grapes) contain easily digestible sugars. And if you overdo it with their consumption, without engaging in sufficient physical activity, leading a passive lifestyle, then the extra energy reserves will not benefit the figure.

Red wine has a positive effect on the body only in small doses! It is better not to exceed the established norm: 1 glass of wine for women and 2 glasses for men per day. In addition to other negative consequences of heavy libations, it should be borne in mind that alcohol provokes appetite!

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Having studied a large number of different diets, a person will sooner or later want to know which food option has been recognized by the world community as the best. And such a diet, of course, has become the Mediterranean, which is designed to improve health and help lose weight, maintain the required weight for a long time. It can not even be called a diet, but rather a healthy diet suitable for almost all people, including pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

The Mediterranean diet or the Aphrodite diet was followed by many slender divas - Sophia Loren, Cindy Crawford, Penelope Cruz. These and many other celebrities look quite fragile, graceful and happy for their middle and older years, which is facilitated by a normal balanced diet, which provides the body with all the necessary elements and vitamins.

Mediterranean diet pyramid, essence, rules of nutrition, benefits

First of all, it should be noted that the Mediterranean diet was recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of a whole region of countries, which included Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Morocco, Croatia and Portugal. National cuisine of these countries is based on the principles of the Mediterranean "pyramid", which we will discuss below.

The food pyramid in the Mediterranean diet involves compiling a menu according to a certain principle:

The basis of the pyramid (foods that we eat every day) is bulgur, millet, rice and other cereals, as well as pasta "paste" from flour premium, whole grain bread (bran, rye). In addition to side dishes, we add fruits and vegetables to the diet, which can and should be seasoned with olive oil. The diet also includes other delicacies and snacks - natural nuts, seeds and sunflower seeds, dried fruits. Mandatory use of sour-milk, dairy products and healthy cheeses (goat, Adyghe).
In the middle of the pyramid is a list of foods that should not be eaten every day (ideally, several times a week). These included lean poultry and sea fish, chicken eggs, potatoes in any form, and healthy sweets (jams, preserves, mousses, marshmallows, marmalade).
Red meat completes the pyramid, which is recommended to be consumed no more than 4 times a month.

When choosing foods allowed by the pyramid, you should definitely count calories and control portions, otherwise you will not achieve results in losing weight.

So, we see that the basis of nutrition should be slow (complex carbohydrates), as well as fiber and fruits. Cereals and vegetables should form the basis of each serving, fruits should be limited to 3 snacks per day. Use healthy olive oil everywhere in salads, for greasing toasts, in soups, and also during the heat treatment of foods. This product saturates the body with useful Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, normalizes blood cholesterol levels, breaks down old slag deposits and fats. Also, the basis of the pyramid involves saturating the body with calcium through low-fat dairy and sour-milk products, cheeses. They should be in the diet a couple of servings a day.

Diet foods are best bought very fresh and prepared the same day. It is advisable not to subject vegetables and fruits to any heat treatment, cereals should be soaked for a day before cooking, meat and fish should be boiled, steamed or grilled.

Now let's talk about the correct balance of products during the diet. The diet consists of 5 meals, of which 3 main and 2 snacks. Carbohydrates (the basis of the pyramid) should make up to 50% of the total diet, fats (oil, nuts, seeds) - no more than 30%, protein foods - 20%.

Basic rules of the Mediterranean diet:

Plant foods should be varied, include the most yellow and green vegetables, garden greens. First of all, you should choose vegetables and fruits of local origin and only in season.
We replace any cooking fats, oils, lard and dressings with olive oil (cold pressed). Salt should be replaced with natural seasonings, spices, herbs and lemon juice. Sugar will replace natural honey and jam.
The diet strongly recommends the use of good table red wine during lunch and dinner for 1 glass.
Be sure to drink as much fluid as possible during the diet.
Active physical exercises, long walks, swimming, and other sports are highly desirable.
Breakfast during the diet should be dense and carbohydrate, but dinner is light, protein. We do not eat anything 3-4 hours before bedtime - we can drink juice or a glass of kefir.

Nutritionists and doctors around the world approve of the Mediterranean diet thanks to the mass positive effects and benefits:

The body receives a sufficient amount of dietary fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and trace elements;
Diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer;
Helps to increase life expectancy and strengthen immunity;
Suitable for all degrees of obesity;
Reduces the risk of the following diseases: diabetes mellitus, breast and rectal cancer, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, bronchial diseases and emphysema;
Helps lower cholesterol levels;
The menu is very varied, satisfying, healthy and rational;
Mediterranean cuisine is present in any restaurant;
Helps to gradually lose weight without the possibility of stretch marks, cellulite and weight return (up to 2 kg per week)

Mediterranean diet: a set of products and an example menu

In order to lose weight on this diet, it’s not enough just to stick to the diet and follow all the rules. Almost the main condition of the diet is to reduce the calorie content of meals and portion sizes. Below is an example of “gramming” the main products (the indicated doses for 1 meal cannot be exceeded):

Garden greens and leafy green vegetables - 1 cup;
Thermally processed vegetables - ½ stack;
Cereals, pasta, other grain side dish - ½ stack;
Beans - 1 stack;
Low-fat milk, kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt - 200 ml;
Boiled or steamed potatoes - 1 cup;
Fruit - 1 pc.;
Berries - 1 stack;
Seafood - 1 stack;
Chicken egg - 1 pc.;
Quail egg - 4-5 pcs.;
Nuts, seeds, seeds, dried fruits - up to 30 g;
Meat, poultry, fish ready-made- no more than 100 g.

Now let's talk about foods that are strictly prohibited during the Mediterranean diet:

Food additives (salt, sugar, preservatives, starch, sweeteners, flavor enhancers, stabilizers, colorants);
Fast food and semi-finished products;
Tobacco and alcohol (except table red wine);
Animal oils and fats, other dressings, gravies, industrial sauces;
Fatty dairy products, including cheese;
Bread not made from whole grains, sweet and other industrial baked goods and the use of baking powder, chemical yeast, flavor enhancers, dyes, fats, creams, oils;
Preservation, marinades;
Industrial desserts (sweets, cakes, pastries and others);
Drinks (soda, cocoa);
Artificial cereals (processed oatmeal, chemical milk soups, etc.);
Smoked, fatty, fried foods

Now is the time to give an example of a balanced Mediterranean diet for weight loss for 7 days. We form snacks from permitted products (fruits, berries, seeds, dried fruits, nuts, a portion of seafood, yogurt, etc.). We also try to drink plenty of fluids - up to 2 liters per day.

Monday

Breakfast is muesli seasoned with natural homemade yoghurt. Additionally, we eat 1 apple and drink it with fresh juice;

For lunch, we cook grilled vegetables with greens, eat a portion of steamed sea fish and drink a glass of table wine;

Dinner consists of Greek salad with feta, 1 boiled egg. We drink the dish with green tea without additives.

Tuesday

For breakfast, any porridge with lean milk, rye or bran toast with a slice of cheese, green tea or herbal decoction;

Lunch tomato soup with spinach, olive oil and egg. For the second, we eat a portion of boiled rice with mussels, drink a glass of wine.

Dinner will consist of baked fish with lemon, herbs, cheese and cauliflower (250 g). We drink green tea.

Wednesday

We have breakfast with fruit salad seasoned with kefir or homemade yogurt. We drink natural herbal tea.

For lunch, we prepare pasta with seafood (200 g), seasoned with olive oil, as well as a salad of green vegetables. We drink wine.

For dinner, we cook steamed veal with olives (200 g), drink tea.

Thursday

For breakfast we prepare a sandwich of bran bread, boiled chicken and cheese. We also eat a Greek salad dressed with olive oil. We drink fruit juice.

For lunch, bake squid rings with spices and herbs (200 g). We also prepare sea salad with kelp and carrots, drink wine.

For dinner, we are waiting for spicy boiled brown rice, 1 chicken egg. We drink weak tea.

Friday

For breakfast, we prepare an omelette of 2 eggs, lean milk, tomatoes and basil. We drink everything with herbal decoction.

We have lunch with pasta with cheese and ham (200 g), we drink a standard glass of table wine.

For dinner, boil lentils with vegetables (200 g), eat a couple of slices of low-fat cheese, drink juice.

Saturday

We organize breakfast from a portion of lean cottage cheese with raisins (150 g). We also eat 1 citrus and drink tea.

Cooking for lunch vegetable soup on chicken fillet, light vegetable salad. We drink a glass of wine.

We're having dinner today sea fish with vegetables, drink juice.

Sunday

Breakfast consists of rye bread with cheese, 2 boiled eggs and herbal tea.

We dine with stewed rice with vegetables and seafood, washed down with wine.

For dinner, a warm salad of vegetables, cheese, sesame and turkey fillet, dressed with olive oil. We drink green tea.

How to get out of the mediterranean diet

As we have said, the diet is not temporary. Rather, it is a style of eating, a way of life that can and should be followed for as long as possible, which is what many celebrities and residents of the Mediterranean region do.

If you decide to return to your usual diet after a diet, you should properly get out of it. At the end of the diet, eliminate green coffee from the diet and vegetable oil. Gradually add butter, meat sauces to cereals, start drinking industrial juice and cocoa. As for fruits and vegetables - just increase their quantity, you can return potato products to the diet. Some dairy products from the diet can be replaced with lean poultry meat. Increase your red meat intake to 2-3 times a week or more.

Only after a month you can afford fatty fried meat and alcohol, pure food additives (salt, sugar), industrial sweets, if such a need arises.

Disadvantages and contraindications of the diet

The diet is called the most popular and effective of all, it is considered a rational and healthy nutrition system, so it has few drawbacks:

Some note that basic products are quite expensive - not every family can afford an abundance of seafood, fish, vegetables and cheeses.
The next point is the prolongation of the diet over time and insignificant results. In the first week, you will lose no more than 2 kg, so do not use a weight loss diet before an important event or vacation at sea.
Not many people are willing to give up dietary supplements and red meat.
Allergy to non-standard foods (algae, seafood, specific cheeses, fruits and vegetables) may occur.
The weight won't budge if you don't carefully control portion sizes.
Limitation of protein portions. Favorite fish or meat can be eaten per day no more than 100 g.

Also, the diet has several contraindications. The diet contains a large amount of dietary fiber, which will negatively affect the condition of people with stomach ulcers and gastritis. Therefore, it is not recommended to follow the diet for people with any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and urinary tract. A contraindication is the individual intolerance of the main products on the menu. During the diet, people with cardiovascular diseases, hypertension should limit fluid intake.

What is surprising about the diet, it is great for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

“To say my eating habits are terrible is an understatement. I have never had a normal relationship with food. I often ate fast food and snacks, and this had a bad effect on both my health and my figure.

I decided that I needed to change the concept of nutrition, and I tried the Mediterranean diet, which many people call the easiest. It is rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and protein foods. You can drink red wine a little and sometimes eat red meat and sweets. There are no strict bans on any group of products. It is also important not to eat in front of the TV, but to enjoy food in normal conditions.

Interestingly, weight loss is not the main goal of this diet. But it somehow loses weight by itself if you start eating healthy food, and not snacking on the run with what comes to hand and is rich in sugar and the wrong fats. Here's what I realized after sitting on this diet for three months.

1. The Best of This Diet Can Be Called the Worst

There are no hard and fast rules in the Mediterranean diet, only general directions, it is both convenient and inconvenient at the same time. I have to calculate how many calories I need to not feel hungry and still lose weight, plan my food and physical activity. So the diet is easy to fit into your lifestyle, unless, of course, you start with such a terrible diet as I had.

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There are a lot of recipes for this diet, I found several books and chose the most interesting from them.

2. Difficult at first

The Mediterranean diet involves quite a lot of cooking, so if you don't have a heart for it, it can be difficult. I don’t like to cook, so I started with dishes with few ingredients: oatmeal with apple, tuna salad, fettuccine with cheese and pepper sauce… Now I better understood how much time it takes to prepare different dishes and how to optimize the process: for example, you can chop the salad while the main dish is cooking in the oven.

I bought only fresh ingredients, no freezing, and eventually got hooked. It was difficult to keep the kitchen clean, but I realized that if I quickly clean up during the cooking process, everything will be fine.

I started to feel hungry in the middle of the work day and kept healthy snacks ready: an apple with almond butter, boiled eggs, pistachios, chopped tomato with cheese ... It was so different from my previous habits!

Interestingly, over time, I began to spend less time in the kitchen than when I tried my best to avoid cooking. New dishes were more satiating and were quite easy to prepare.

3. I started to feel different

I began to feel physical and psychological changes literally on the third day. My stomach stopped hurting, the feeling of hunger receded, in general it became much better. Blood sugar returned to normal, caffeine was almost reduced to zero. It turned out that you can drink anything instead of coffee and replenish fluids in the body.

I didn’t try to limit myself as much as possible: I could drink beer and ate my mother’s buns with pleasure. All of a sudden, some of the symptoms of my anxiety disorder also disappeared: it feels like I got off the adrenaline needle and became a normal person.

The quality of sleep has also improved: I began to fall asleep faster, the brain was not engaged in vigorous activity at night. All thanks to the fact that now my food is rich in vitamin D, magnesium, folate and fatty acids.

4. Easy to customize your diet

At first I spent a lot of time putting together the menu, but I quickly realized that intuitive eating is easier. As a result, I began to buy a set of products for a week and cook what I wanted from them. Since this is not exactly a diet, I did not have a "swing" due to the rapid reduction in the number of calories and food bans, because there are no bans, I repeat.

5. Food spending has gone up.

Not significantly, but more money began to go to useful things like olive oil, seeds, nuts and cereals. You can, however, buy inexpensive frozen mixes and, for example, large packs of nuts to stretch them for a long time.

6. I wanted to go back

In the second week of the diet, I realized that I gave up old habits too quickly and began to cook a lot, although I had not done this before. It seemed that I took too fast a pace instead of moving in small steps. I allowed myself a couple of breakdowns - and calmed down.

So, the Mediterranean diet has had only a positive effect on me. In addition to the health benefits, I lost 7 kilograms and I think I will continue to eat according to this scheme.