Kaoutar
The Mediterranean area is a very envied area even outside our borders. The climate and its beaches are fundamental characteristics and perhaps because of these another of its magnificent treasures has been overlooked: gastronomy.
The Mediterranean Diet represents a healthy and balanced way to take care of ourselves every day. This diet is very varied because it combines the consumption of meat and fish with the legumes and vegetables that are traditionally grown here in the Mediterranean.
The Mediterranean Diet Is a Lifestyle More Than Itās a Diet
The Mediterranean diet is based on the consumption of fresh and natural foods such as olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, vinegar, cereals, fish, milk, and cheese, being necessary to avoid industrialized products such as sausages, frozen and prefabricated food.
This diet is really a type of diet that helps change lifestyle, and it is not always necessary to be low in calories to help lose weight, since it naturally helps improve metabolism and promote weight control.
The Mediterranean Diet and Its Many Benefits
To organize all the foods that make up the Mediterranean diet and establish which and how often to eat them, the food pyramid was created. What basic rules does this pyramid of Mediterranean nutrition indicate?
- Olive oil is the basis of all Mediterranean cuisine.
- Food must be fresh, natural and in season.
- Bread, pasta and cereals provide the necessary carbohydrates on a daily basis.
- Fresh fruit is the usual dessert. Sweets and cakes are eaten very occasionally.
- Cheese and yogurt are eaten every day.
- Fish, white meats and eggs are eaten weekly.
- We reduce the consumption of red meat and animal fats, just eat them once a month.
- Water is the drink par excellence, but we can accompany the meal with a glass of red wine.
- Herbs are the best alternative to salt.
- We will do physical activity every day, because it is the ideal complement to our diet.
All these rules lead to a very healthy diet with extraordinary health benefits. On the one hand, it protects against cardiovascular diseases and lowers cholesterol levels, on the other hand, it is rich in fiber and antioxidants that protect against cell aging.
How Does It Help You Lose Weight?
The Mediterranean diet, unlike other diets, is not aggressive with the body, so weight loss will not be rapid and sudden but slow and effective.
With this diet, we will not reach the ideal weight in a few days and then immediately recover everything by returning to our old eating habits. We must educate ourselves and our bodies to eat healthy, well and if possible, forever. The ideal would be to follow the Mediterranean diet for life, or at least a similar healthy eating pattern.
With the Mediterranean diet, we can initially lose a kilo in the first week. Over the next four to five weeks, your weight will stabilize and your weight loss will be as healthy as possible, which is very important
There are certainly many different diets, perhaps too many. However, experts argue that it is only necessary to follow healthy diets, those that, in addition to helping you lose weight, provide the body with essential nutrients. In this regard, the Mediterranean diet presents itself as an excellent option not to be missed.
The Mediterranean diet is rich in protein, fiber, omega 3, whole grains, minerals, vitamins, and, most importantly, it almost does not include industrial fats, flour, and sugars. Let’s see it in more detail!
Why the Mediterranean Diet Helps You Lose Weight?
The Mediterranean diet is not exactly a method of losing weight. It consists in maintaining healthy eating habits and the exclusion of all those foods that make you fat or even sick. Nutritionists say that with this diet it is possible to lose as much as one pound per week.
It is therefore clear that the Mediterranean diet is good not only for us but also for the whole family. It fulfills the basic principles of the food pyramid recommended by the WHO (World Health Organization).
The benefits of the Mediterranean diet are rooted in the excellent intake of healthy fats it provides. These are mono-unsaturated fats, which derive from olive oil, and fatty acids such as omega 6.
- This diet provides for a very low consumption of proteins of animal origin, in particular the intake of red meat is very limited.
- This is the diet richest in antioxidants: fruit, nuts, vegetables.
- An excellent fiber intake is guaranteed.
The Mediterranean diet allows you to reduce blood cholesterol levels, protect the body from cardiovascular disease and control your weight. All this is possible thanks to a balanced supply of nutrients and the exclusion of harmful fats for our body.
Keys To Follow the Mediterranean Diet Properly and Obtain All Its Benefits
Increase Consumption of Vegetables and Monounsaturated Fats
The original Mediterranean diet was based on feeding on the crops that were made fat in the area. This primarily included vegetables and foods that provided healthy monounsaturated fats. Therefore, if we want to follow the Mediterranean diet properly and obtain all its benefits, it is important that we base our diet on seasonal vegetables and fruits. In addition to foods with healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil, olives, nuts, etc.
Reduce Meat Consumption
In addition to this, the Mediterranean diet is characterized by lower consumption of meat, especially red meat. Similarly, the ideal in this diet is to moderately consume fish, dairy products, eggs, and meat from birds such as chicken or turkey.
To Drink Water
Although some people indicate that moderate and sporadic consumption of wine is common in the Mediterranean diet, the reality is that the most important drink is water. If we want to follow this diet correctly, water will be our drink of choice at all times. It is important to maintain good hydration.
Maintain An Active Lifestyle
Beyond the food we eat, our lifestyle will also be key. The Mediterranean diet comes from a time when everyone was very active, as all jobs required physical exertion. Therefore, to benefit from this diet, it will be important that we move more, do physical exercise and be active.
Avoid Ultra-Processed Foods, Fast Food, and Pastries
Although over time, they have been installed in our lives, the reality is that ultra-processed foods were not an original part of the Mediterranean diet. One of the keys will be to remove them from our lives and also avoid refined cereals -changing them for whole and whole grains-, as well as industrial pastries, commercial snacks, etc.
