Italiandiet

[MafaldaXX]

I have been following a mediterranean diet (Italiandiet, a personalized weight loss program I found on the web) for about four months and I am pretty happy with my plan (I dropped 27 pounds so far!) so, for any of you who is in search of a good diet, I summed up the ten basic rules of my plan, just in case you want to give it a try... What I like most of my diet is its positive approach to food as a source of health, wellness and pleasure. It focuses on what to eat (more whole grains, more fruits, more vegetables and legumes, a lot of fish, olive oil) rather than on what not to eat (less red meats and less dairy), no foods are off limits so sticking to your plan is easier. Basically, you learn balanced nutrition and portion control, losing weight is a natural consequence of this radical change toward a healthier set of eating habits.

Here is the mediterranean-style eating philosophy!

1) prefer fresh foods to processed and refined foods, which tend to be high in sugar, salt and trans fats;
2) eat proper amounts of pasta, a product capable of acting as the main ingredient of meals, and include in your daily routines “all-in-one-meals” like pasta with vegetables (zucchini, artichokes) or pasta with legumes (beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas): they are typical italian meals, rich in flavor and as nourishing as a three-course meal but lower in calories;
3) eat plenty of vegetables and fresh fruits, rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins (especially vitamin C): if eaten at the end of meals they'll help you feel more satiated, but they are also a good low-calorie snack. Keep some raw vegetables – peeled, cleaned and ready-to-eat carrots and fennel, for instance – in the fridge, and crunch them whenever you crave a candy;
4) eat plenty of fish, especially blue fish like sardines and anchovies: it's rich in nutritional value but low in fat composition;
5) eat small amounts of dairy and other animal protein and prefer white meats (chicken, turkey, rabbit) to red meats: they carry similar nutritional values, but are less fatty;
6) use extra virgin olive oil as your preferred fat: it's an extremely digestible fat capable of assisting in the digestion of other fats. Recents studies also suggest that olive oil is the key to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, due to its content of phenols, a family of weak acids that repress genes which cause inflammation, so decreasing the risk of heart disease and arthritis;
7) do five meals a day: subdividing your daily food intake into 5 sittings is a good strategy to get not really hungry between meals, better control yourself and stick easily to your weight-loss plan;
8 ) limit the intake of salt, replacing it with herbs: parsley, rosemary, basil, dill, sage, oregano are pretty good to increase the flavor of your meals and experimenting different combinations of them to bring out the flavor of specific foods can be amusing;
9) keep sugar and sweets under control;
10) limit the intake of alcohol and fizzy drinks: one glass of wine during your meals is enough, just to help your digestion!

Hope this helps!