Mediterranean diet for weight loss. Menu of the day, week, recipes. Comments and results

The Mediterranean diet is the only nutritional system that has a large number of fans who follow its rules not only to lose weight, but also to improve the health of the entire body, ultimately leading to active longevity.

Essence and Basic Principles

What's unique about a diet is that it's not an artificial set of rules, principles, and restrictions created by nutritionists that you're always trying to break.This is the result of observing communities in a region, comparing the incidence statistics of their population with other populations on the planet, figuring out the reasons for their superiority, and adapting the traditional diet of that region to other countries.The term "Mediterranean diet" was first proposed in the mid-20th century by the American couple A. and M. Case. When they studied the dependence of cardiovascular disease on diet, they came to an unexpected conclusion.It turns out that Italy, where nutritionists publish scientific works on heart disease, unlike their homeland, residents eat foods higher in fat and calories and are not obese or susceptible to circulatory diseases. , hypertension and diabetes.

This prompted new research efforts in Italy, which then confirmed the idea in Japan, Germany, Finland and Yugoslavia.

Ansel and Margaret Case's sensational discovery prompted American scientists, concerned about the severity of the disease and the nation's rapid "obesity, " to use their research to create a "preventive medicine" program in the 1970s. Essentially, these are the systematic basis of the traditional diet of the inhabitants of Mediterranean countries.The diet's popularity over half a century is so high, a testament to its simplicity and effectiveness, that UNESCO has recognized the cuisine of 12 Mediterranean countries as national cultural heritage. Unlike other diets, there are no time limits on the Mediterranean diet.It should become a way of life that turns its nutritionally concerned followers into inhabitants of the Mediterranean region. This is not difficult considering the simple principle and the fact that all stores have the necessary products. The Mediterranean weight loss diet means following certain rules that will quickly become a habit.To do this you need:

• Switch to 6 meals a day (3 main meals and 2 additional meals called snacks);
• Make seasonal (non-greenhouse) vegetables, fruits, and berries the basis of your diet;
• Eat more fish and seafood in your diet;
• Use only olive oil in the kitchen for cooking and dressing salads;
• Eat legume dishes every day;
• Use honey instead of sugar to reduce sugar consumption;
• Drink only dry red wine and reject other alcoholic beverages;
• Consume at least 6 tablespoons. clean water every day;
• Lead an active, mobile lifestyle.

To better understand these simple rules, the so-called "Mediterranean Diet Pyramid" was developed. The area near the bottom occupies the largest volume in the geometry and is the food that should be eaten several times a day.this:

• Rice, millet, bulgur, durum wheat pasta, grain bread;
• vegetables and fruits;
• Fermented dairy products, cheese;
• Nuts, dried fruits.

Furthermore, closer to the top of the pyramid, that is, occupying significantly smaller volumes, there are foods that are consumed from 1 to 6 times per week.this:

• fish dishes;
• poultry meat;
• Potato;
• egg;
• dessert.

The top of the pyramid is meat. Italians prefer beef and lamb and almost never eat pork. In countries where the main meat diet is pork, there is no need to deviate from generally accepted products, you just need to choose lean meat.Therefore, the visual distribution of priority products allows us to reduce the diet to the following daily diet:

product name	Percentage of food consumed daily
Grains and legumes	35
Vegetables, fruits, green leafy vegetables	thirty
Fermented dairy products, cheese, fish, meat	20
olive oil	10
Dessert Dessert	5

Important point: when to eat the listed products.The distribution of diet over time is as follows:

• Cereals, cereals, eggs, vegetables, fruits – breakfast;
• Fermented dairy products, fruits – second breakfast;
• Soup, pasta, rice, salad greens, meat, fish, fruit - lunch;
• Fruit salad, fermented dairy products, cheese – afternoon tea;
• Fish, vegetable casseroles, salads, seafood, cheese, fruit - dinner.

Therefore, by looking at the list of allowed foods and the distribution of their intake throughout the day, we can conclude that you do not have to go hungry. Additionally, a good quality red wine is a daily addition to the Mediterranean diet. Even dessert is allowed - once a week (Italians and French are notorious sweet tooths, but in moderation).However, in order to start the process of losing weight (i. e. moving towards dietary nutrition goals), you need to remember the amount of food you eat. The amount of food consumed in one meal should not exceed 240 ml (visually 16 tablespoons or 1 tablespoon).Weight loss on the Mediterranean diet does not produce immediate results. Using a balanced menu, hearty meals and small limitations in life, adherents of these principles usually continue to live, observing them further, and after a while they notice an improvement in health, a significant loss of weight and the need to renew the bodyTake initiative.

Contraindications for use

The success of dietary therapy depends on three factors:

• Low in animal fat and sugar;
• High in dietary fiber and cellulose;
• Rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

While the Mediterranean fasting diet is a balanced approach to eating, it does have contraindications.This combination may be unacceptable to some people:

• People who are highly obese will not be able to achieve the desired results by changing their diet. In this case, a special, radical approach to weight adjustment is required.
• Foods with this high fiber content may be harmful to gastrointestinal disorders.
• Allergy sufferers who react to seafood or other major components of the Mediterranean diet must avoid it.

Main menu this week

After some time, getting used to the Mediterranean diet and its characteristics will help you to plan a balanced menu for the day, taking into account the rules, your own preferences and abilities. Until then, you can use the advice of a nutritionist.

day of week		Main meal (excluding snacks)
	breakfast	dinner	dinner
on Monday	Oatmeal with water (or low-fat milk) and fruit; coarse bread with cheese; green tea	Grilled fish (200g); Side dishes: stewed vegetables; 100 ml red wine	boiled seafood; vegetable salad
Tuesday	Yogurt cereal (natural, no additives); Cereal bread with feta cheese; Tea (green or black tea)	fish boiled with herbs; Pasta Category "A"	Boiled or roasted turkey (200 g); Boil buckwheat; Vegetable Tomato Salad; 100 ml red wine
Wednesday	Omelet 2 eggs; coarse bread with cheese; Fruit (1 piece)	chicken soup; vegetable salad	avocado seafood salad; 100 ml wine
Thursday	buckwheat milk porridge; green tea; fruit	pasta with seafood and tomatoes; 100 ml wine	Steamed fish (200g); Garnish - boiled bulgur; vegetable salad
Friday	Cheese Casserole; coffee	Cheesy Shrimp Soup; 2 slices of croutons; 100 ml wine	fillet; vegetable stew; 2 slices hard or semi-hard cheese
Saturday	Cereal with yogurt and dried fruit; Sandwiches made with grain bread, cheese and avocado; green tea	zucchini, tomato, feta casserole; 100 ml wine	Grilled or boiled chicken breast (150g); Boil lentils; vegetable salad
Sunday	Dried Fruit Tofu Casserole; Fruit (1 piece); coffee	seafood risotto; vegetable salad	Boiled or steamed fish (possibly boiled meat (150-200 g); vegetable stew; 100 ml wine

mediterranean diet recipes

The Mediterranean weight loss diet is characterized by a wide variety of dishes to choose from on the menu.It is important to remember:

• Olive oil is used in cooking - a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipids, and can sometimes be substituted with another vegetable oil;

• Bread consumption is limited and should be of coarsely ground cereals;
• Do not use store-bought sauces or canned foods containing electronic additives when preparing food;
• Dairy and fermented dairy products should be lower in fat;
• In terms of dietary nutrition, it is encouraged to eat any sea fish - herring, mackerel, cod, hake, pike, seabass; fish should be steamed, grilled, boiled or stewed and avoid frying;
• White poultry or rabbit meat can be included in the diet 2-3 times a week, red meat (beef, lamb, lean pork) - no more than 2-3 times a month. must also be boiled or stewed;
• The amount of salt used is very small, just use lemon juice and spices instead; the sugar is completely eliminated, you can use a little honey;
• We can't forget about drinks - any tea, herbal tea, coffee is allowed; simple clean water is required;
• Wine should be red and dry, which can help reduce appetite, normalize gastric acid, participate in hematopoiesis, and lower cholesterol.
• Exclude store-bought sweets from your diet, which are high in sugar, fat and palm oil.

Summer salad (with chicken)

Thanks to the combination of its ingredients, the hearty and easy-to-digest salad has an unusual spicy fruity taste.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Boiled chicken breast – 150 g;
• Fresh peaches – 2-3;
• Canned pineapple – 50 g;
• Celery stalks – 2-3;
• Any lettuce leaves – 150 g.

For the dressing, you will need low-fat natural yogurt without additives (1/2 cup), mint, cinnamon, lemon zest.

Step by step cooking process

Summer salad is prepared in three stages:

1. The process should start with preparing the base of the salad: you need to cut chicken breasts, peaches, pineapple and celery into small pieces. It is best to tear the lettuce leaves by hand.
2. To prepare the dressing, place the yogurt in a separate bowl and add the cinnamon, lemon zest and chopped mint leaves.
3. Next, you need to add the dressing to the salad base and mix gently.

What can I add?

A salad will remain delicious, healthy, and consistent with the rules of the Mediterranean diet if:

• Use turkey instead of chicken;
• The peaches can be replaced with nectarines, and the pineapple can be replaced with orange pulp.

This type of salad will still be a healthy, low-calorie and satisfying dish.

How to serve

Summer salads are easy to prepare in any season, just buy some imported peaches or oranges. A glass of dry red wine goes well with dinner. This dish can be garnished with lettuce leaves and remaining fruit slices.

Basmati Rice Salad

The Mediterranean weight loss diet is famous for its grain salads, where you can mix poultry, fish or vegetables with grains to get a dish that tastes different but is satisfying and healthy.Below is one of the salads.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Basmati rice – 1 tablespoon;
• Feta cheese – 60 g;
• Sun-dried tomatoes – 2;
• Peanuts - 2 tbsp. lake;
• Mint;
• olive oil;
• spices;
• water (200g rice - 250ml water).

Step by step cooking process

Basmati rice salad is made in 6 steps:

1. Basmati rice must be washed and soaked for 15 minutes. Soaking in warm water will help the grains develop their flavor and aromatic properties more fully.
2. Then continue to boil with the same water and reduce the heating temperature after boiling. After the grains have boiled for 20 minutes, set the pot aside and let the grains sit in the hot pan for another 15 minutes. Only then can you stir the rice with a fork.
3. At this time, the sun-dried tomatoes should be poured into hot water and kept there for 10 minutes, then dried with paper towels and cut into pieces.
4. Toast the nuts and chop them and feta cheese.
5. Add tomatoes, cheese and nuts to the cooled rice - this is the basis of the salad.
6. Add chopped mint, spices, and season with olive oil.

What can I add?

You can use other nuts in this dish - pine or walnuts, which are perfect for the Mediterranean diet.

How to serve

This dish can be served for lunch or dinner and garnished with a mint sprig.

Cheese Creamy Seafood Soup

The Mediterranean diet allows for high amounts of fatty foods, such as cheese.They appear on the table almost every day, as appetizers, desserts or when preparing hot meals.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Hard or semi-hard cheese – 200 g;
• Processed cheese – 100 g;
• Shrimp – 150 g;
• Mussel meat – 100 g;
• Cream (20%) – 200 ml;
• Egg (yolk) – 1;
• Carrot – 1 piece;
• Onion – 1;
• Wheat flour – 1 tbsp. lake;
• Wine vinegar - 1 tbsp. lake;
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp. lake

Step by step cooking process

Cream cheese soup is prepared in 5 steps:

1. To prepare the soup, you need to boil the shrimps and mussels, peel them, strain 200 ml of liquid and pour it into the pot to prepare the soup.
2. Peeled and chopped onions should be fried in a little olive oil until translucent, add carrot slices, which should be heated a little more on the fire.
3. Put the cream and broth together in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the grated cheese. The broth should be stirred constantly until the cheese is completely melted.
4. The next step is to collect in a saucepan the whisked egg yolks, overcooked vegetables and flour diluted with a little water. While stirring the soup, bring to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes.
5. It is necessary to "punch" the contents of the pot with a blender and use the remaining broth to achieve the desired consistency.

What can I add?

To enhance the flavor, use the broth left over from cooking the fish.

How to serve

Soup is served at lunch. The contents of the plate were sprinkled with herbs.

Zucchini with feta cheese

Vegetables cooked in the oven are a great choice for healthy dishes and take up very little time in the kitchen.One option is zucchini with feta cheese.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Zucchini (small) – 4 pieces;
• Feta cheese – 200 g;
• Garlic – 1 clove;
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp. lake;
• Mint;
• spices;
• Pine nuts.

Step by step cooking process

There are 4 steps to making zucchini cheese:

1. To prepare zucchini for baking, you need to wash it; peel the old fruits and leave the skin on the new ones; cut them lengthwise into two halves and remove the pulp.
2. Next, sauté the chopped pulp in olive oil with the garlic and pass it through a garlic press.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to this mixture: shredded feta cheese and mint, nuts and spices. Mix everything carefully.
4. Fill the zucchini "boats" with the prepared filling and bake in the oven at 220°C for 30 minutes.

What can I add?

You can also cook zucchini and eggplant and use semi-hard cheese instead of feta cheese.

How to serve

This dish is delicious on its own or with a side of boiled brown rice. Or you can use it on its own as a stew for chicken breast or turkey. Zucchini looks beautiful with parsley.

Grilled fish with cheese

Fish is a frequently consumed food in the Mediterranean diet. It is advisable to cook or stew food during weight loss.By changing the type of fish, you can alter the calorie content and taste of your dish while maintaining its health benefits.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Fish fillets – 200 g;
• Low fat kefir – 50 ml;
• Semi-hard cheese – 70 g;
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp. lake;
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp. lake;
• Dill.

Step by step cooking process

The process of making cheese fish is divided into 4 steps:

1. The baking sheet must be greased with oil and then the fish pieces are placed on it.
2. The dressing is prepared like this: you need to combine kefir, juice, herbs and mix everything. The mixture should be carefully poured over the fish pieces.
3. Grated cheese should be sprinkled on top of each cheese block.
4. The product should be kept in an oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes.

What can I add?

You can add chopped bell peppers to the mixture or place tomato slices on top of the fish.

How to serve

The fish can be garnished with herbs and thin lemon leaves.

Pea Pasta

Foods allowed on the Mediterranean diet include pasta, which is enjoyed not only in Italy.It's not certain whether eating them can lead to significant weight loss, but nutritionists believe that category "A" pasta, which is made from durum wheat, does not cause weight gain.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Pasta type "A" – 200 g;
• Semi-hard cheese – 200 g;
• Green peas – 0. 5 tablespoons;
• bell pepper – 1;
• olive oil;
• lemon juice.

Green peas can be used fresh frozen, which is much better than canned.

Step by step cooking process

Preparation of pea pasta is divided into 3 steps:

1. Pasta must be cooked until al dente; the cooking time is always stated on the package.
2. Next, parboil the green peas and fry them in olive oil along with the chopped bell pepper.
3. You need to mix hot pasta with peas, pepper, grated cheese and add lemon juice instead of salt to taste.

What can I add?

Boiled pasta can be paired with many foods and sauces to create dishes with different flavors and fillings.

How to serve

You can add arugula leaves to the dish before serving.

Almond Oatmeal Muffins

Sometimes you can treat yourself to a homemade dessert.In this case, the composition of the ingredients is certainly known and there is confidence that there are no preservatives and harmful additives.

Ingredients

Compounds:

• Oatmeal – 4 tbsp. lake;
• Eggs – 2;
• Milk powder – 4 tbsp. lake;
• Baking powder – 20 g;
• Almonds – 10 g.

Step by step cooking process

There are 4 steps to making oatmeal muffins:

1. To prepare the dough, you need to mix the "dry" ingredients: cereal, milk, baking powder, chopped nuts.
2. The eggs must be beaten and carefully mixed with the "dry" mixture.
3. The resulting dough should be placed in silicone molds without oiling.
4. The muffins should be baked in an oven preheated to 200°C for 15 minutes.

What can I add?

Any chopped nuts, dried or fresh fruits are suitable as additions to the oat milk mixture.

How to serve

The dessert can be garnished with mint leaves or fresh berries. For even more fun, you can make a tea or herbal infusion.

When is it expected to take effect?

People who switch to the Mediterranean diet note that they begin to notice positive changes in their health and figure after about 3-4 months, without much effort or discomfort. Weight loss occurs gradually, almost imperceptibly at first, with an average weight loss of 3kg after six months.People become keen on delicious and healthy food and no longer pay attention to their weight. After 2-3 years, 10-15 kilograms disappear without knowing it. After reaching optimal weight, the body independently reaches a state of equilibrium.The Mediterranean diet is not a dietary change intended to result in rapid weight loss and rapid weight regain after the program is completed. It is a change in lifestyle, in attitude towards the world around you, towards yourself, towards your body and body, giving them the attention they deserve.