Perfect for the summer, here is the Mediterranean diet: lose weight but with taste!

The slimming Mediterranean diet consists in adopting a healthy and balanced diet: let’s find out everything, from foods to the weekly menu!

Surely you have heard of it, but perhaps you do not know in detail all the advantages of this fantastic diet conceived by the American biologist Ancel Keys : we are talking about the Mediterranean diet, a diet that is based on the foods of Mediterranean countries, and which has also been named UNESCO heritage in 2010!

It is a slimming diet, but not only: the recipes of Mediterranean cuisine are tasty, varied and interesting , so much so that one could speak of a real lifestyle. Let’s find out how it works.

How the Mediterranean diet works

Before going into the details, let’s see some general rules of this diet:

– The diet is varied , and as we will see, it involves the consumption of many different foods, tending to avoid saturated fats, sugars and alcohol. Salt, if possible, should also be replaced with spices.
-Very important, in addition to food, is to drink at least 2 liters of water a day.
– Cooking is essential: steamed or boiled and grilled food is preferred, so as to use as few condiments as possible.
-Moreover, it would be good to combine the diet with constant physical activity

The food pyramid of the Mediterranean diet

To understand better how it works and what are the foods that are part of this diet, the best way is to analyze the Mediterranean food pyramid.

As can be deduced from the image, the foods are so many and varied, and they range from seasonal fruit and vegetables to fish, whole grains and more. The most interesting feature that can be seen from the pyramid is that we are not facing one of those radical diets , but rather, in this we find the right balance between proteins, vegetable fats and carbohydrates .

Going into more detail, in the first two steps of the pyramid we find the foods that must be consumed every day, and therefore fruit, vegetables, bread, rice and pasta, as well as milk and its derivatives and extra virgin olive oil.

The third and fourth steps are populated with foods to be consumed in more moderation, and therefore here are fish , meat (especially white meats) and eggs.

Going up we find sausages, saturated fats, fried, sweets and sugars, which are rarely consumed , if not avoided.

Mediterranean diet: complete weekly menu

According to the pyramid just analyzed, this diet provides that you can eat oil, milk and dairy products every day, white meat twice a week and red meat once a week. Legumes and fish can be eaten for three days, while eggs should be eaten up to a maximum of 6/7.

Let’s now see an example of a weekly Mediterranean diet and a hypothetical menu to follow. If you want to have an effective personalized menu , even in view of following a slimming diet, we recommend that you contact a nutritionist in any case!

Monday

Breakfast : a jar of yogurt or 2 rusks with jam, tea or coffee.
Snack: 1 seasonal fruit
Lunch : white meat, salad, 40 g of wholemeal bread
Snack: 1 seasonal fruit
Dinner : 100 g of bresaola, raw vegetables, 30 g of wholemeal bread

Tuesday

Breakfast : a jar of yogurt or 2 rusks with jam, tea or coffee
Snack : freshly squeezed
Lunch : 70 g of wholemeal pasta with seasonal vegetables
Snack: 1 seasonal fruit
Dinner : baked fish with vegetables, 30 g of wholemeal bread

Wednesday

Breakfast : a jar of yogurt or 2 rusks with jam, tea or coffee.
Snack : 1 seasonal fruit
Lunch: 50 g of brown rice, cooked mixed vegetables, 30 g of wholemeal bread
Snack : dried fruit
Dinner : white meat (roast chicken), seasonal vegetables, 20 g of wholemeal bread

Thursday

Breakfast : skim milk with whole grains, tea or coffee.
Snack : dried fruit
Lunch : 2 boiled eggs, 200 g of salad, 40 g of wholemeal bread
Snack : 1 seasonal fruit
Dinner: grilled fish, cooked seasonal vegetables, 20 g of wholemeal bread

Friday

Breakfast : a jar of yogurt or 2 rusks with jam, tea or coffee.
Snack: 1 seasonal fruit
Lunch : 150 g of turkey breast, salad with tomatoes, 40 g of wholemeal bread
Snack: 1 seasonal fruit
Dinner: 150 g of fresh cheese, raw seasonal vegetables,

Saturday

Breakfast : a jar of yogurt or 2 rusks with jam, tea or coffee.
Snack : 1 seasonal fruit
Lunch : 3 boiled eggs in salads, 40g of wholemeal bread, 1 banana
Snack 1 seasonal fruit
Dinner : 80 g of tomato pasta

Sunday

Breakfast : skim milk with whole grains, tea or coffee.
Snack: 1 seasonal fruit
Lunch: free
Snack: fruit salad
Dinner: fresh cheese (150g), seasonal vegetables, 40g of wholemeal bread