Mediterranean Diet

[pruppert]

Look online for a mediterranean food pyramid. May give some idea of how it works in a way that's familiar/in comparison to something you already know. Basically it breaks down as: meat a couple of times a month; sweets/eggs/poultry a couple of times a week; Fish/cheese+yogurt/beans+legumes+nuts/olive oil daily, but in a limited portion; fruits/vegetables/grains daily.

As far the mediterranean diet being for weight loss, I don't know if it's really great for that. You may lose some weight because the food, imho, doesn't stick with you very long, but it's not really a 'diet' in the weight-loss sense. Regardless of whether or not the pounds start melting off, I can't see you gaining any more, and you'll have a healthier diet.

When it comes to what to actually cook, you have to be careful, of course. A lot of the dishes that have transfered from the mediterranean to the states are the most *****, unhealthy ones. Plus newer recipe's may not subscribe to the same tradition of limited fats. I read that currently, Greece has a childhood obesity rate that's astonishingly high, in part because no one really follows their traditional diet. I agree, though, at the end of the day, the diet's not magic, the exercise is equally important, if not more so.

 

[JesseJB]

How would one use the Med. diet for breakfast? I usually eat eggs and turkey bacon but sometimes I prefer something lighter, especially on hot days. Whats a good breakfast choice that won't leave me hungry two hours later? I was thinking a whole bowl of yogurt, nuts and fruit...

 

[Mauby]

Originally Posted by Shiny

I don't know if the diet has anything to do with it, but I always come back amazed how great people in certain European countries look like. Italy, Spain, Greece, for example. They are generally thin with fantastic glowing type skin. Compare them to a group of Americans at your local strip mall and they look ten times better.

They tend not to use much partially hydrogenated oils & high fructose corn syrup there. They also tend to walk & bike more when out doing errands than Americans.

 

[dpatsil]

Originally Posted by Fat-Elvis

1. They don't eat large portions of **** food all the time
2. Something tells me their "fantastic glowing skin" tone is more genetics than diet.

+1

I'm 100% Greek but born/raised in the States. The skin thing is mostly genetic but the Greeks over there try to kill their skin with the prodigious cigarette smoking. I've spent a lot of time over there and many of the women/men have guts if you look closely. I think the reason is they are not big gym rats over there. But the one thing you will not find is morbid obesity like you do over here. You see chunky/plump folks but nobody is huge. They don't eat packaged junk food (twinkies, candy, chips) like we do over here and they tend not to snack like we do. Meals are taken with the family in the home and everyone sits down and eats properly.

Traveling abroad give you some perspective on what we have lost in the States. The women over there still cook. Everybody eats at the same time, not when they feel like it. Everyone eats what is made and not what they feel like. Everyone sits at the table etc.

I thought I would beat you to the punch.