The Mediterranean diet, having an emphasis on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, olive oil, legumes, and fish, has various medical benefits, studies suggest. These include reduced risks of heart health, weight loss, and other chronic ailments caused by poor lifestyle choices.
Also, it is easy and straightforward to follow as it allows different flavorful meal plans and does not require calorie counting. In this post, we will discuss why you need to incorporate this diet plan to help determine if it is right for you.
The Mediterranean diet is a meal plan inspired by the food and eating habits of people living in near the Mediterranean Sea. When it was first formulated in the 1960s, it included cuisines from Greece, Spain, France, and Italy.
Over time the diet plan expanded to incorporate cuisines from other Mediterranean countries like Turkey, Lebanon, the Balkans, Portugal, and North Africa. The following is the Mediterranean diet food list:
The kind of foods contained in this diet plan are both beneficial and healthful for weight loss. Since it focuses on plants with high fiber content and studies also show that eating a lot of fiber helps you stick to your meal plan and weight loss, we can confidently say you will reap big with a Mediterranean diet.
Here is how this eating plan helps you lose weight:
1. Legumes and whole grains fill you up.
Although many weight loss diet plans limit grain consumption, they are the building foods in the Mediterranean diet, and for all the good reasons; consuming grains promotes a healthy body weight because they fill you up and encourage less eating.
Also, legumes which are the major protein eating in this meal plan, may boost weight loss outcomes. And like grains, legumes are also filling foods that promote the culture of less eating.
2. You’ll eat lots of produce.
The Mediterranean diet plan also focuses mainly on fruits and vegetables. As a matter of fact, they appear at every meal. Produce foods are high in water and fiber, and you can take a generous portion because they have few calories per bite.
And as studies have also revealed, increasing vegetable intake is linked to reduced rates of weight gain.
3. You will reduce sugar and processed foods intake.
Sugary drinks have been consistently linked to weight gain, and fortunately, they are not part of the Mediterranean food plan. Instead, they are replaced by water which reduces calorie intake, leading to weight loss.
Likewise, eating whole foods instead of processed ones is a great reason this diet can help you reach a healthy weight and prevent cases of obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
4. Pasta can be eaten in moderation.
Although pasta is not a typical weight loss food, it forms part of an enjoyable meal. However, unlike other diets, pasta is accepted in moderation in the Mediterranean plan.
For example, it is used as a carrier for other Mediterranean cuisines, like extra virgin oil, vegetables, and Seafood. Consuming pasta this way can boost your nutrition and makes you full in less time than indulging in a whole plate of pasta alone.
The evidence is clear that following the Mediterranean diet eating habit has several health and weight loss benefits. First, you get to eat lots of produce rich in fibers that encourage less eating, you avoid sugar and processed meals, and you can eat pasta in moderation and take lots of legumes and whole grains.
