The Mediterranean diet is one of the safest and most reliable ways to lose weight and keep the weight off. Crash diets and other weight loss programs designed to make people lose weight quickly are not safe. They do not address the core problem of what makes people obese and in most cases the weight is regained. The Mediterranean diet offers a long-term solution to the problem of losing weight and then maintaining a healthy weight afterward.
The American Society for Nutrition published the results of a study supporting arguments that adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduced a three year incidence of obesity (1). Another study published by The American Society for Nutritional Sciences published results displaying the inverse relationship between the Mediterranean diet and obesity and the body mass index or BMI (2). Clearly, eating the Mediterranean diet will reduce obesity and the amount of fat on a body.
A study published in a digital issue of Current Opinion in Lipodology showed evidence that the Mediterranean diet could serve as an anti-inflammatory diet (3). This would aid in fighting obesity and type two diabetes. The study acknowledged the already existing evidence of the Mediterranean diet having a positive effect on cardiovascular health.
Hoping for a quick and easy solution to a lifelong problem, many people embrace any new trend in dieting that comes along promising fast weight loss without exercise. This has led to many trying low carbohydrate diets and extreme low calorie diets. In some cases, there is a temporary weight loss, but this loss is primarily water and muscle. Most people will regain the weight lost and usually a little more to go with it once they stop eating like the new diet suggested.
The worst thing is these diets can create health problems for some people. Low carbohydrate diets can lead to heart problems or heart disease. It can cause kidney stones through overeating protein and osteoporosis in some people. The extreme low calorie diets slow the metabolic rate which is counter productive to weight loss and generally cause the loss of lean body mass.
These diets often cause people to feel sick since they are eating things they do not want to eat and not listening to their body. The only real way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat a balanced diet and exercise. People who have successfully lost weight on their own and managed to keep the weight off for years have done just that (4).
People who want to lose body fat should eat a balanced diet such as the one presented as the Mediterranean diet and exercise. This will build up their lean muscle mass while reducing their body fat. The exercise and increased lean muscle will speed up their basic metabolism (BMR) which helps burn more calories. This will result in a very healthy weight loss of one or two pounds a week.
How do I start? You can download our free Mediterranean diet lifestyle infographic
References
1. Mendez et al. “Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Reduced 3-Year Incidence of Obesity.” JN The Journal of Nutrition. November 2006 vol. 136 no. 11 2934-2938
2. Schroder et al. “Adherence to the Traditional Mediterranean Diet Is Inversely Associated with Body Mass Index and Obesity in a Spanish Population.” JN The Journal of Nutrition. December 1, 2004 vol. 134 no. 12 3355-3361
3. Gugliano D., Esposito, K. “Mediterranean diet and metabolic diseases.” Nestel P., Mensink, R. Journals Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Current Opinion in Lipodology, February 2008 vol. 19 no. 1
63-68
4. Fritsch, J., “95% Regain Lost Weight. Or Do They?” The New York Times. May 25, 1999 www.nytimes.com
