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Misconceptions about Mediterranean Foods and Weight Loss

Mediterranean diets are one way to lose weight and keep your cardiovascular system in good health. These diet plans are preferred by many because they can enjoy Italian-based accompaniments like a glass of red wine with dinner and small dessert every day. What many do not realize is that the typical American’s idea of “Mediterranean” is often based on the common Italian foods we knew as kids. However, a real Mediterranean diet is heavy on fish and seafood topped with light sauces, rather than huge helpings of pasta and heavy sauces at each meal.

Avoid Americanized Portions

Authentic Italian meals rarely consist of heaping mounds of pasta flooded with a heavy marinara sauce and served with large slices of garlic bread. Research shows that in a real Italian diet, people eat several small meals in a day. Each of these meals contains much smaller portions than Americans expect to see. Fruits, nuts, and fresh vegetables make up the largest part of meals, which do not center around large meat dishes.

More Fish, Less Red Meat

The Italians eat more fish and seafood than any other European countries. The nutrients in fish can help you develop a stronger immune system and overall improved health. Italians eat very little red meat in their regular diet. If you believe that spaghetti with meatballs is a cornerstone of the Italian diet, you will be sadly surprised to learn that Italians eat meat maybe once a week. Many meals do not include meat dishes at all, but rely on cheese for protein.

Moderation is the Key

The power behind the Mediterranean diet is moderation. Italians like to eat a wide variety of foods in smaller portions so that they can enjoy several different flavors at each meal. If you only eat a plate of baked pasta at lunch, you are missing the benefits that come with a true Mediterranean diet. The best way to approach Mediterranean food is to plan to eat a small amount of something from each food group at each meal. Think about foods that are natural to the Italian climate, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Pay attention to flavors and spices to ensure a greater variety of tastes and textures.

Pasta should be Used Sparingly

The American idea of Italian food generally starts with pasta. While Italians do eat some pasta every day, they usually only have it with one meal. The pasta is never the central feature of the dish, either. If you really want to start a Mediterranean diet, you can’t go straight for the spaghetti and pizza. The most successful and healthy Italian diets contain a measured amount of all healthy foods available to residents of the Mediterranean.

Jessica Bosari writes on topics important to dieters and discusses top weight loss diet programs at WeightLossTriumph.com. The site is a helpful resource for those seeking Nutrisystem promos and coupons or the Medifast savings coupon for March.

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Convenient Diet Food Delivery Meals

If you’re considering the option of a diet food delivery system to lose weight, assuming you lead a busy lifestyle and really don’t have the spare time to spend working out a regular diet, then you will probably want to check out some of the better companies that provide these. For instance, you may want to research some Nutrisystem reviews that are available online to help you to decide if you want to make us of that company or try one of the other options that are available to you.

However you do it, the end result is you will be buying into a system that provides easy to prepare, ready meals that are generally healthy, low in calories and are delivered straight to your door. If that isn’t the height of sheer convenience, I don’t know what is! The benefits of dieting this way are pretty obvious, but its a method you will choose if you really are short of that valuable commodity, time in your overloaded daily schedule.

Of course, there are other benefits to this way of dieting, in that you get all your meals ready made for you. They are all designed to help you to lose weight and there is no chance of you including any high calorie add-ons to your meals as you would be if you were preparing them yourself. This is really useful as it helps you to avoid the temptations that come with preparing your own food where adding an extra potato or using butter or cream to make sauces laden with calories and not to mention all those really bad saturated fats is all too easy to do.

The only downside to this type of diet method are the size of the ready meals themselves which, if you’ve been used to eating big meals and let’s face it, if you’re overweight you probably have, will appear smaller than you’ve grown used to. This is something you are going to have to get your head around if you are seriously going to lose weight, because you really will have to eat less and exercise more if you want to succeed, which is exactly what diet food delivery meals are designed to help you to do.