The Italian Diet Weight Factors
The Italian Diet Weight Factors
The typical person who follows the Mediterranean diet gets less than eight percent of his or her calories from potentially harmful saturated fat. This is significantly below the average of people who do not follow a Mediterranean diet regimen. Eating just one fast food meal can pack enough calories, sodium and fat for an entire day, but the quick-and-cheap temptation can be hard to resist.

A striking characteristic of the Southern Italian Diet was its heavy reliance on Grains to the tune of 60% of the caloric content (51% when including alcohol). Southern Italians ate approximately 490 grams (17 ounces) of pasta and bread a day.

People who gain weight eating Italian food typically do so not because of the pasta, but because of creamy sauces like Alfredo sauce and because they eat too large portions. Authentic Italian foods from the Mediterranean don't rely on rich, thick sauces and use olive oil instead of butter, making it very healthy. Just try a search engine search using the search phrase "Mediterranean diet." Also, there is a specific Mediterranean diet plan for people looking to lose weight at the Diet Channel.

There are definitely ways to dodge the calories in Italian desserts, without actually sacrificing… Italian desserts! Instead of going for the rich creamy pastry, instead, try out Italian ice desserts –always delicious. Choose items such as lettuce, radishes, cauliflower, celery, onions, cucumbers, beets, alfalfa sprouts, green peppers, zucchini and low-calorie dressing. Avoid items such as avocado, bacon, chickpeas, kidney beans, nuts, olives, raisins, pickles, relish, nuts, seeds, cheese and tomatoes. Use herbs, lemon, vinegars, capers and other intensely flavorful, low-calorie foods for seasoning.

A high protein low calorie diet allows obese people to burn body fat for energy without endangering their health -- and maintain a stable blood sugar level, which helps them avoid diabetes and hyperglycemia. A high protein low calorie diet is important because your muscles are made of protein and it balances the carbohydrates with the protein and fat to get the dieter as slim as they wish without ever starving or eating celery and carrot sticks.

Dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3 percent, or about 45 fewer calories burned a day, which in a year could mean weighing 5 pounds more. The key to water isn't how much you drink. It's how frequently you drink it.

It seems to me that maintaining a healthy weight is not rocket science, and doesn’t require a diet plan that you have to buy a whole book about, let alone pre-packaged diet meals with counted calories etc. Didn’t we all learn the basics of nutrition in school, the four major food groups and all that? If we take in more calories than are burned throughout the day, these calories or sugars transform themselves into fat.

Fresh herbs -- thyme, rosemary, Italian parsley, or whatever you can find -- can add oodles of flavor to your cooking without the fat and calories. Throw them in soups, stir them into tomato-based sauces, and use them on meat and fish for delectable low-fat dishes. The result is low calorie, low fat, cholesterol free with no salt or no sugar added to the sauces.
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