The effectiveness of this fad diet depends on a number of different factors, but first and foremost amongst them is your understanding of the Mediterranean diet. What does it mean to you? Do you envision breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as you would eat them at the local Italian or Greek restaurants? Do you believe that eating at the Olive Garden or the Macaroni Grill five nights a week will help you to lose weight? If so, you will be in for a rude awakening. While these foods are sold under the guise of being authentically Italian dishes, they are the more Americanized versions. This simply means that while the recipes may have hailed from the Mediterranean, diet mavens will quickly point out that the additions of heavy creams, fats, and other accoutrements have been done to placate the finicky American palate.

As a matter of fact, if you are serious about embarking on the Mediterranean diet, then you will need to know that the Mediterranean diet pyramid of foods looks a little like this:
•A small glass of wine goes well with a meal. Anything more is ill-advised.
•Vegetables and fruits should be seen at every meal.
•Fish is king.
•Legumes and cereals are definitely another favorite.
•Saturated fat is to be avoided, but olive oil is good oil for salads and also for cooking.
•Meat and dairy products should be enjoyed only in extreme moderation.

As you can see, the Mediterranean diet pyramid hints heavily that the cream sauces, heavy salad dressings, and fat-dripping cuts of meat are actually to be avoided, while the leaner choices of vegetables and fish are strongly encouraged. The success of the Mediterranean diet is found in its ingestion of unsaturated fats as well as plants, as opposed to the corn-fed meat diet that so many western countries are following.

Yet will you be able to follow the Mediterranean diet? The only way that this diet can work for you is if you can adjust your lifestyle to such an extent that you will be able to sustain this diet. If you will remember, for a while those adherents of the Atkins diet had the toughest time staying on their diets, simply because the ubiquitous bread baskets made sticking to the diet next to impossible. Similarly, the breadbasket of yesteryear is now replaced with the heavy sauces of today. While you can ask for them on the side, it is important to note that many cooks today rely on them simply because they cook meat and fish in such a manner that a lack of sauce will also spell a lack of flavor and taste.

Thus, if you are serious about this diet, be clear about your food choices. Make informed decisions when purchasing your groceries, and replace the offensive items in your pantry. Similarly, learn how to make a somewhat dry piece of fish a palatable experience at your local restaurant. Last but not least, add exercise and enough sleep – the latter is almost always overlooked – to your diet regimen. Putting all of these ingredients together, you may come up a with a diet plan that works uniquely for you. You will be glad you did!