Is the Mediterranean Diet the Only Decent Diet to Follow? My Own Experience

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Last Updated on July 7, 2024 by Max

Introduction

Nothing is more convincing than your own experience. So, following the detailed scientific background of the Mediterranean diet’s benefits, the technology of the diet itself, and intermittent fasting, in a previous post, this short message will focus on why I ponder the Mediterranean diet as a decent diet to follow; my own experience. Here you can find out how I came to the idea of changing the diet, whether the Mediterranean diet fit with hard physical work or sports, and how the diet affected my weight and overall well-being and health.

How Did I Get Rid of My Headaches?

Despite a healthy lifestyle and a relatively nutritious and healthy diet, almost constant headaches began to bother me about a year ago.

Following fruitless attempts to get rid of headaches with the help of neck and head massages, electromagnetic pulses, and pills, I concluded that the cause of constant aching but tolerable pain is slagging of the cerebral vessels and, as a result, the inadequate blood supply to the head. After a short research, I decided to switch to the Mediterranean diet. I have found that this diet works best for all kinds of cardiovascular conditions while allowing you a variety of both plant and animal foods.

If you think that I started following the Mediterranean diet and the headaches have stopped, this is not the case.

Before going on my diet story, I want to share the recipe that helped me tremendously, and I hope it will help others too. The recipe is very simple and consists of an aqueous extract of lemons, garlic, and ginger. The water must be filtered and boiled.

Prepare 0.5 gallons (2 liters) of water boiled and cooled to 140F (60C);
Take four organic lemons of average size, rinse them, cut them into small pieces together with the peel, and move them into a bowl of water. It is advisable to use a three-liter glass jar with a lid.
Organic garlic, 7-9 cloves, finely chop and transfer to a vessel with water and lemon.
Finely chop ginger, medium root up to 2 in. (5 cm) in size, and add it into a jar.
A couple of tablespoons of honey can be added for taste and stirred to dissolve the honey.

After 4-5 hours of infusion at room temperature, the drink is ready to use.

Drink 100 ml in the morning and evening. You can store it at room temperature. Usually, 0,5 gallons of this drink is enough for a week. You can drink this extract at any time without worrying about the repulsive smell of garlic. Lemon and ginger suppress the smell of garlic.

Garlic is rich in allicin – the compound responsible for the aroma of fresh garlic and has a blood-thinning effect, which may prevent the formation of clogged arteries. Health benefits of garlic also include lowering oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions, fighting cancer, protecting the brain, and naturally barring infections.

If you are eating a nutritious diet but constantly feel low on energy, someone is probably stealing your nutrients. Garlic can help; it has been shown to have strong antibacterial and antiparasitic effects and may help in getting rid of pinworms.

Lemons are high in vitamin C and other beneficial compounds that may lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular conditions. The evidenced health benefits of lemon include lowering cancer risk, helping weight control, protecting against anemia, and improving gastrointestinal health.

Ginger may help lower blood pressure and improve heart health, preventing heart attacks. Ginger also has anti-inflammatory activity.

The headaches disappeared on the 4th-5th day completely. The unpleasant stiffness of the neck and the crunch of blood vessels in the neck area also vanished.

Drink this water extract for 3-4 weeks, and after taking a break for a week, you can repeat it. I’d recommend drinking this heart-healing extract to everybody, even if no health condition is bothering you, just for prophylactic.

You may ask, what does the Mediterranean diet have to do with it?

I believe the Mediterranean diet helps and supports the progress made in cleansing the vessels of the brain and improving its blood supply. Having been on this diet for the past seven months, I have never had to resort to the help of headache pills.

Is It Possible to Engage In Heavy Physical Labor or Do Strength Workouts While On the Mediterranean Diet?

About six months ago, I would not have known how to answer this question. But now I can boldly say: “Yes, it is.” I am not a big fan of gyms, but I have always tried to keep fit, particularly in the warm seasons, when you can enjoy walking, running, or doing workouts in the fresh air. With my headaches, which lasted at least 4-5 months, or maybe as a “natural” aging process, I am 59 already, I developed a noticeable amount of laziness and began to feel heaviness in my body and stiffness in movements. But the turn to the Mediterranean diet changed all the plans of the body/brain for degradation.

About three months ago, I started to increase my physical load. I did very simple but effective exercises for different muscle groups. During this period, I doubled the number of push-ups on both arms from 30 to 60, the number of push-ups on one arm increased from 0 to 10, and the number of jumps on both legs with the legs raised to the chest – from 2-3 to 25-30. The flexibility of the arms and legs has improved strikingly; just recently, running 200 feet (50-60 meters) caused shortness of breath and intolerable pain in the legs. And now, a 500-meter sprint without the need for time to recover is normal.

An amazing lightness developed throughout the body, and coordination of the movements improved; this is notable upon doing workouts in uncomfortable positions, such as on one leg or standing on legs wide apart. And keep in mind I could allocate for my exercises no more than two hours a week, usually on weekends.

I described my modest achievements in such detail since many people, particularly those over 50, do not believe they can improve anything for the better in their bodies. I am sure that with a properly chosen diet, which is the Mediterranean diet, you will not have to put in a lot of effort to improve your physical fitness and health meaningfully.

How Did the Mediterranean Diet Affect My Weight?

If you’ve already read the previous post, you know that intermittent fasting is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet. In my case, I just gave up a full breakfast, and instead of it, now, in the morning, before leaving for work, I have a glass of fragrant green tea with a piece of dark chocolate. And this is enough to be in great working shape until lunch.

Just a couple of words about green tea. Green tea is one of the healthiest drinks on Earth. It’s loaded with flavonoids and other antioxidants that may improve brain function and weight loss, protect against cancer, and lower the risk of heart disease. However, bear in mind that the law “the more, the better” does not work here. It is also not advised to drink green tea with lunch or dinner, as it can interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients. A good choice of green tea, I mean not bagged, loose tea, you can find on Amazon (tékola – Organic Gunpowder Green Tea – One Pound (100% Pure Ceylon) or in the local stores with farmers’ produce.

Thus, my food intake window is limited from 12 pm to 7 pm, giving the body 15-16 hours of rest. This is not to say that I had too much weight, my previous BW was 185 lb, but nevertheless, during the last 3-4 months, I have dropped 15 pounds. The changes I’ve noticed in my body include:

Thinning of the layer of abdominal fat, and as a result of abs exercises, the abdominal muscles began to protrude in relief, making the belly flat.
The formlessness and flabbiness of the skin behind the upper arms vanished, and the muscles filled the whole space.
Legs have become much lighter and slimmer.

I believe that obese people can achieve much more impressive results from the Mediterranean diet.

Conclusions

Remember that your body does not need medicines or energizers; your food is the best medicine, healer, and energizer to feel great. And, in this context, the Mediterranean diet may play an invaluable role. Give it a try! You can find here everything you need to start.