How often can I cheat on the Mediterranean Diet and still be successful? I am part of several social media groups on Facebook, and the most common question I see from newbies is how often can I cheat on the Mediterranean Diet and still lose weight? These questions makes sense on most diets. On most diets, individuals are limiting themselves, restricting what they can eat. Eating food they dislike, or being hungry, may be a part of many diets. Built in departures from such deprivation, often called cheat days, is a common element on many diets.
So, Can I Cheat on the Mediterranean Diet?
The short answer is yes. Yes, you can cheat on the Mediterranean Diet. Why? Because this is a diet of moderation, it is a lifestyle. Even if you just start working the principles of the diet into your life a few meals each week, you are improving your eating habits, and in fact, you are doing the Mediterranean Diet.
The longer answer is if you are really embracing the Mediterranean Diet you have no real reason to cheat. All foods are found on the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. Some foods should be daily, some weekly, some less frequently and some food rarely, not more than monthly, for celebrations. There is that planning piece.
Can I Cheat On How I Live?
How often can I cheat on the Mediterranean Diet is a difficult question to answer on this diet. It is not a typical diet full of rules. Instead it is a way of eating (WOE) – or as I call it a way of life. The reason I call the Mediterranean Diet a way of life is it encompasses more than just eating. Being on the Mediterranean Diet has changed the way we think about food, how we shop for food and what food we keep in the house. I plan not only what we are going to eat, but I also allocate time to prepare our meals. This includes prepping food ahead of time, and doubling meals and freezing them. Menus are planned in advanced by at least a week.
Menus are Planned in Advance
A few days ago, I was thinking about this blog and the statement, menus are planned in advance. The statement triggered a memory of a scene from a movie, Kate and Leopold with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. I did not mention this blog or that movie to Mark and guess what movie he turned on to watch last night after our Friday date-night dinner? You guessed it, Kate and Leopold. I haven’t seen this movie in quite awhile (can you believe it is almost twenty years old?).
I would not classify Kate and Leopold as a favorite movie, but one particular scene pops into my mind now and then over the years. The scene always makes me laugh. It is the first dinner scene at Kate McKay’s house. There is Kate, drinking wine and not eating much, and her brother Charlie, shoveling down some tater-tots and precooked burgers loaded with ketchup on a plate. Leopold is at the table with different expectations for dinner. After a few bites, Leopold puts down his fork and knife and asks for the next course. Kate incredulously informs him this is the meal. Leopold states, “Where I come from the meal is the result of reflection and study, menus are prepared in advance timed to perfection, it is said without the culinary arts the crudeness of reality would be unbearable.”
No More Mindless Eating
When I would eat mindlessly, before the Mediterranean Diet, I would often remember Leopold’s demand for something better. Eating mindlessly was me reaching for something without thinking, and resulted in me eating something that is not good and not good for me. Making food choices that were easy or sounded good often left me feeling gross. My mind’s eye sees Hugh Jackman, as Leopold, sitting there in his fancy pants asking for more reflection and study. I mean this as no criticism for the busy working woman out there juggling life. The fact that Kate and her brother sat at the table with placemats, to eat together is pretty nice. Americans are busy, and these niceties do not always happen.
When Leopold prepares that toast smothered in mascarpone cheese and freshly cut strawberries, it shows with a little planning (and not too much time) good for you is possible. There are not many American women who did not swoon when Kate munched her breakfast, nodding and choking back tears. A small bit of time and effort can greatly improve how we eat. But it does require planning.
Embracing Eating Like the Italians
When my Sweetheart and I were in Taormina, Sicily we were having a private tour of the city. Our tour guide ran into a friend. They embraced as if they had not seen each other in a long while. I heard them excitedly discuss the food preparations underway for what was clearly a special dinner that evening. When we moved on, I asked our tour guide if it had been awhile since they had seen one another. Our tour guide shared he is his best friend and they eat dinner together a couple of times a week.
Like the Italians, I have learned it is worthwhile to plan menus in advance, to think about when I will prepare food, and make everything fit into my busy week. My Sweetheart does the grocery shopping, and keeps our pantry full of staples. It is a tradeoff, instead of spending time worrying about how much I ate, or what I ate, or missing what I want to eat, I spend time planning exactly what I want to eat. By integrating the Mediterranean Diet into my life, my relationship with food has changed. I am eating exactly what I want to eat, and enjoying it. This is what makes it difficult to answer the question, can I cheat on the Mediterranean Diet?
The 3 Cornerstones of the Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean Diet has three main cornerstones that lead to success on this WOE (my opinion):
- Follow the Mediterranean Diet food pyramid as often as possible.
- Eat whole foods avoiding processed foods (I read the labels and look for foods that have 3-5 ingredients on the labels).
- Use extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) when cooking or baking 99% of the time.
That last point tends to get big arguments going on the social media pages I frequent. Smoke point and the virtues of other fats and oils are leading points in these online disagreements. That is not what this blog is about, but I do feel using EVOO is an essential component to this way of eating. This blog seeks to answer the question, can I cheat on the Mediterranean Diet?
They Only Taste Like Cheat Foods
Greek-Style Chicken Wings 
Buffalo Cauliflower Nuggets 
Parsnip Truffle Fries
Truffle Fries an Olive Sunshine Favorite.
What I have found is that even when I am “cheating” on the Mediterranean Diet, I am not cheating. The reason? I do not vary from the three cornerstones of the Mediterranean Diet. When I eat processed foods, I feel sick, literally. Sweets and savory snacks do not have to be overly processed and can be based on whole foods. Foods can be Mediterranean Diet compliant and taste deliciously like cheat foods. They are just as much of a treat as your favorite restaurant food, but preparing the food takes more time. I think of these foods as party-food, foods I make when there is an event or a reason to celebrate.
Balanced Food – Not Cheat Food
Can there be too much a good thing? Yes, eating party food too often will slow weight loss, or may even cause weight gain. I do not eat Greek-style chicken wings, buffalo-cauliflower nuggets or parsnip truffle fries all of the time. They were a perfect blend of tapas to celebrate the 4th of July. As adults we know, if you party all the time, it no longer feels like a party – life is about balance. I love the food in all of the tiers of the Mediterranean Pyramid, I just have to reflect on what I am eating and when. To achieve balance, the bottom tier of the pyramid, focusing on friends, family and movement is essential to this way of eating.
I have a confession, I have put on weight recently. Social media influencer, Tabitha Brown, calls her weight gain her quaranten (quarantine + 10 lbs = quaranten). I won’t share my exact weight gain. At this time last year, eight months into the Mediterranean Diet, I weighed the least I have weighed since I was 20 years old. Today even with my weight gain, I STILL weigh three pounds LESS than MY weight watchers GOAL. My goal weight has been the same over the past two decades and it was always challenging to reach and impossible to maintain. It is not necessary for me to be as slender as I was a year ago, but I do recognize I need to focus more on that bottom tier of the pyramid and constantly work to a healthy balance of all that is good. If I do that, I will feel better in my skin and my clothes will fit optimally. I am not unhappy with my weight and I am thankful that I love my food choices.
Can I Cheat on the Mediterranean Diet? Yes
I continue to learn and grow while embracing the Mediterranean Diet way of life. Eating well is a choice, it is not about deprivation. Every day my sweetheart and I look forward to our meals and we plan ahead for them. My relationship with food is no longer a yo-yo of deprivation and guilt. I choose what I eat. By planning ahead, I celebrate with food that I love and food that loves me back.
Can I cheat on the Mediterranean Diet? Absolutely, but why would I?
