Why We Don’t Do Nutritional Analysis At Mediterraneanliving.com

About 4 years ago I gained 50 pounds in less than 6 months.  My Mom passed away after a few stressful months of being in hospitals.  I went right into my old pattern of eating massive amounts of comfort food in order to cope.  Being a dietitian, this was not only disconcerting from a personal standpoint, but I also felt uncomfortable getting up in front of people and sharing with them about living a healthy lifestyle when I felt fat and far from healthy.    Besides old eating patterns I also reverted to old dieting patterns: trying to cut back on what I was eating, cutting certain foods out of my diet, and weighing myself at least once a day.  The result was losing a few pounds and then gaining a few more pounds until I was heavier than when I began.

Finally, I went back to eating mostly Mediterranean, trying to move every day and totally enjoying what I ate.  I got rid of my scale and started meditating to help with stress.  Soon, weight started naturally coming off.  I would lose 5 pounds and then stay there for a few months and then lose another 5 pounds.  So far, by practicing what I teach, I have lost about 35 pounds (although, I only get weighed at the doctor’s office now).  I am no longer obsessed with my weight but ironically I am getting very close to my naturally perfect weight.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.  If this is true, we have truly lost our minds in the U.S. when it comes to dieting and nutrition.  It is estimated that over 100 million Americans diet each year, spending around $20 billion dollars, yet the lack of success of dieting remains staggering (about a 95% failure rate).

To lose weight, we need to take our focus off losing weight and start focusing on how to feel great in every moment. I spoke with a woman recently who told me that when she lived in the United States, she had all kinds of food hang-ups, but when she moved to Italy she began eating and enjoying her food like the Italians.  Not only did her weight normalize, but she also stopped obsessing about food.

This is the Mediterranean way and this is why we don’t do nutrition analysis of our recipes.  Our obsession with nutrition has not led us to becoming a healthier nation, but instead has caused us to become more and more overweight and sick.

There may be reasons that certain people need to have nutrient information. For resources to help you calculate nutrients in foods and recipes  go to the USDA Nutritient Database. 

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