The MedAsian lifestyle is for people who love food. We take a common sense approach to food and exercise that isn’t focused on denial or guilt like so many other diets. Our idea is that you can eat well, live well, and maintain a healthy weight – all without sacrificing the foods that give you pleasure.
The MedAsian lifestyle is based on two of the world’s healthiest cultures: Asian and Mediterranean. People in these cultures tend to live long and healthy lives, but still eat amazing and delicious foods. However, people in these cultures are never “dieting” as we think of it in the United States. They simply live a healthier lifestyle that allows them to enjoy food without shame.
While we are not dieticians and make no promises about whether or not this will work for you. This is simply something that we have been doing and have found works wonderfully for us, and we thought we would share.
The MedAsian lifestyleis:
- Easy to maintain. We think the main reason diets fail is because they feel like punishment. While our lifestyle has guidelines, they are not so strict that you make yourself miserable.
- Delicious. There are a ton of food options from numerous food cultures, so there is always something new and interesting to try.
The MedAsian Lifestyle is not:
- A quick fix. We do not promise to change your life overnight. It will take a while to transition you into living a healthier lifestyle.
- Based on guilt, shame, or denial. We don’t think that making yourself miserable is good for your physical or mental health.
What sets us apart?
First, we need to ask why most diets fail. They don’t fail because of the diet itself. Any diet can tell you to restrict calories and increase exercise. And if you stick with it, you will very likely succeed at losing weight.
The problem is in sticking with it.
The idea of the MedAsian lifestyle isn’t a diet. It a gradual change into a healthier lifestyle that doesn’t involve any major changes in the way people live. There are no huge lifestyle changes that people can’t maintain. People are not denied what they like – just asked to use common-sense approach to things like portions, quantity, and the frequency with which they eat certain foods. And the diet itself has a very wide variety of options, so there is something delicious and different on the menu every night.
The exercise regimen involves light, low-stress exercise that should be enjoyable – going on a walk or a bike ride.
After researching both diets, I have found that the diets have the same core principles:
- Daily physical activity
- Drinking plenty of water daily
- Center each meal with Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains
- Incorporate Seafood at least twice a week
- Incorporate reasonable portions of poultry, eggs, and dairy
- Limit other meats such as beef and pork to 2- 3 times a month
- limit sweets to once a week
- Alcohol in Moderation
After reading this information it dawned on me that I don’t need to withhold anything from my diet, I just need to limit some of the items I choose to eat such as sweets and meats, and increase the items I don’t eat enough of such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
The goal of the MedAsian lifestyle is to have a life that gives me the results that I desire, but isn’t restrictive or difficult to follow. I want to look and feel better, but I don’t want to sacrifice the foods that I love in order to do so. By learning about the lifestyles and food cultures of Mediterranean and Asian countries, I can see that this is a possible goal to attain. People in these regions don’t diet, don’t sit around counting calories or force themselves to get on treadmills – yet they tend to be slim and healthy. By following their lead, we can have a lifestyle that’s healthy and easy to maintain.