How to get out of holidays unscathed, getting rid of a few extra kilos that we have taken between gluttony and holiday whims?

The solution is given by Professor Giorgio Calabrese , one of the most famous dieticians in Italy, I would dare to say our flagship dietician, as well as president of the National Committee for Food Safety .

His smart diet to lose up to 4-5 kilos per month is one of my most read articles on Dcomedieta

This time the doctor talks about holidays, parties, long bridges, and a way to be on a diet and in shape with a moderate Mediterranean food approach that makes us lose weight lightly and tastefully.

But also with some news that I will list later, together with an indicative food scheme to put his useful advice into practice ( source ).

THE RETURN DIET OF THE CALABRIAN DOCTOR: THE PRINCIPLES

1. Holidays and parties even if they do not seem to bring stress, the body has to readjust to daily rhythms, and one in three Italians apparently accuses symptoms of fatigue from returning from holidays or from long bridges.
   Stress that results in an increase in the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which in turn raise insulin and also break us down psychologically. Dr. Calabrese addressed the link between stress and diet in this book:
   Stress & Diet. Tips and remedies to live better .
2. The key is in small and frequent meals, instead of larger meals that have a higher glycemic and insulin load, to be avoided in this situation. The doctor recommends seven a day.
3. Moderate breakfast, Mediterranean lunch with a first course, protein dinner , snacks based on dark chocolate and dried fruit, functional and anti-stress foods that give us satisfaction.

Let’s see how to translate these three principles into a quick outline.

THE RETURN DIET OF THE CALABRIAN DOCTOR AFTER HOLIDAYS: A SCHEME

Breakfast.
A glass of skimmed milk (about 150/200 ml *) or soy with: 30 g * of dairy cereals such as All Bran or Kellogs Cornflakes or 2 rusks with 2 level teaspoons of jam.
1 small fruit of your choice: 100 grams if sugary like banana, 150 grams if apple, pear, kiwi, strawberries, peaches, apricots, plums, melon

Snack.
A 125 gr low-fat yogurt like Vitasnella or vegetable crudités: raw fennel, raw carrots, cucumbers.

Lunch.
A moderate dish of pasta or rice (better wholemeal) of about 50 g * with a lot of vegetables or simple sauce.
If we eat pasta with simple tomato sauce, we add a mixed salad, or we opt for a single plate that combines pasta or other cereals with mixed vegetables of your choice and a drizzle of oil (a teaspoon raw). *
A teaspoon of grated parmesan it’s ok for anyone who wants it.
As an alternative to pasta or rice: 120 grams of drained legumes, vegetable side dish + a 25 gram * slice of wholemeal bread and a teaspoon of oil in all.

Snack. A fruit of your choice (even after lunch). See breakfast directions for fruit.

Snack.
4 walnuts or 10 almonds or 10 hazelnuts or 12 pistachios.
A herbal tea or a cup of tea or coffee with sweetener.

Dinner.
Protein, with a second of lean meat or fish cooked very simply (about 150 grams maximum) including cod, natural tuna, lean veal, chicken or turkey breast, octopus, squid, shrimp.
Or a carpaccio of bresaola or smoked salmon or tuna (100 gr *) or a mixture (bresaola and a little parmesan cheese, 80 grams one and 20 grams the other) or an omelette of two medium eggs or 100 grams of ricotta *, plus mixed vegetables of your choice and a small slice of bread, preferably wholemeal (25 grams *).
A level teaspoon of oil throughout the meal.
Lemon juice or apple / wine cider vinegar are free.

Snack. A piece (10 gr max *) of extra dark chocolate.

*: the quantities are mine, and have been used for illustrative purposes only, for a diet of about 1250 calories for a woman. For a man: add 30 grams more of pasta or rice and bread where indicated and 30 grams of protein more for dinner foods.
For vegetables: spinach, salad, fennel, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, pumpkin, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, artichokes, tomatoes, radicchio, endive, rocket are ok.

The ideal would be to make these principles our own by adapting the quantities to our nutritional needs and daily caloric needs, with a small deficit, which translates into a little moderation, to lose the excess weight of holidays or holidays.
Walking at a brisk pace is an excellent stress reliever to associate with the diet.

MORE INFORMATION.

For those who want a more specific scheme based on the Mediterranean diet, I recommend:
Doctor Calabrese and his smart diet: 5 kilos a month away. 
For those who want a plan that builds Dr. Calabrese’s advice for menopause, here is the diet for menopause.

(Last updated: 27-008-2021)