May: one of the best months to start a diet. Both in view of the summer and thanks to the days that finally become milder and more sunny, allowing us to go out and enjoy the good sun that allows us to absorb more vitamin D.

But also: fruits and vegetables that in the summer help us to enhance weight loss.

In this article we see how to combine a happy month like May with the right diet: here is an example with the May diet of the magazine Starbene, developed by the famous doctor Carla Lertola.

THE MAY DIET OF THE MAGAZINE STARBENE

Friendly foods for the May diet.

Asparagus, snow peas, lettuce, chicory, carrots, beets, onions, fresh peas, fresh broad beans, beets, red fruits (including strawberries), medlar and citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, lemons), peaches. For fish it is the month of blue fish, swordfish, tuna, mullet and white and lean fish such as hake.

The scheme of the May diet

Now that you know which foods to go for, you have two options for doing the May Diet.
The first is to follow the pattern. I always recommend the scheme because in this way you can vary much more easily, you are not tied to the recipes. If you don’t like something you know how to replace it.  Here is a possible scheme for the May diet, with links for further information at the end of the article for those who want the detailed menu. The quantities are those recommended for women.

Breakfast: a glass of water acidulated with lemon juice.
Coffee or tea + a portion of skimmed milk (150 ml) or natural skimmed white yogurt (125 gr) or white skimmed Greek yogurt (150 gr) + 30 gr of wholemeal biscuits or wholemeal breakfast cereals with no added sugar or wholemeal rusks ( for biscuits choose options under 430 calories: in this article I will show you the main brands that you can find at the supermarket ).

Snack. A 150-200 gram fruit of the season (peaches, strawberries, red fruits, yellow melon, apricots, medlars, oranges, pineapples) or a homemade citrus juice (200 ml) in the middle of the morning and mid-afternoon. If you want a banana instead, consider that 100 grams of banana equals 200 grams of less sugary fruit as calories. So in that case it’s best to stick to one small banana.

Lunch and dinner. You can alternate a more carbohydrate dish with a more protein dish (if we choose a carbohydrate dish for lunch we eat more protein for dinner and vice versa) in this way:

Bread or pasta or rice : twice a day.

70 grams for bread or maximum 80 grams for pasta / rice / cereals / corn flour / legume pasta. For example pasta / rice / grain cereal lunch and bread with protein dinner. Or bread for lunch with proteins and pasta / rice / cereals for dinner.
If you want potato gnocchi, generally the calories are about half of the pasta (check the labels): so you can eat 140 grams. On the other hand, for potatoes, to be used instead of bread or pasta, consider 200 grams of weighed raw potatoes with the skin. If, on the other hand, you love rice or corn cakes, choose the wholemeal ones, or the Wasa slices, and consider that 5-6 biscuits or Wasa slices correspond to 70 grams of bread. Dry egg pasta is like pasta.