Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the diets out there? Oh my word, there are just. so. many. Losing weight is tough enough, let alone trying to figure out which diet will actually deliver on its promises! Here at The Diet Oracle, one of my goals is to help you sift through all the hype and nonsense and find the plan that will work best for you. As I’ve said before, everyone is different and there really is no single ‘right way’ to lose weight.

That being said, let’s get right to our current diet du jour, The Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Solution: The 28 Day Kick-Start Plan for Lasting Weight Loss by Julene Stassou, MS, RD. (If you’ve missed my previous posts, take a minute to learn more about Mediterranean-style diets and the research supporting them!) Stassou promises that if you’re looking to make real lifestyle change with lasting results, the Mediterranean diet (and, of course, her book!) will help you to lose weight and reach your goals.

Stassou’s plan in The Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Solution is straightforward and takes all the guesswork out of meal planning. In her book, you’ll find 4 weeks of complete meal plans with accompanying recipes, grocery lists, and time-saving meal prep tips. Once you’ve finished your 28-day kick off, she’s got you covered with 2 additional weeks of meal plans to keep you headed in the right direction, plus blank meal planning pages for creating your own.

In reading her primer on the Mediterranean diet, Stassou explains that a healthy, well-balanced diet for weight loss should offer about 40% of calories from carbohydrate, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat (a fairly typical breakdown). She says that her meal plans align with these goals and will provide an average of 1500-1800 calories across 3 meals and up to 3 snacks per day. Though this range will help most people lose weight at a safe rate of 1-2 pounds per week, she does provide guidance for those who need to modify her meal plans based on their particular goals and needs.

In addition to meal planning, Stassou also lays out a very basic workout prescription, including both strength-training and cardiovascular exercises. Keeping true to her belief in specific goal setting, she includes an exercise calendar, specific suggested body weight exercises, self-assessment tools, and more. Stassou makes it clear that just as regular physical activity is a priority in the Mediterranean, it should be a priority for you, too!

In order to give you an honest, firsthand review of The Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Solution, I will be following Stassou’s plan for an entire week. I’ll do the grocery shopping, follow the meal plan, test the recipes, and log every bite, giving you–dear readers–my candid opinions every step of the way. I’ll also be following her other lifestyle recommendations for water intake, exercise, rest, and relaxation in order to truly immerse myself in her ‘kick-start plan’ for the full Mediterranean experience.

So will Stassou’s program deliver the promised results? Will her meal plans truly be easy to follow and prepare? And will the recipes be as delicious and satisfying and she claims? We will be answering these questions and more here at The Diet Oracle! Who knows? Perhaps a Mediterranean diet could be your weight loss solution!