There’s mounting evidence that not all calories are stored equally. What you eat — not just how much — strongly influences fat storage, especially in visceral and liver areas.
What’s especially interesting is this:
The four food types most consistently linked to obesity are:
- Fructose
- Saturated fat
- Deep-fried / oxidized oils
- Refined starches
These are either absent or minimized in the traditional Mediterranean diet. So my question is:
Has anyone here actually gained fat while eating a true Mediterranean-style diet?
(Not the pizza-and-red-wine version — I mean legumes, fish, whole grains, vegetables, olive oil, etc.)
🔬 What the research shows:
• Saturated Fat vs Unsaturated Fat
Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat (like olive oil, fish, or nuts) leads to less visceral and liver fat, and more lean mass — even with equal calories.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24550191/
• Protein Overfeeding ≠ Fat Gain
Very high protein intakes (~3.4 g/kg/day) led to no increase in body fat, even with a calorie surplus.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15502783.2024.2341903
• Fructose vs Glucose
Fructose drives more visceral and liver fat gain than glucose/starch, even when calories are equal.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318831064_Conversion_of_Sugar_to_Fat_Is_Hepatic_de_Novo_Lipogenesis_Leading_to_Metabolic_Syndrome_and_Associated_Chronic_Diseases
• Fried Foods & Obesity Risk (2024)
Higher fried food intake (≥1.5 servings/day) was linked to a 31% higher overall obesity risk and 27% higher abdominal obesity risk — independent of calories, BMI, waist size, Mediterranean diet score, and lifestyle.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2024/fo/d3fo02803h
• Deep-Fried Oils Promote Fat Gain
Reused or oxidized oils (like those used in deep frying) cause greater fat gain, liver stress, and metabolic dysfunction, even when total calorie intake is similar.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227622002010
• Whole vs Refined Grains
Whole wheat led to greater visceral fat loss than refined wheat, with matched calories.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29671172/
• Mediterranean Diet Review (2022)
A comprehensive review found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet is inversely associated with the risk of overweight and/or obesity, as well as 5-year weight gain. This suggests that the Mediterranean diet may help prevent weight gain over time.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8803490/
TL;DR
Fructose, saturated fat, deep-fried oils, and refined starches are the four food types most associated with obesity — and the Mediterranean diet largely avoids all of them.
So… has anyone here actually gained fat while eating traditional Mediterranean foods, in reasonable portions?
If so, I’d love to hear about it — especially if it contradicts the research above.
by Classic-Bench-1148
2 Comments
You can’t gain fat from any diet if you’re eating “reasonable portions”
I don’t see where the calories were controlled on the whole grain vs refined grain study?
Is the third link not talking about added sugar in general and speculating mechanisms?
I am wary of any claim that two calorie controlled diets would yield different weight loss. The main reason that people don’t gain weight on the Mediterranean Diet is because the foods are satiating so people don’t overeat. You can certainly gain weight on the diet if you overdo the hummus and olive oil. Personally, I do not lose weight on this diet. At best, without tracking calories, I am in maintenance.