low glycemic diet

You probably know what it feels like to have the urge to eat sugary, high carbohydrate foods—and the great satisfaction you get moments later.

But a “sugar high” only causes you to wilt later on. You get tired, grumpy, and hungry—and then you start craving more carbs. It’s an ugly pattern that causes you to binge and creates out of control weight gain.

You shouldn’t have to sacrifice or starve yourself to lose weight. There’s an easy way to drop pounds, reduce your body fat, and keep it off indefinitely. It’s by making a switch to low glycemic index foods.

What is the Glycemic Index

The glycemic index (GI) is a system that ranks carbohydrates (carbs) according to the how they raise your blood sugar level after you eat.

High GI foods cause a surge of blood sugar and a large release of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that directs your cells to use blood sugar as energy. It also determines how much fat you store on your body.

When insulin is high, it prevents you from using body fat as a source of energy. It also causes excess blood sugar to turn into body fat for long-term storage.

When you eat high GI foods, you flood your body with blood sugar. Insulin goes into overdrive and you can develop a resistance to its effect. To compensate, your body must produce more insulin than is healthy just to maintain an adequate blood sugar level.  As a result, your body becomes a fat storage factory.

Low GI foods keep your blood sugar constant and your insulin level low. Your cells are energized and you can use body fat as a source fuel rather than storing it.

A low GI diet focuses on reducing foods that spike your blood sugar and replacing them with foods that do not.  Simply switching from high GI carbs to low GI carbs balances out your blood sugar and stabilizes insulin so you can lose body fat.  You lose weight without counting calories or starving yourself.

How Does it Work

There are only two pathways carbs can take in your body. They’re either used as energy or stored as body fat.

An easy way to think of it is like this: Low GI carbs with a rating of 55 or less are used for energy. High GI carbs with a rating of 70 or more are stored as body fat

A low GI diet focuses on reducing foods that cause your body to store fat. When you eat low GI carbs, you burn fat more efficiently. You lose body fat and have more energy.

There’s another benefit. Low GI carbs don’t stimulate food-craving hormones like high glycemic foods do. So you don’t get cravings or go on uncontrolled eating binges.

You don’t have to totally eliminate high GI foods. But once you’re aware of their GI reaction, you can make better choices throughout the day

By simply switching to foods that contain a GI of 55 or less, you will lose excess body fat and you’ll find it easy to maintain your optimal weight.

So What do I Eat?

For the first few weeks, try not to count calories. Just limit yourself to low GI rather than high GI foods as often as possible.

Protein foods like chicken, eggs, fish, and meat have a rating of zero since they contain no carbs. So you can eat them at every meal.

Eating less of a high GI food does not decrease the GI. Eating more of a low GI food does not increase it. It’s best to just stay away from the high and choose something on the low GI list.

This doesn’t mean you can never have a medium or high GI food. But if you do, combine it with other low GI choices—particularly those foods that contain high fiber, so the total GI of the meal is still within reason.

And, for at least the first few weeks, try to stay within the 55 or less guidelines.

You can find an easy to use, low GI database of foods online. Before long, the GI of foods you eat will become second nature.

Examples of Low GI Foods Include Foods Like These in Your Diet:

• Cherries
• Plums
• Barley
• Grapefruit
• Kidney Beans
• Peaches
• Lentils
• Green Beans
• Black Beans
• Apricots
• Broccoli
• Butter Beans
• Lima Beans
• Chickpeas
• Apples
• Pears
• Spaghetti, Whole Wheat
• Navy Beans
• Tomatoes
• Pinto Beans
• Brown Beans
• Squash
• All Bran Cereal
• Black-Eyed Peas
• Grapes
• Oranges
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Celery
• Peppers
• Mushrooms
• Red Peppers

Examples of High GI Foods: Stay Away from Foods Like These:

• Hamburger Bun
• New Potato
• Semolina
• Shortbread
• Raisins
• Boxed Mac and Cheese
• Rye Flour
• High-Fiber Crisp Rye Bread
• Cream of Wheat
• Life Cereal
• Muesli Cereal
• Pineapple
• Angle Food Cake
• Croissant
• French Baguette
• Vanilla Wafers
• Grape-Nuts Cereal
• Puffed Wheat Cereal
• Stoned Wheat Thins
• Soft Drinks
• Candy
• English Muffin
• Wheat Bread, Gluten-Free
• Shredded Wheat Cereal
• Melba Toast
• Potato, White
• Life Savers
• Fruit, Dried
• Rice Cakes
• Rice Krispies Cereal
• Corn Chex Cereal
• Corn Flakes Cereal
• Graham Crackers
• Bagels
• Watermelon
• Popcorn
• Kaiser Rolls
• Corn Chips
• Honey
• Cheerios Cereal
• French Fries
• Pumpkin
• Donuts
• Waffles
• Cocoa Puffs Cereal
• Rice Chex Cereal
• Rice Pasta
• Tofu Frozen Dessert