low-glycemic diet. This is an important realization because fruits and veggies (which are naturally low in calories) also provide the majority of nutrients and fiber in your diet. Including five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables in your diet will help you lose weight in a way that you can eat plenty of food and not starve yourself!
Checking Out How Glycemic Load Varies among Popular Foods
The information in this section is designed to provide you with some insight into how the glycemic load varies among popular food choices. As you can see in Table 4-2, fruits and vegetables typically end up on the low end whereas the more starchy foods, such as potatoes, rice, and pasta, end up on the medium to high end.
Your goal is to pick low- to medium-glycemic foods most of time.
Notice the different portion sizes and their glycemic load measurement. Some foods are clearly a slam dunk as far as being a healthy choice, but others are a little gray. For example, if you look at spaghetti, you see that it has a medium glycemic load for a portion size of ¾ of a cup. Spaghetti is therefore fine to eat in that amount, or you can even lower the glycemic load a little by eating just 1/2 of a cup. But if you go over the 3/4-cup portion size, you're entering into high-glycemic territory.
If the idea of portion size's effect on glycemic load still seems confusing, don't get discouraged in your efforts to understand it. I promise that after a while you'll get the hang of looking at the glycemic load of a food compared to just its portion size.
Chapter 5 : Determining How Going Low-Glycemic Can Work for You
In This Chapter
Reflecting on the amount of weight you want to lose
Reviewing your dieting history to see how to make your new lifestyle choices stick
Determining whether you have insulin resistance
Discovering the benefits of a low-glycemic diet for people in different stages of life
W hatever your dietary goals may be, the low-glycemic diet is showing positive results not only with weight loss but also with disease prevention/management and healthier lifestyles. Plus, it's an easy diet. After you have the basic concepts down, it becomes a moderate dietary plan that you can follow for the long haul. That means no more yo-yo dieting or continuously going "on" and "off" a ridiculously restrictive diet. Those short-term fixes aren't the real answer to weight loss or a healthy lifestyle. A low-glycemic diet is. That's why this chapter is all about how to incorporate a healthy low-glycemic diet into your life.
Considering Your Weight-Loss Goals
Before you dive into living a low-glycemic lifestyle, you really need to consider your weight-loss goals. Do you want and/or need to lose 5 to 10 pounds or more than 30 pounds? Following a low-glycemic diet can work well in either case. However, it's important to note that no matter how much weight you want or need to lose, the low-glycemic diet is more of a lifestyle change than a strict diet regimen. It's about making the best carbohydrate-containing food choices. With this information in mind, you may need to adjust your expectations regarding weight loss. The following sections can help you do that by getting you familiar with the idea of truly healthy weight loss and by comparing two different weight-loss approaches.
Defininghealthy weight loss
Healthy weight loss is slow weight loss, plain and simple. Losing weight gradually (not rapidly like you might on a strict, very-low-calorie diet) helps ensure you can maintain that weight loss for the long term. Think about the rate at which you gain weight. You usually don't gain 30 pounds in six weeks. Instead, you gain weight gradually over time. The process for losing that weight works exactly the same way.
Good expectations for healthy weight loss include the following:
You may not lose any weight for the first two weeks. During this time, you're really just figuring out your desired dietary changes; implementation of them may not
Checking Out How Glycemic Load Varies among Popular Foods
The information in this section is designed to provide you with some insight into how the glycemic load varies among popular food choices. As you can see in Table 4-2, fruits and vegetables typically end up on the low end whereas the more starchy foods, such as potatoes, rice, and pasta, end up on the medium to high end.
Your goal is to pick low- to medium-glycemic foods most of time.
Notice the different portion sizes and their glycemic load measurement. Some foods are clearly a slam dunk as far as being a healthy choice, but others are a little gray. For example, if you look at spaghetti, you see that it has a medium glycemic load for a portion size of ¾ of a cup. Spaghetti is therefore fine to eat in that amount, or you can even lower the glycemic load a little by eating just 1/2 of a cup. But if you go over the 3/4-cup portion size, you're entering into high-glycemic territory.
If the idea of portion size's effect on glycemic load still seems confusing, don't get discouraged in your efforts to understand it. I promise that after a while you'll get the hang of looking at the glycemic load of a food compared to just its portion size.
Chapter 5 : Determining How Going Low-Glycemic Can Work for You
In This Chapter
Reflecting on the amount of weight you want to lose
Reviewing your dieting history to see how to make your new lifestyle choices stick
Determining whether you have insulin resistance
Discovering the benefits of a low-glycemic diet for people in different stages of life
W hatever your dietary goals may be, the low-glycemic diet is showing positive results not only with weight loss but also with disease prevention/management and healthier lifestyles. Plus, it's an easy diet. After you have the basic concepts down, it becomes a moderate dietary plan that you can follow for the long haul. That means no more yo-yo dieting or continuously going "on" and "off" a ridiculously restrictive diet. Those short-term fixes aren't the real answer to weight loss or a healthy lifestyle. A low-glycemic diet is. That's why this chapter is all about how to incorporate a healthy low-glycemic diet into your life.
Considering Your Weight-Loss Goals
Before you dive into living a low-glycemic lifestyle, you really need to consider your weight-loss goals. Do you want and/or need to lose 5 to 10 pounds or more than 30 pounds? Following a low-glycemic diet can work well in either case. However, it's important to note that no matter how much weight you want or need to lose, the low-glycemic diet is more of a lifestyle change than a strict diet regimen. It's about making the best carbohydrate-containing food choices. With this information in mind, you may need to adjust your expectations regarding weight loss. The following sections can help you do that by getting you familiar with the idea of truly healthy weight loss and by comparing two different weight-loss approaches.
Defininghealthy weight loss
Healthy weight loss is slow weight loss, plain and simple. Losing weight gradually (not rapidly like you might on a strict, very-low-calorie diet) helps ensure you can maintain that weight loss for the long term. Think about the rate at which you gain weight. You usually don't gain 30 pounds in six weeks. Instead, you gain weight gradually over time. The process for losing that weight works exactly the same way.
Good expectations for healthy weight loss include the following:
You may not lose any weight for the first two weeks. During this time, you're really just figuring out your desired dietary changes; implementation of them may not
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