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Low Glycemic Index Diet
For Weight Loss
You can design you own!
Best tips and ideas for a low glycemic index diet to make you lose weight. This is how you recognize glycemic index accepteble foods for weight loss.
Is following a low glycemic index the way for you to lose weight? Check out these easy guidelines before you decide.
When you want to follow a low glycemic index diet for weight loss, understanding the glycemic index doesn't mean you should only be looking out for foods with a low value.
We also eat foods that don’t have a glycemic index at all, like protein and fat and these kinds of food lower the glycemic index of the whole meal.
If you look up chicken nuggets, for example, in a glycemic index list of foods you will find a value of 66.
When you list low glycemic index foods a value between 50 and 70 are considered low and such foods have a place in a low glycemic index diet.
This might lead to the conclusion that chicken nuggets are a good choice even for weight loss.
But no!
The glycemic food index of plain chicken fillet is 0 (zero) so if you choose the chicken nuggets over plain chicken fillet you have made a food choice that affects your blood sugar levels.
The chicken nuggets are also high in fat, (another reason for the low glycemic index) which is what you should stay away from.
As you see, glycemic index information is great for weight loss, but it has to be used in combination with common sense and your nutritional knowledge.
By simply using these tips on how to put together a low glycemic diet for weight loss you have come a long way. Always start with the changes that are easiest for you to make and the rest will follow.
Tips on how to design a diet of glycemic index acceptable foods for weight lossThe glycemic index helps you choose the right foods so that you don’t get sugar cravings. This is great for weight loss but not enough. Getting rid of sugar cravings help you to not overeat, but you want to lose weight too, right?
When designing a diet of low glycemic index foods for weight loss you have to take more into consideration. Confusing? Don’t worry, take a look at the tips and examples of glycemic index acceptable foods below and I’m sure you will be fine (the glycemic index in brackets, reference is white bread 100.) (When you look up glycemic index charts the reference is sometimes white bread and sometimes glucose. This makes it a bit confusing, but as long as you follow the same reference you should be ok.)
Bread
White bread (100) has no place in a healthy low glycemic index diet and it doesn’t provide any nutritional value worth mentioning. Replace white bread with whole meal bread (50 – 90) as often as you can. The fiber content lowers the glycemic index and is good for your system in general.
Rice and pasta
Jasmine rice (91) can easily be replaced by parboiled rice (68) or whole grain rice (78). White pasta (67) can be replaced by wholemeal pasta (53). Other alternatives are different kinds of grains like quinoa (51) and bulgur (46). They have a low glycemic index and are also a good source of protein. When you design your low glycemic index diet you can also try to replace rice and pasta with vegetables.
Meat and fish
Always choose lean meat that is low in fat and avoid eating it as a hamburger. The bun on the hamburger has a high glycemic index and should be avoided. Also avoid bread crumbs on chicken nuggets etc that have an affect on your blood sugar level and absorb unnecessary fat.
Fish sticks (54) have a low glycemic index thanks to the protein. It’s better to replace them by fat fish like salmon (N/A). The breadcrumbs on the fish sticks are carbs and also absorb a lot of fat. Salmon is pure protein rich in good fat; a good source of omega 3.
Breakfast Cereals
Most breakfast cereals contain large amounts of sugar, you are basically eating a bowl of crunched cookies. Not something you want to start your day with and definitely not something that fit in a low glycemic index diet.
All Bran plus (60), muesli (56-94) are much better than Corn flakes (116). Breakfast can be so much more than a bowl of cereals.
Check out these yummy and healthy breakfast recipes for inspiration.
Snacks
Do you have the habit of snacking in front of the television?
Replacing those potato chips (80) will have a good impact on your weight loss. Cashews (31), peanuts (21) and walnuts (15) are good choices as nuts in general contain good fats and walnuts especially are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Popcorn (78) has a medium glycemic index but is better than potato chips if eaten without oil or butter and in moderation, of course.
Why not try something different when the craving sets in?
Check out these yummy and healthy snack recipes!
Sweets
Wanting something sweet is supposedly genetic so I don’t think it’s realistic to expect of us to cut out sweets completely. The thing is to find “good” sweets, quite a challenge!
Dark chocolate (22) actually has health benefits and should be included in a healthy low glycemic index diet. Avoid milk chocolate (61), chocolate bars, M&M’s, etc. that have a high content of sugar that should result in a higher glycemic index. The reason the glycemic index appears to be low is because of the high content of bad fats.
Vegetables
Almost all vegetables have a low glycemic index and are always a good alternative. Try to replace rice, pasta and potatoes with vegetables as often as you can.
For example, roasted vegetables are a good alternative to French fries. French fries are always high in fat, sometimes ugly trans fats. Stay away from them as much as possible.Plain boiled potatoes (144) can be replaced by sweet potatoes (87). Even though potatoes have a high glycemic index they can be useful while you are losing weight as they are very good at keeping your hunger at bay.
Dairy products
Fruit yoghurt is often full of sugar and is better replaced by natural yoghurt and fresh fruit.
Miscellaneous
Ketchup contains sugar, not something we think about. Try replacing in with unsweetened taco sauce, or chopped tomatoes.
You will soon feel better after you followed a low glycemic index diet for a while. The change might not come immediately but it will come. Just hang in there.
With you on the weigh,
Eva
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