| |
Low Glycemic Index Foods
To Avoid
There are some low glycemic index foods that you should avoid when you want to lose weight.
Just because a certain food has a low glycemic index doesn’t mean it’s also good when it comes to losing weight.
Eating foods with a low glycemic index helps your body burn fat more easily, but to lose weight and keep it off you still have to keep an eye on the caloric content of your food.
If you follow only the glycemic index to determine what foods are OK for you to eat while on a weight loss regime, you are undermining your efforts and will end up with yet another weight loss failure.
Let me give you an example of how you can get lost if you choose low glycemic index foods without putting it into context:
How to Get Fooled by the Glycemic IndexThe glycemic index of plain boiled potatoes is 93 (compared to 100 for white bread), but if you make the potato into chips and fry it in oil the glycemic index is 77. Fat lowers the glycemic index of the final food.
As we human beings usually see what we want to see, it’s just too easy to neglect the fact that potato chips are really unhealthy. In a weak moment it’s so tempting to follow the fact that foods with a low glycemic index are generally better for you than foods with a high one, and eat that potato chip.
Have you ever been able to eat just one potato chip? I wouldn’t think so (at least I can’t).
So the easiest thing to do is just remember what you know in general about nutrition and avoid the potato chips all together, despite the fact that they have a relatively low glycemic index.
...and It Gets WorsePotatoes are healthy to start with and very filling, but the oil and the frying makes them unhealthy. There are other foods that are really unhealthy to start with and because they are mixed with fat they get a lower glycemic index and you may think they are fine to eat now and then.
Some of the worst low glycemic index foods you can eat, while on a weight loss regime are chocolate bars like Snickers, and M&M’s. They start out with a high content of sugar and because peanuts (with a high fat content) are added the glycemic index becomes very low.
The glycemic index of milk chocolate is 70 (still compared to 100 of white bread). Add some peanuts and make a Snickers bar and you get a glycemic index of 57, or make M&M’s and get a glycemic index of 46.
A glycemic index below 70 is considered low, so 57 and 46 sounds pretty OK. But if you compare that to the original glycemic index of the peanuts, which is 21, you realize that by adding sugar to the peanuts you raise the glycemic index and end up with a high-fat, high-calorie product.
There are some health benefits to peanuts, so a moderate consumption is fine even while you want to lose weight.
I hope this information has helped you to be more critical in your use of the glycemic index. Continue to choose low glycemic index foods, but keep you eyes open for unhealthy products that might sneak in under the radar.
With you on the weigh,
Eva
Return from Low Glycemic Index Foods To The Glycemic Index
Return to Healthy Weight Loss Made Easy
Healthy
Weight Loss
Made Easy
is powered by 
|
|
