The Glycemic Index Diet (Also known as the GI Diet)
What is the GI Diet?
The GI Diet is a diet that allows you to consume a vast assortment of various foods that includes fats, carbohydrates and protein. The carbohydrates you consume have a low Glycemic Index (GI) this means that they release energy a lot more slowly thus allowing you to feel more satisfied for a lot longer. On this diet you won’t have to worry about putting the weight back on, as this diet is made to keep the weight off for good and you won’t even have to count calories on this diet. It’s aimed to help you lose weight slowly but it will also help you to manage and maintain your body weight for the rest of your life. Sharon Stone has been known to use this Diet.
How can the GI Diet help Weight Loss?
You will feel a lot less hungry when you eat low GI meals. So instead of trying to discipline your urges through your own willpower alone you are genuinely controlling them by making sure that your body is satisfied. The GI Diet should reduce your urge to over eat snacks.
The majority of GI Diets indicate that you would roughly lose about 1-2lbs a week however you will see an inconsiderable bigger loss of weight in the first couple of weeks rather than later. This will be when your body loses fat as well as water. This is following the recommended guidelines by Nurtritional experts.
The Diet is made up of two phases.
Phase One
Phase one is the section of the program which helps to aid weight loss by reducing your calorie intake by 500 a day this also helps you aim to lose at least a pound a week. This would roughly take about 3 months depending on how much weight you require to lose.
Phase Two
Phase Two is no longer about trying to lose weight but concentrates on sustaining your new weight. It also encourages you to exercise for 30 minutes and it can give you an opportunity to make minor alterations to your portion sizes and it incorporates some medium GI foods such as Popcorn, Banana’s and Chocolate. The plan behind Phase Two is aimed to constitute a healthy eating plan to help you maintain your ideal weight for the rest of your life. However, no worries if you put the pounds on again you can just follow Phase One again and get yourself back on track.
The Basic Rules of the Diet
– Unlike the majority of other diets you can incorporate fats, carbohydrates and protein into the GI Diet. And you are allowed to eat three meals a day; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
– You are also allowed to have a snack mid morning, mid afternoon and one just before you go to bed. Low GI snacks tend to give you an energy lift and it also stops you disembarking onto high GI foods.
– When consuming a meal the basis of the meal should be vegetables as well as salad which of course you can eat as much as you desire apart from a few exceptions.
– There is no calorie counting on this diet, and the standard meal should consist of half your plate filled with vegetables. Fish, Poultry, and Meat should cover a quarter of the plate and rise or pasta should cover the quater of the plate that’s left.
Healthy GI Foods include the following;
- Fresh Fruits- any type of fruit. Choose a selection
- Dry Fruits- berries, apricots
- Dairy- Reduced-fat cheese, reduced-fat fruit yoghurt, fat-free milk and reduced-fat Ice Cream
- Frozen fruits- berries are very good but any type of fruit will do
- Eggs- Organic
- Bread- any wholemeal bread
- Nuts- peanuts, Brazil and Walnuts
- Frozen Vegetables- Corn, Spinach, Broccoli, Cauliflower
- Canned Vegetables- Beans, mushrooms, carrots, peas
- Fresh Vegetables- choose a selection
- Oats and Oat Bran- add to recipes or cereal
- Pasta- majority of pasta’s are good
- Beans- (canned or dry) kidney, soya, Lima etc
- Rice- long grain brown rice, basmati
- Noodles- dry thin egg noodles
- Canned Fish in Water- sardines, salmon, tuna
- Oils- flaxseed, wheatgerm, olive oil
- Condiments- soya, chilli sauce, lemon juice
- Lentils- any type
- Beverages- fruit juices, bottled water
