I constantly see people talking about being on a diet, just coming off a diet, thinking about going on a diet. I think it is time to talk about why people have so many issues around weight and in particular weight loss.
First if someone is serious about losing weight they must consider a variety of factors. To effectively lose weight and keep it off requires dedication and then moderation. Too many times dieting involves doing without and then when the diet is over there is a sense of relief and old habits come back.
First understand the glycemic index and what foods are good for you and what goods might not be so good. The glycemic index is actually quite easy to follow once you understand it. The image below shows the good, bad, and ugly when it come to the glycemic index.
Once you know you need to eat low glycemic foods then find a chart like the one provided to give you some guidance on what foods you should or shouldn’t eat.
It is actually quite easy to follow the food recommendations in the glycemic index. It is obvious that there are certain foods you should always avoid, however there are surprises in there too. Almost all root vegetables are classified as simple sugars or simple carbohydrates. They convert very quickly to sugar in the body and therefore will spike your blood sugar. If you want to lose weight then keep potatoes out of your diet all the time! Sorry that means french fries too!
The goal when you eat is to remain in the healthy green zone and not go into the yo-yo zone because your blood sugar going up and down is unhealthy and will cause cravings and unhealthy food choices. See the chart below to see what happens when you fall out of the green zone.
Once someone understands the glycemic index then the next step is to understand the glycemic load. The glycemic load (GL) of food is a number that estimates how much the food will raise a person’s blood glucose level after eating it. One unit of glycemic load approximates the effect of consuming one gram of glucose.
You can go to http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm to see what the load is for many of the foods you eat.
There are many failed attempts at dieting simply because the person who is on the diet does not understand the triggers that cause cravings and the overwheling desire to eat anything in sight. First and most important step in my view is understanding how our blood sugar goes up and down based on the foods we eat. Once this is understood then it becomes much simpler to maintain a healthy diet and lose weight without starving.
Have a great week!
John–One Hip Guy