GI Diet
She Knows : Diet and Fitness : Diet and Weight Loss : The GI Diet Plan
The GI Diet Plan
Deborah Clark
If you have followed a food plan in the last 20 years, a form of the Glycemic Index (GI) was more than likely used to calculate the portions you consumed. The Glycemic Index was developed in the 1970s by nutritionist David Jenkins, a professor at the University of Toronto. He wanted to devise a method to help diabetics better utilize food to regulate their insulin levels.
|
Understanding the GI Plan
The GI values are the basis for most of today’s low-carb diets. Atkins, South Beach, the Zone and Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Loss Solution all use the GI to determine which foods, specifically carbohydrates, are allowed and disallowed. But for some diets, such carbohydrate restrictions are counter productive, especially for people with health problems.
Enter Richard Gallop. As the president of the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation, he read everything about the GI values of foods. He followed a plan based on the information and lost 20 pounds. He also found the calculations confusing and devised a highly-visual method to help others use his plan effectively.
He created a new look for the traditional dinner plate. He sectioned it into quarters and gave one quarter to protein and one to carbohydrates. The other half of the plate was for fruits and vegetables. To help choose the best foods to put on the plate, he developed a stoplight of foods to use.
Just like a traffic light, red means stop, don’t eat these foods except on special occasions. Yellow means, use caution and eat sparingly. Green, of course, means go, eat what you like. Gallop’s only restriction is that proteins and carbohydrates must always be eaten in proportion.
"I wanted to let people know the real cause of their weight problem without having to perform difficult mathematical calculations or having to go hungry," says Gallop. The key is to choose green light foods. Most green light foods are fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fat-free dairy and whole grains.
His book, The GI Diet: The Easy Healthy Way to Permanent Weight Loss, was published in 2002. In addition to the foods listed in color-coded guide, Gallop also includes pantry and shopping guides to help you plan a successful journey to healthier living.
Losing weight
"I couldn’t believe how great I felt, from the first week I started using the stop-light plan," says Dorothy White of Winnipeg, Manitoba. "I lost seven pounds and my blood pressure dropped too. My doctor is very happy!" But Dorothy found it difficult to eat six times during the day recommended by the GI Diet.
"I skipped breakfast or ate too much of the wrong things," she says. Because she works nights, she found that the three hours between eating was another challenge. But once she started reminding herself of the weight she lost the first week, staying on the plan was easier.
When diabetes threatened his health, Neil Clark of Dobbinton, Ontario, implemented the GI Diet Plan. He has lost 50 pounds and has kept it off for four years.
"I was really a meat and potatoes guy," says Clark. "Vegetables were just a little something on the side. Now I really enjoy salads too."
Christian Finn, MS, founder of factsaboutfitness.com says that adding vinegars or lemon juice to salads, along with olive oils, can lower the gylcemic index of any meal. "Some fruits and vegetables contain a form of fiber which helps to slow the rate at which sugar is released into the blood. This helps to lower the glycemic index."
While the GI Diet Plan’ can make using the glycemic index easier, there still are complications to be considered. "Many of the popular assumptions about the glycemic index (such as all foods with a high-glycemic index raise insulin levels and hunger to a greater extent than those with a low glycemic index) are false," Finn says. So, take some time to research it and see if it is really right for you.
Resources
The official site for the GI Diet Plan, www.gidiet.com
A list of the Glycemic value of foods, www.glycemicindex.com
A complete nutritional breakdown of all foods, www.mikesartcooking.com/cooking/search/nutrition 
Some related links and information for you…
· Click here to get a complimentary $50 savings bond!
· All articles and features at Pregnancy & Baby
· Find everything for pregnancy!
· Myria - for your life as a mom
· Get meals delivered to your door!
· Editor’s pick: My Big Fat Greek Wedding DVD
About the author: Deborah Clark is a freelance writer, currently working on a family-friendly lifestyle-healthy cookbook, "Kids to Cuisine."
