|
|
      |
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
|
|
|
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
 |
What is the Glycemic Index?
Over the last 30 years, research into food and blood glucose response has completely changed our carbohydrate classification system. It has been learned that it is impossible to predict the impact on blood glucose levels by certain foods, instead people are fed carbohydrate foods and the response measured. This response is known as the Glycemic Index (GI), it is a measure of how quickly carbohydrate foods are digested and absorbed, and ranks carbohydrate foods according to their impact on blood sugar (glucose) levels: as indicted by elevated blood glucose. Foods with a high GI are absorbed quickly into the blood stream and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels. While foods with a low GI are broken down more slowly over time and keep blood glucose levels more stable (Remember that low is slow!). Some carbohydrate foods will maintain your energy levels for hours, while some may cause your blood glucose to rise and fall. Different types of carbohydrate can also affect feelings of fullness in the stomach and this can influence hunger and your ability to control your body weight. Why is the GI important? When our blood glucose levels are stable we have plenty of readily available fuel for the brain and muscles. If our blood glucose levels drop too low (hypoglycaemia) we feel tired, dizzy and generally unwell. If our blood glucose levels rise too quickly a rapid drop usually follows this. Include low glycemic index foods in meals and snacks to slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream. A low glycemic index snack a few hours before exercise will help maintain your energy levels for more effective training. After high intensity exercise (strength training) a high glycemic index snack should be consumed within 30 minutes. This will help to replace energy and start the recovery process. Low-GI foods take longer to digest and help delay hunger pangs that little bit more and thus promote weight loss. So please choose your carbs carefully as this will lower your insulin levels and burn more fat. The secret is to swap high GI foods with low GI foods. ---------------------------------------------------------- Step No 1 Start with a healthy, well balanced and varied diet based on a good nutrition program. The diet should be low in fats, moderate in carbohydrate and protein. The program should be high in fibre and contain a varied amount of foods to provide the required amount of vitamins and minerals. Step No 2 Look at the type of carbohydrates that you consume during the day. Look at the carbs that you eat the most, as these will have the most dramatic impact on your diet. Try to change the carbs you eat the most with at least one low GI one. (Replace potato with sweet potato, use noodles instead of rice) By substituting half of your daily carbohydrate from high GI to low GI will result in an overall reduction in the GI of your diet. Reducing the GI in your diet reduces your insulin levels and increases the fat burning apparatus in your body. Try to reduce the high GI's in your diet by substituting them with low GI's. Regular consumption of low GI foods increases the feelings of fullness and satisfaction and so prevents weight gain. Try taking in six small meals a day of healthy low fat low GI foods to prevent overeating at meal times and control appetite. Remember, that it is also important to look at the calories in food to. Rice and bread might be low in fat but when your body is burning the carbohydrates in these foods it doesn't burn as much fat. So if you are on a low fat diet, you wont lose as much weight if your calories are still high. Have a look at the table below for the different GI food ratings. Low GI () Compare these two menus and try to adjust your diet accordingly. High GI Menu Breakfast: 40 Grams of cornflakes with milk. Two slices of whole meal toast with margarine and jam. Snack: Two sweet biscuits with a white coffee. Lunch: Ham and salad whole meal Roll with an apple. Snack: Four crackers with cottage cheese and chives Main Meal: Serving of Roast chicken with a large baked potato and peas. Small piece of cake. Low GI Menu Breakfast: 40 Grams of bran with low fat milk. Two slices of low GI toast (Try Burgen) with margarine and jam. Snack: Two oatmeal biscuits with a coffee (Low fat milk). Lunch: Ham and salad Roll (Low GI bread). Soft-serve vanilla yogurt with toasted muesli sprinkled on top. Snack: Two bananas. Main Meal: Serving of Roast chicken with a small baked potato and peas. Two scoops of low fat ice cream with half a cup of canned peaches. Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, nuts, and avocados contain very little or no carbohydrates. These foods if eaten by themselves will not have much effect on your glucose levels and are very low GI. Alcoholic beverages especially wine are also low GI so can be included in your diet but remember to count them in your daily caloric intake. Low GI foods are ideal for losing weight due to the slow absorption from the gut. Low GI foods also help to keep blood sugar levels more stable and this has an effect on reducing sweet cravings. Gary Matthews is a fitness trainer from "down under" who has been coaching clients from athletes to bodybuilders for two decades. You may contact Gary directly at gary@maximumfitness.com and visit his website at http://www.maximumfitness.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Turn Off the Fat Genes - A Book Review Once in a while a good title comes along and "Turn Off the Fat Genes" is one of those titles that just have to be written about. If you are not familiar with Dr. Daily Weight Loss Motivation When you are faced with the daily challenge of trying to lose weight, you will need to find ways to stay motivated every day. The factors that keep weight loss motivation high include your specific goals, your ability to envision what you want to achieve, and the degree of success you have in the beginning. Weight Loss Surgery: A Last Resort Thinking about weight loss surgery? You're not alone. Over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. 5 Tips to Keep Your Mental Health in Shape as You Diet Losing weight and going on a diet can be quite challenging! As someone who has lost over 50 pounds, I will share a bit of my "dieting wisdom" with you.1. Loss Your Weight WEIGHT LOSS:Nutrition and weight-loss researchers say that some supplements can give you a advantage in the battle to be slim (helping you lose about 2 to 3 pounds a month).Protein can reduce hunger (thereby decreasing the calories you consume), help you preserve muscle as you lose weight, and help your body build more muscle, particularly if you include strength training in your fitness routine, Muscle burns more calories than fat and also helps you look trimmer, Kreider says, so strength training three times a week is a good addition to any weight-loss program. Body Dysmorphia: Mind Games After Gastric Bypass Surgery Maybe you've heard about body dysmorphia - it's a mental image many victims of anorexia nervosa have that tells them they look fat, even when they are emaciated. Bariatric patients can suffer from body dysmorphia as well. Six Secret Tips That Can Help You Lose Weight Fast 1. Include in your diet things that contain more water like tomatoes and watermelons. How To Avoid Gaining the Holiday 7 As the holidays approach, a frequent question from my clients and subscribers is "How can I avoid gaining weight during the holidays"? Their concern is legitimate. The average American adult gains seven pounds of fat between Thanksgiving and New Years Day. Take The Die out Of Dieting - Tips For Stress Free Weight Loss Not so resolved on that "New Year's Resolution" to be in shape this year? Not quite in the body that you wanted to spend this summer in? Are you sick of counting carb grams and worrying about all of the foods that you "can't eat" ? If You are tired of losing the same weight over and over, and feeling like a failure because your last "diet" didn't work, try these tips to not only lose weight, but lose it for good. I have watched hundreds of clients over the years and almost without exception, those that lose their weight once and for all have mastered these tips and made their weight loss Stress Free? Be Responsible for What You Eat -Studies show that people who are 20 or more pounds overweight underestimate their caloric intake by up to 1000 calories per day, while people of a normal weight under estimate by only several hundred, There are 2 main culprits for this. Resistance Training First; Fat Burning Second for Weight Loss Most men and women that I have trained over the years that were interested in weight loss, before meeting me their routine always included the bike or treadmill for 15-20 minutes or so, then proceeding on to the weights for some resistance training. Approximately one out of ten did both, and most either did one or the other. Can't Lose Weight? It May Not Be Your Fault! Are you frustrated with your weight problem and don't know what to do about it? Do you find that you lose weight at first, only to gain it all back later, and maybe more when you stop dieting, or when you find yourself bingeing? Are you fed up with weight loss programs that don't work?There is a good reason for that. You don't lack willpower. Weight Loss Equals Behavior Change - The Acceptance Factor Get to the ROOT of the matter: If the plants in your garden are not healthy looking, just trimming them back will not take care of the problem. What do the roots look like? I am no psychologist, but there is a very interesting twist you need to understand before you begin any weight loss or fitness program. Personalized Weight Loss Plans -- Breaking the Yo-Yo Cycle of Failed Diets Dieting will continue to fail most dieters, unless personalized weight loss plans become more available. A diet designed for a mass market will fail because the diet assumes everything is constant or the same between dieters. Weight Loss Diets with Negative Calorie Foods Negative calorie foods are said to use more calories to digest than the calorie content of the foods themselves, resulting in a negative calorie balance. It is therefore natural to consider a diet containing these foods for weight loss. Weight Loss with NO Dieting! The Five Mindsets for Success Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of it that works, but the basic principle of any good eating program, no matter how sugarcoated, centers around calories IN- calories OUT. Most diets are just too unrealistic for a person's lifestyle. Eat Out and Lose Weight -- 25 Easy & Healthy Tips for Dining Out Diners have become more health-conscious the last few years, and now want healthy choices whether eating at home or at their favorite restaurants. Luckily, the restaurant industry has been quick to accommodate the demand, so you'll find you have many options to "eat healthy" these days. Weight Loss Woes Weight loss is an issue that affects men and women alike. Children, particularly young girls, are also starting to think about weight loss at younger and younger ages. Weight Loss for Good! - The # 1 Secret! The only way you will ever follow through on an exercise program is to be sold out. The military calls them "lifers. The Secrets Behind Successful Diet Tips Explained Digestion is a chemical process. Our body combines different types of foods in our stomach using chemical reactions. Diet Tips for Weight Loss: Free Diet Tips Which You Cant Afford to Miss! (Part 2) Obesity is a disease that is not caused by a bacteria or virus but a person's own eating habits. It is a disease which is very easy to get rid off just by changing your food habits.
|
Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved. 
|
