G.I "diet"

[Rozlyn]

A friend has reccommended this to me and I'm curious to hear what everyone/anyone thinks about it. For anyone who doesn't know, it's all foods that are low cal and low in the glycemic index, or low sugar. It seems pretty common sense.

I'm hesitant to try it, when just eating sensibly w/smaller portions has worked for me in the past.

[Lost Dog]

There's really nothing magical about the GI Diet. It excludes certain foods and has you eat be certain rules. By doing this, encourages you to eat fewer calories. So, if you're eating fewer calories anyway...

[NACHO]

Originally Posted by Rozlyn

A friend has reccommended this to me and I'm curious to hear what everyone/anyone thinks about it. For anyone who doesn't know, it's all foods that are low cal and low in the glycemic index, or low sugar. It seems pretty common sense.

I'm hesitant to try it, when just eating sensibly w/smaller portions has worked for me in the past.

Low GI foods cause less of an insulin response.

If you're not eating more calories than you're using it doesn't matter. I haven't seen any research where the laws of thermodynamics get broken.*

This diet idea reminds me of Jorge. Over eating while only consuming low calorie and low GI foods would be difficult unless you're a very small person. It's just designed to get you into eating less and therefore losing weight.

"You don't have to count calories you can eat as much as you want of the foods on this small list .... magically you will lose weight." Oh powerful GI diet!

That is the key, low cal food AND low GI food. Consider that fat as part of a meal will lower the GI index of your meal. Yet fat is easily absorbed into your fat cells so if you're eat more calories than you needs with lots of fat in your diet diet along with low GI foods you will get fat even though you're eating low GI foods.

In the end, most meals people eat will be mixed meals. Some protein, some fat, some carbs and therefore what makes the biggest difference as to wether you gain or lose weight is calories. However there are plenty of people willing to take your money like these two clowns.

*Disclaimer I am new to this topic so there may be one.

[Half Full]

GI is not really important unless you're a diabetic. As said, the total GI of your whole meal is likely to even out if you're eating good food, and all diets like this end up somehow creating a deficit. There's nothing magical about any of them. Some "healthy" foods don't always qualify as low enough on the GI list either, so in some regards you might even miss out. And again, what matters is the meal, not per item.

[Josh Rider]

Some points to take into account:

-Low GI Foods cause less of an effect on blood sugar relative to high GI foods. That is essentially what GI is based on. Insulin index is based on insulin release. Although when sugar is consumed, insulin is released, GI doesn't measure insulin response directly.

-GI measures the glycemic response (effect on blood sugar) of foods in isolation from each other. As soon as a food is mixed with another food, the glycemic response can change drastically. For example, a potato may contribute to a quick blood sugar response on its own but if eaten with an 8 ounce steak, the GI number becomes meaningless as the rate of digestion as well as other factors change. And tell me, when does anyone eat a single food after a day of fasting?

-Glycemic Index is based on specific portions of food that are determined by weight (not sure the weight they use...I think its either 25g or 50g of a food). The problem with measuring the same weight for every food is that they may reflect different portion sizes than people actually consume of each food (1 pound of pinneaple isn't the same as a pound of cookies in terms of calories/portion size/satiety). Glycemic Load takes this into account and gives the effect of a specific portion of a food on blood sugar levels. Still, glycemic load still assumes a food is eaten in isolation.

-Much of the argument that people use on the effect of GI on body composition is based on the insulin hypothesis that chronically high insulin levels makes you gain weight and become fat. However, when you look at the insulin index of a food (a direct relative measure of how much insulin is produced in response to an isolated food entering the body), it doesn't exactly directly correlate with the GI. A chicken breast, for example, has an extremely low GI, but surprisingly causes a noticeable insulin spike.

There are still many points to take into account. However, in my opinion, the Glycemic Index/ Glycemic Load are best used as guidelines and not as a basis of a complete system.

[Rozlyn]

Thank you all for the info!

And that's weird about the chicken breast...but who am I to argue with the bodies reaction?


I think what you've all said has settled it for me. I'm just going to eat sensibly with smaller portions then previously.

I've never liked the idea of following a 'diet' anyways. The idea makes me feel like a sucker, ha.

A meal plan, sure. But add the word diet and something deep inside of me shudders. Probably the little fat girl who loves McDicks.

[enmark]

I think your first post had the right idea. Just eat sensible smaller portions. I am working on losing weight right now (see my blog). I am just going to eat sensible and cut out junk food. If that stops working then i will change something else. I think just pick one plan, stick to it, when it stops working, then make a small change.

[Josh Rider]

Originally Posted by Rozlyn

Thank you all for the info!

And that's weird about the chicken breast...but who am I to argue with the bodies reaction?

Sorry, I'm actually not sure about that particular example. I meant to say milk or whey protein powder but accidentally put in "chicken."