With a GI diet plan you’re basically eliminating as much sugar from your diet as possible. What most people don’t realize is that sugar has a huge impact on your health. Some would go as far as to say that sugar is one of the worst things you can put in your body.

Some Foods to Eat When Following a GI Diet

Before you get started on a glycemic index diet plan, the first thing you’ll want to do is raid your cupboards and get rid of all the bad foods. You’ll want to ditch everything that is full of sugar and salt, expecially all the processed foods.

You’ll want to make whole foods a major part of your diet, such as whole grain cereals and breads. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day will be very important. And don’t forget things like raw carrots, green and red pepper, celery, and other raw vegetables.

Even if you spent just one weekend eating nothing but raw vegetables, oats, wheats and some fruits, you would see the positive results. Following this type of diet can do some pretty amazing things – all of which will benefit you.

With all the unhealthy foods readily available everywhere you look these days, it can be difficult figuring out what food is good for you and what is bad. If you have any questions, you can always talk to a nutritionist. They can help you with setting up a glycemic index diet that is right for you. That’s probably a good place to start.

Originally, research on GI began as a way to control diabetes. The basic idea of GI was to reduce the problems associated with insulin by identifying the foods that have higher impact on the blood sugar.

The Glycemic Index system ranks the food items from 0-100, with the lower ranking being better. This is done as per the effect of various carbohydrate food sources on the level of blood sugar after eating. When consuming foods with low GI values (less than 55), there is a gradual rise in the sugar level, and it is easy on the body. Foods between 55-70 are known to be intermediate GI foods, and more than 70 are high GI foods.

Some Useful Low GI Diet Recipes Worth Considering

Chicken with lemon would be a healthy, and tasty, low Gi recipe to consider.

Ingredients:

1. 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2. 2 tbsp lemon juice
3. 2tbsp olive oil
4. 3 cloves of crushed garlic
5. 2tbsp of white wine

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and coat the chicken thoroughly. Chill for about 20 minutes, and then grill for another 10 minutes on each side under high heat. You can serve it with basmati rice, baby carrots or steamed broccoli.

Beef with pepper is another great low GI diet recipe.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz of lean beef that has been trimmed of all the visible fat
• 3 cloves of crushed garlic
• 4 chopped bell peppers
• 3 chopped carrots
• Juice of two lemons
• 2 cups of chopped broccoli
• 8 oz can of chick peas
• 10 oz of cooked basmati rice

Make sure to include asparagus, cucumber, artichoke, lettuce, fennel, tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, collards, kale, parsley, cauliflower and cilantro in your diet, as these vegetables have a low GI index. Raw vegetables have low GI due to their fiber content. Cooking these vegetable raises their glycemic number as it alters the quality of fiber, making the carbohydrates more readily available to the body.

Foods such as white bread should not be a part of your GI diet, as it isn’t a high fibre food and has a high GI (70). Make sure you eat bran cereals and avoid cereals such as Cornflakes.

And don’t forget the holiday season! It is very important to follow low GI recipes during this season, otherwise you’ll end up overeating the processed and refined foods such as pies, cakes and cookies. You don’t have to deprive yourself of the seasonal treats, just try to combine them with low GI foods and you should be okay.

During the Atkins diet induction phase, you should be eating three normal-sized meals per day or four to five smaller meals. If you find that you’re getting hungry between meals, you should break your meals down into smaller portions and eat more frequently.

To stave off carb cravings, you’ll need to keep your body running on the proteins and vegetables in the plan. Don’t skip meals or go more than six waking hours without food!

Remember that the Atkins diet is not a calorie-restricted diet. So you can eat freely from the list of acceptable foods. Don’t restrict your fats and proteins.

The only thing you should be concerned about is your carbohydrate intake. Make sure you count the grams when eating veggies, cheese and beverages with Splenda. About 12-15 grams of your allowed 20 grams of carbs should be from the vegetable list. Veggies are important to your digestive system.

You must avoid fruit, bread, pasta, grains and starchy vegetables such as cauliflower or squash during this initial period. These will slowly be introduced throughout the course of the pre-maintenance phase.

If you really feel that you should have some grain products in your diet, make sure it’s limited to high fiber low-carbohydrate. This may slow down your weight loss though.

Here is an example of an Atkins Induction menu:

Breakfast

Breakfast menus for the induction phase should not total more than six grams of carbohydrates. Eggs, bacon, ham, and cheeses will work quite well.

Sample menu: 2-egg omelet with chèvre and chives, bacon and decaf coffee.

Lunch

A small salad with a burger or meat salad would make for a good lunch.

Sample menu: Chicken salad, mesclun mix salad (1 cup) with sugar-free dressing, sugar-free gelatin, water or tea.

Dinner

Meals are fairly simple at this stage, as your 20g daily carb limit dictates that dinner should be no more than 7g of carbs. Still, with a little creativity, dinner can be very fulfilling.

Sample menu: smoked salmon appetizer, Caesar salad (no croutons), steak au poivre, steamed broccoli, sugar-free gelatin.

Snacks

Beef jerky, vienna sausages, cheese (remember each ounce of cheese counts as one gram of carb), hard-boiled eggs, pork rinds.

During the Induction phase, anything that isn’t on the acceptable food list is forbidden. Don’t be tempted to try anything else. You’ll end up ruining your diet.

You should adjust the quantity of acceptable Atkins diet foods to eat to suit your appetite. At the start of the Atkins diet Induction phase, you may find yourself eating more than at the end of the phase. As your body breaks its addiction to sugar and carbs, you’ll be less hungry throughout the day. When this starts to happen, you should only eat what you need. Don’t be stuffing yourself.

Always read the labels of packaged products. Even though some may say they’re “carb free”, if a product has fewer than .5 grams of carbohydrates, the law will allow the manufacturer to round it off to zero.

Remember to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. This will keep your body well-hydrated. You’ll also be able to flush out the by-products created by fat burning.

By keeping these guidlines in mind and eating the foods on the Atkins diet Induction menu, you will be paving the way for long-term weight loss success.

There’s a lot of foods rich in carbohydrates, but they’re all different and act differently in our bodies. GI or glycemic index ranks the carbs as per their effect on the blood glucose level of the body.

There Are Many Benefits to Following a Low GI Diet

Diets that are high in glycemic index can be harmful to your body. For obese people who are inactive, consuming foods which are high GI can be very risky. Gradually following a low GI diet tickles glucose in the blood stream, and keeps the energy level balanced.

Here are a few things that a low GI diet can do:

• Help you lose weight
• Increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin
• Reduces blood cholesterol level
• Reduce the risk of heart disease
• Controls your hunger by making you feel full longer
• Prolong physical endurance
• Manage the symptoms of PCOS
• Improves diabetes control
• Re-fuels the carbohydrate stores after exercise

A low GI diet can include any of the following foods:

• Breakfast cereals based on barley, bran and oats
• Whole-grain breads
• Basmati rice
• Most types of fruits and vegetables
• Spaghetti
• Noodles
• Quinoa
• Salad with vinaigrette dressing

GI ranking is done from 1-100. Foods with a low GI value slowly raise blood glucose levels in the body. Very high levels of glucose can be damaging to our blood vessels and arteries.

• Low GI foods have a range of less than 55
• Medium GI foods have a range between 55 and 69
• Hi GI foods are considered anything over 70

Eating a low GI diet prevents the sudden spikes, and dramatic falls of blood glucose, providing a stable stream of energy. This reduces the risk of heart disease, and many other chronic diseases which occur due to fluctuations in blood-glucose.

A sudden increase in the glucose also stimulates hunger. Following a low GI diet will make you feel full for a longer period of time, which results in you eating less frequently.

It’s recommended that at least two of your meals in the day include low GI foods. You don’t have to know about the GI value of each food.

Fruits and vegetable must be eaten every day, and most potatoes, except for sweet potatoes,  should be avoided. If you insist on consuming high GI foods, make sure that you eat small portions, and mix them up with low GI foods. It’s also important to note that just because you’re following a low GI diet, it doesn’t mean that you can indulge.

If you’re looking for low GI recipes, you’ll be glad to know that it’s easy to find them in cookbooks or on the Internet. These are recipes which are simple to follow and great for your health.

When making food choices, you’ll need to keep the Atkins food pyramid in mind. The Atkins pyramid looks much different than the USDA Food Guide Pyramid, which recommends a diet rich in carbohydrate consumption.

To lose weight, you should eat lean protein products from the base of the Atkins Food Guide Pyramid. This includes poultry, fish, beef, pork and soy products. Your diet should consist of these foods on a daily basis.

The second tier includes vegetables such as salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and spinach.

The third level is made up of fruits like blueberries, raspberries, avocados and pears. Fruits should be used on an occasional basis after the initial stages of the Atkins diet.

Moving up the pyramid is Vegetable and seed oils, cheese, dairy, nuts and legumes. These are used sparingly and in appropriate portions.

While the FDA pyramid has oils and fats at the top peak, the Atkins pyramid places whole grain foods in this spot. Whole grain foods should be used sparingly as they don’t make up the mainstay of the Atkins diet.

When you start the Atkins plan, you’ll need to make sure you understand which foods are acceptable for your stage of the program. The Induction phase is the most restrictive, but it only lasts two weeks.

If you want to reach your weight loss goals, then you owe it to yourself to follow the diet and stay within the acceptable foods list. One of the best ways to do this is to follow the Atkins menu plans that are in the New Diet Revolution book by Dr. Robert C. Atkins. You can also follow the Atkins cookbooks that are geared toward other low carb diets that are helpful in formulating meal plans.

It’s probably a good idea to keep a cheat sheet of acceptable Atkins foods wherever you go. It could be tough to remember what foods you can and can’t eat when you’re out and about and hungry. Having a list with you will make finding a suitable meal a lot easier.

You can’t always rely on “low carb” labels to tell you whether or not something is diet friendly. Relying on foods from your own personal list is the best way to stay within the plan.

Another good resource for keeping track of the appropriate Atkins foods is an online diet program. There are several available. Some are free and some have a small monthly fee. These programs require you to register and then they provide you with personal weekly menu plans based on your needs. There are normally printable weekly shopping lists that make picking up your Atkins diet foods from the grocery store quick and easy.

Finding Atkins diet foods to eat is easy once you know what you’re looking for. The books, food pyramid and online resources that are available will assist you in making the smart food choices. If it’s healthy weight loss you want, the Atkins diet will help you get there.