Losing weight isn't easy. Calorie-restricted diets often leave you feeling hungry, making it hard for you to stick with it over the long term. But a glycemic diet meal plan may be able to control your hunger and boost your weight-loss plan.
Diet Basics
The glycemic diet ranks foods on a scale of zero to 100 on its effects on your blood sugar. Only carbohydrate-containing foods have a glycemic index ranking. Foods with a low glycemic index ranking, less than 55, cause only a small rise in blood sugars, while foods with a high glycemic index, greater than 70, cause a rapid rise in blood sugar. Eating more low glycemic index foods will allow for a slower release of sugar, or energy, into your bloodstream, helping to control hunger and sustain your energy levels. A glycemic diet meal plan should consist of mostly low-glycemic foods.
Breakfast
A glycemic breakfast meal may include scrambled eggs with two slices of whole grain pumpernickel toast with 1 teaspoon of margarine, nonfat milk and a fresh orange. Most fruits and whole grains have a low glycemic index. These foods are high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Another glycemic diet breakfast meal may consist of cooked rolled oats with sliced strawberries and chopped walnuts, served with nonfat milk.
Lunch
You can still include foods with a high glycemic index on your glycemic diet if you combine them with low glycemic foods, according to the American Diabetes Association. A glycemic lunch meal includes a tuna sandwich on two slices of whole grain wheat bread with a tossed salad, whole grain crackers and watermelon. You can also have a cold pasta salad made with whole wheat penne pasta with cooked broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, cooked chickpeas and Italian dressing, served with nonfat yogurt and an apple.
Dinner
In addition to choosing low glycemic foods, you should also choose more lean cuts of meat, such as poultry and fish, and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods to limit your total calorie and saturated fat intake. Eating too much saturated fat can increase your blood cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease. A glycemic dinner meal may include grilled salmon with brown rice and steamed green beans. Or you can have roasted turkey breast with a baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli.
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