The glycemic index, or GI, estimates the effect that foods with carbohydrates may have on your blood sugar levels. A GI diet for weight loss may be attractive to you because it emphasizes food choices instead of counting calories. Get your doctor's approval before beginning any diet for weight loss, and evaluate all of your options before starting.
Background
On a GI diet for weight loss, you choose foods that have a low glycemic index to avoid drastic increases and decreases in your blood sugar levels. According to MayoClinic.com, people who follow a low-GI diet claim that it helps you lose weight because it keeps you feeling full for longer than if you eat high-GI foods that are digested quickly. Aside from the carbohydrates, the GI does not consider the nutrients in a food. To make sure your GI diet for weight loss is healthy, choose a balanced diet with nutrient-dense foods.
Food Choices
Your GI diet for weight loss should increase your low-GI foods and reduce your high-GI choices. According to Iowa State University, some low-GI possibilities are raw apples, pears, kidney beans, soybeans, lentils, milk, spaghetti and barley. Waffles, doughnuts, baked and mashed potatoes, white bread, honey, candy, carrots, soft drinks and crackers are high-GI. Only have limited amounts of foods with a moderate GI, such as fruit juice, peas, white rice, grapes and potato chips.
Estimating GI
The GI is not indicated on most food labels, so you may need to look it up on a glycemic index list (see Resources). However, the list might not include the specific food that you are looking for, so you may need to determine whether it fits in your diet. In general, processing tends to raise the GI, so raw fruits and vegetables may have a lower GI than cooked and canned, and refined grains, such as white bread and pasta, are have a higher GI than whole grains, such as oatmeal or whole grain pasta. Foods with added sugars, such as sugar, corn syrup or honey, tend to have a high GI.
Potential Benefits
Your calorie balance determines whether you lose weight, so a GI diet for weight loss could be successful if it decreases your hunger and helps you eat fewer calories. MayoClinic.com states that low-GI foods may be high in dietary fiber and protein, which can make you feel full. Since a GI diet limits high-GI foods that cause sugar spikes, another potential benefit of a GI diet is that it may reduce your risk for developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, talk to your doctor if you are concerned about your weight or blood sugar.
