GI Plan Diet

The GI diet focuses on making healthy food choices, based on the food's GI---glycemic index---rating. The glycemic index measures how quickly your body converts food to blood sugar. The faster this happens, the higher the GI rating. When your body converts food to glucose---blood sugar---too quickly, your blood sugar spikes and you are left wanting more food.

Foods

Low GI foods are given a green light to eat, moderate GI foods are given a yellow light to eat in moderation and high GI foods should be avoided. Highly processed sugars and grains are generally in the red rating. You are encouraged to eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats.

Phases

There are two phases to the GI diet. Phase one only allows green-light foods. Much of the food in this category is high in fiber and low in calories and fat, helping you become full faster. When you achieve your weight loss goal, you move to phase two, which is where you stay. Phase two helps you maintain your new weight, allowing you to eat green and yellow-light foods. The diet is 55 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent protein and 20 percent fat, according to Health magazine.

Exercise

Exercise is encouraged on the GI diet. Rick Gallop, who authored the book "The G.I. Diet," recommends 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week. His book makes it clear that foods have has the larger impact on weight loss, but exercise is important and healthy when coupled with the diet. Choose something you actually like and something that suits your personality and lifestyle.

Benefits

The GI diet does not require measuring food portions or counting out calories. Your foods are divided into a red, yellow and green-light list. You just need to visually fill your plate with the diet's recommendations---one quarter of the plate with meat or protein, one quarter with whole grains and the other half of the plate with vegetables.

Considerations

Health magazine states that some experts say they are unsure how effective the diet is. While the diet is healthy, it does not specify portion sizes for specific food items. It is possible to overeat certain foods. Some dieters may completely avoid red-light foods, which could mean missing the health benefits of some foods, such as white potatoes. Take care how you prepare the food and how you eat it to ensure the diet will be a success.