The best diet to follow for weight loss is a low fat high fiber diet. Fruit and vegetables, whole grains and dairy products contain natural sugars, also knows as carbohydrates. The key to weight loss is combining these carbohydrate foods correctly. You must train your metabolism to eat smaller fiber rich meals and snacks more often. This keeps a steady supple of energy circulating throughout your body.
Fill Up With Fiber to Eat Low Glycemic
Fiber is a component of every carbohydrate. Whole grains contain fiber. White products are made of grains that are refined (stripped of fiber), and then enriched with vitamins and minerals. Fiber plays many useful roles in the body; most importantly it helps us to eliminate waste. High fiber diets are favored for weight loss because fiber acts as an appetite suppressant and helps to release sugar molecules slowly into the bloodstream.
The Glycemic Index is a revolutionarily new concept discovered in the early 1980's. The Glycemic Index is defined as a numerical ranking system which rates how fast carbohydrate foods break down into glucose (sugar) and enter the bloodstream. Foods lower in the Glycemic Index, fewer than 55, tend to conserve insulin and hormones. This means that food slower in the glycemic Index are favored to eat for weight loss.
Eating foods low in the glycemic index may help to:
- control your appetite
- lower cholesterol
- improve blood glucose levels
- lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes
Low glycemic foods generally include: green vegetables, berries, beans and whole grains. Animal flesh sources of protein contain no carbohydrates. Dairy products with no added sugar also tend to be lower in the Glycemic Index. The more sucrose (table sugar), a processed food contains the higher the Glycemic Index. Most white carbohydrates (pasta, bread, crackers ) are also high in the Glycemic Index and should be substituted with whole grain forms to achieve faster weight loss.
Try to eat foods such as
barley, bulgar, couscous and lentils more often. This high fiber low glycemic foods help to fill you up while providing many trace minerals. Many vegetarian meals are low glycemic and vegetarian cookbooks contain recipes for low glycemic dishes.
If you’d like to speed up your weight loss, or improve your general healthy and wellness I suggest including more low Glycemic foods in your diet. Make simple changes; eat a high fiber breakfast cereal, whole grain bread for lunch, and a tossed salad with supper. Don’t forget to include more water in your diet. Fiber needs water to expand and be used correctly by your body systems. For maximum weight loss, aim to drink 8 -10 glasses of good quality water per day.
Eating a low Glycemic diet ensures you will always be full. In my nutritional consulting practice, Positive Change Nutrition, www.rachellewood.ca, I encourage my clients to eat low glycemic food more often. This diet is high in fiber and low in fat. It provides most nutrients, and is high in fruit and vegetables. If you would like to learn more about the Glycemic Index check your local library or bookstore for Glycemic Index diet books.