The Glycemic Index: Key To Weight Loss Or Just Another Diet Gimmick?

According to advocates of the glycemic index system, foods that are high on the GI scale such as rice cakes, carrots, potatoes, or grape juice are “unfavorable” and should be avoided because high GI foods are absorbed quickly, raise blood sugar rapidly and are therefore more likely to convert to fat or cause health problems.

Instead, we are urged to consume carbohydrates that are low on the GI scale such as black eye peas, old fashioned oatmeal, peanuts, apples and beans because they do not raise blood sugar as rapidly.

While the GI does have some useful applications, such as the use of high GI foods or drinks for post workout nutrition and the strong emphasis on low GI foods for those with blood sugar regulation problems, there are flaws in strictly using the glycemic index as your only criteria to choose carbs on a weight loss program.

For example, the glycemic index is based on eating carbohydrates by themselves in a fasted state. If you are following effective principles of fat-burning and muscle building nutrition, you should be eating small, frequent meals to increase your energy, maintain lean body mass and optimize metabolism for fat loss. However, since the glycemic index of various foods was developed based on eating each food in the fasted state, the glycemic index loses some of its significance.

In addition, when you are on a diet program aimed at improving body composition (losing fat or gaining muscle), you will usually be combining carbs and protein together with each meal for the purposes of improving your fat to muscle ratio. When carbs are eaten in mixed meals that contain protein and some fat, the glycemic index loses even more of its significance because the protein and fat slows the absorption of the carbohydrates (as does fiber).

Mashed potatoes have a glycemic index near that of pure glucose, but combine the potatoes with a chicken breast and broccoli and the glycemic index of the entire meal is lower than the potatoes by itself.

Rice cakes have a very high glycemic index, but if you were to put a couple tablespoons of peanut butter on them, the fat would slow the absorption of the carbs, thereby lowering the glycemic index of the combination.

A far more important and relevant criteria for selecting carbs – as well as all your other foods, proteins and fats included – is whether they are natural or processed. To say that a healthy person with no metabolic disorders should completely avoid natural, unprocessed foods like carrots or potatoes simply because they are high on the glycemic index is ridiculous.

I know many bodybuilders (myself included) who eat high glycemic index foods such as white potatoes every day right up until the day of a competition and they reach single digit body fat. How do they do it if high GI foods “make you fat?” It’s simple – high GI foods DON’T necessarily make you fat – choosing natural foods and burning more calories than you consume are far more important factors. Although it’s not correct to say that all calories are created equal, a calorie deficit is the most important factor of all when fat loss is your goal.

The glycemic index is clearly not a “gimmick” and should not be completely disregarded, as it is a definitely a legitimate nutritional tool. Is it a good idea to eat low GI foods in general? Sure. Is eating high GI foods after your workouts a good idea? Absolutely. But diet programs which hang their hats on glycemic index alone as the “miracle solution” are just another example of how one single aspect of nutrition can be used as a “hook” in marketing and said to be the “end all be all” of fat loss, when it’s really only one small piece of the puzzle.

Eating Low glycemic index foods alone does NOT guarantee you will lose fat. You have to take in the bigger picture, which includes calories/energy balance, meal timing and frequency, macronutrient composition, choice of processed versus refined foods as well as how all these nutritional factors interact with your exercise program.

The Hidden Costs Of Dieting

I personally have not heard of the Warrior Diet until today. But with so many of these programs cropping up, it’s not a shock that I can’t keep up with them all. Just like supplements, somebody has a twist on just about everything.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these diets work and there’s a few exceptions where people are able to stay on them literally for years!But first a warning: The REAL reason they say 90% or more of dieters fail is because the word “diet” itself is a short-term concept. When you think of your eating habits as short-term, you are bound to fail and go back to eating the way you used to.

Here’s 3 key concepts you need to consider when thinking about dieting.

Key Concept #1:

The diet concept sets you up for quick results. When it comes to the human body, all of us want something for nothing. We want changes immediately. This attitude applies to losing fat, building muscles or just getting in shape.

For starters…

There are no miracle means when it come to good nutrition practices. With thousands of foods to choose from and using different food combinations, you can see how easy it would be to create a variety of diets using multiple dieting angles.

Many diets can leave the individual’s metabolism in a damaged state simply because so many of these trendy diets are deficient in important macro- and -micronutrient. More often than not, they do not provide adequate nutrition for athletes or individuals who are attempting to get into better shape and have increased dietary needs.

Believe me, some of them are too low in protein or carbohydrates to support and athlete and others are much too high in fat to be healthy.

Fact is: Many dieters end up losing weight (which can be a combination of water, muscle and fat) initially but end up gaining it all back and then some. That is extremely frustrating to the dieter who them embarks on yet another trendy diet in an effort to lose the weight again.

Sometimes this is referred to “yo-yo” dieting as the person loses weight, gains more back, loses more and ultimately just destroys their body’s metabolism and frustrates them to no end.

And that’s just the start…

Key Concept #2:

Take a look at a book store shelf at any given time in the nutrition/health section and you will see a wide variety of the latest diets. Some have been around for years, others disappear once the money runs out.

Did you know that anybody can be successful at weight loss if they eat fewer calories than their body needs?Many of these diets are made-up with a hidden agenda of an advertising company, supplement company or somebody else with serious monetary investments.

Keep in mind that with any of these diets, you should ask yourself if…

Does the program integrate physical activity?
Does the program account for personal preferences based on lifestyle and career?
How fast does the program encourage weight loss or muscle gain?
Does the program help change negative behaviors into positive behaviors?
What kind of professional support is provided?
What kind of maintenance program is provided?Finally…
Key Concept #3:

Avoid Them!Most of these hyped-up, trendy diets are counterproductive to your goals and could end up harming you. You should know by now that any nutritional plan must be designed to meet the needs of the individual (metabolic requirements and goals). Let’s look at just one simple example…

A marathon runner requires much less protein then a bodybuilder does!Just by knowing that, you can see that many of these diets do not take into account the nutritional needs of each individual.

More recent scientific studies report that the best way to get into shape is not to overeat, get less than 25% of your daily calories from fats, have a diet moderate in protein and complex carbohydrates, eat whole foods rather than processed, get plenty of fiber and have fruits and vegetables.

So what’s why you can forget about diets and simply learn how to eat correctly, safely and healthy for the rest of your life. If you do this, you will be able to burn off all the fat you want, gain all the muscle you need and never be on any trendy diet again.

The importance of a balanced diet for weight loss

She wakes up every morning to run to her office. She skips breakfast and lunch that she calls ‘dieting’. Once she gets out of office she eats a vada pav and then eats a heavy dinner to end her day. She expects to lose weight and thinks that she is leading a healthy lifestyle. But all that she is doing is losing hold on her health.

This is the story of millions of people today. They skip meals and when they eat they end up eating a lot more than they should out of hunger. This makes them lose and gain weight in a dangerous manner that can prove to be really unhealthy and harmful in the long run. Besides weight loss must always be proportionate. You cannot just try to build your upper body and ignore the lower ones. So what should one do then?

The answer to that is have a balanced diet for weight loss. It is only a balanced diet with the right amount of meals and nutrition that is going to help us lose weight. Dieting gets you absolutely nowhere. In fact health experts consider it the worst thing to have ever struck human beings. Instead of dieting if one eats right and exercises right there can be a whole lot of difference as far as weight loss is concerned and it will be beneficial to your health as well. So what does one include in a balanced diet for weight loss? The answer to that is a lot of nutrition.

One must include the right amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats and carbohydrates in your diet. One should make sure they don’t consume too much of oily food which only add to the calories. A once in a while splurge is fine but what is important is that after meals, the exercise regime is carried out on a regular basis. A balanced diet for weight loss and a strict regime of exercise is what will see you through.

Another method that is followed by many today is using weight loss supplements. These supplements make you lose weight in a quicker and efficient way. But sadly most people feel that only these weight loss supplements are enough. You still need to exercise and eat a well balanced diet for weight loss. You have to burn calories and fats – they won’t go away by themselves. You should also keep a check on your consumption levels and avoid extra fats. Weight supplement companies will only sell their products and not mention these things. It is you who has to take care of such things.

Weight loss supplements will help you by improving your metabolism. It can actually turn your body into a fat burning machine. They prevent fats from being digested in your system. So the benefits are many. A balanced diet for weight loss, weight loss supplements and a positive mindset are the main ingredients to a healthy lifestyle. Lose weight the right way before it is too late!