If you want to lose weight, and have great energy, consider eating low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates at each meal.

What's the GI? The glycemic index ranks carbs, assigning them a value out of 100 according to their effect on your blood sugar.

Eating high GI value carbs leads to rapid rises in blood sugar levels and insulin; high insulin levels are implicated in killer diseases like heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. By choosing carbs from the lower end of the GI, your blood sugar stays level throughout the day.

Here are some ideas for how you can get the GI on your side:

Low GI breakfasts
• Grains: kasha (buckwheat groats), millet, bulgur (cracked wheat);
• Wholemeal or fruit toast;
• Bran muffin.

Low GI mid-morning snack:
• Skim milk smoothie;
• Oatmeal cookie;
• Low-fat fruit yoghurt.

Low GI lunch:
• Salad sandwich on wholemeal bread;
• Pasta salad (with al dente pasta);
• Rice or bean salad.

Low GI mid-afternoon Snack:
• Dried apricots or sultanas;
• Banana bread;
• Fruit salad.

Add some low GI foods to dinner:
• Pasta, rice, pita bread, pumpernickel or sourdough bread;
• Toss additional beans, grains or pasta into a soup;
• Substitute beans or lentils for some of the meat in a casserole or meat loaf.

Keep a food diary for a couple of weeks so you can assess how specific low GI carbs affect your energy about half an hour after each meal. You should feel lively and energetic, and the food should sustain you until your next meal. If you're hungry again two hours after your meal, vary the low GI carbs you're eating.

Here's a list of the GI of food groups.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Related Posts