Lose weight with the low-GI carb diet

Want to lose weight and feel great? For unlimited energy, feed your body low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates at each meal.

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.

How to eat the low-GI carb way

Select your low GI carb for the meal first, and then build your meal around it. The lowest GI carbs are those which are as close to the natural state as possible, that is, unrefined. So when choosing bread for your sandwich, for example, pick a grainy bread, with the grains clearly visible.

Use fruits and vegetables and legumes to round out any meal. Lower the GI of potatoes by adding a salad with a vinegar-based dressing, or sprinkle vinegar or lemon juice on the potatoes.

Keep a low GI carb-stocked pantry for emergencies. Then, if you’re too tired to cook and send out for pizza, you can start the meal with a kidney bean salad with vinaigrette dressing. Voila! An almost-instant low GI carb meal. Or for a super-quick meal before you go out for the evening, throw on some pasta to boil, drain it, and stir through some supermarket tomato sauce.

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.

GI foods list: The Glycemic Index Lists page is handy if you want to check the GI of a food you eat every day, or to find low GI substitutes.

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