The Glycemic Index. Get Easily Lean the Right Way.
The Glycemic Index is a simple system that will help you make better choices to get leaner and healthier. It ranks foods, specifically carbohydrates on a scale from 1 to 100 based on their effect on blood sugar levels.
What is the Glycemic Index
The Glycemic Index(GI) is a simple system that ranks the speed at which certain carbohydrates increase your blood sugar levels. The higher the GI, the higher it raises your blood sugar. The scale goes from 1 up to 100 and is very helpful in helping you determine which carbs to eat to maintain stable blood sugar levels and keeping you from getting into The blood sugar roller coaster.
Staying out of the blood sugar roller coaster is a must if you want to lose fat, finally avoid cravings, have balanced energy levels, and become the person you want to become. Learning to use the GI scale is important if you want to accomplish this. And don't worry, it's pretty easy.
Blood sugar levels and the importance of the Glycemic Index
Unstable blood sugar levels lead to unstable mood, increased body fat, and cravings. By choosing carbohydrates low on the GI scale, we maintain stable blood sugar and avoid the symptoms above.
Carbohydrates low on the Glycemic Index (50 or less on the GI scale) are digested slowly and have a smaller impact on blood sugar. Carbohydrates that are digested quickly (50 or more on the GI scale) raise blood sugar very rapidly and keep you on the blood sugar roller coaster.
Usually, the more processed the carbohydrate is, the higher it falls on the GI scale. Some white breads, for example, have a GI of 75 or higher. While chickpeas and beans have a GI of around 35.
The higher the fiber, protein, and fat content of a meal, the lower the GI. This is because fats, proteins, and fiber, slow down the digestion of the carbs consumed along with them. This means that eating fat, protein, and fiber along with your carbs is crucial in order to keep your blood sugar in check.
For example, a baked potato by itself (no added fats or proteins) has a GI of 85 (yikes!). But if you were to add some fats like butter and a piece of meat, it's GI would drop below 30. As you can see, it would be a terrible idea to eat the baked potato by itself.
How to lose fat using the GI scale
We have all heard the say: "eat less than you burn and you will loose weight". Yes, it's true, if you eat less calories than you burn then you will loose weight. But calorie counting is impractical for most and it doesn't consider one of the most important aspects of fat loss; appetite control and adherence. Instead, I will teach you a much simpler approach that leads to greater satisfaction, appetite control, and better health.
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Excessive carbohydrate intakes lead to many problems, some of which are a messed up appetite that causes overeating and an excessive caloric consumption(which of course causes fat gain). This is why carbohydrates(which are responsible for raising your blood sugar) should be moderated.
Moderating carbohydrate consumption is specially difficult if you are overweight and/or insulin resistant. Insulin resistance means your cells have a harder time getting energy from carbohydrates, resulting in poor appetite control and overeating(since your cells haven't been fed yet). This condition is a harsh reality that has created the obesity epidemic and is responsible for weight gain. If you are insulin resistant, loosing weight is much harder and appetite is a problem. Have you ever seen the massive amounts of food obese people can eat? This is a good example of an extreme case of insulin resistance. On the other hand, those who are insulin sensitive have better appetite control and hardly overeat carbs.
What can we do about this? Am I doomed?
If you are insulin resistant and have tried to lose weight. Chances are that it is was very difficult to eat less, appetite was certainly a problem and you ended up binging. Controlling portions was difficult.
But not any more.
Whether or not you are insulin resistant, a diet higher in fat and lower in carbs will work. Since those who are insulin resistant have trouble getting full by eating carbs, they should be fed more fat instead, their appetite will finally be satiated and weight loss will occur. Higher carb diets might be okay for those who are insulin sensitive, but those who are insulin resistant will just get fat and moody.
By eating higher fat and lower carb, you won't overeat and will meet your caloric needs effortlessly. You simply won't want to overeat.
What and how much to eat to get and stay lean.
Follow the guidelines below and eat every 3-4 hours. which will equate to 5-6 meals a day. This will keep blood sugar stable and allow for fat burning. Of course eating every 3-4 hours will not always be possible and you might have to skip a meal from time to time, but make your best try.
Carbohydrates: Eat just enough to keep normal blood sugar levels. 15 to 40 grams of carbohydrates per meal should be enough. Depending on certain factors like activity levels and insulin resistance profile, this can be slightly tweaked, but most people should be fine with this much. If you are insulin sensitive, you can go higher and be fine, but i don't see the point.
Preferably eat Slow GI carbs that are unprocessed like sweet potatoes. But you'll be fine if you eat bread instead as long as you keep the carbohydrates under 30g per meal.
Fats: This will be your main energy source and constitute most of your calories, so eat until you are satisfied. Fats will keep you full and are difficult to overeat since your body will send hormonal messages to stop you from overeating. I've seen people eating more than 3000 calories worth of carbs in a single meal, but try to do the same with fat and I assure you'll be puking after eating way less than half that. Another bite of food would be scarier than death.
If you are very hungry and want to have a large meal, increase your fats (not carbs). Fats will not make you fat unless you eat them along with plenty of carbs. The thing with fat is that if you overeat in one meal, you will be very full and under-eat next meal. Your appetite will work properly and you'll eat just what you need.(Try it yourself)
The average person will eat 15-40g fat, around 150-350 calories worth, per meal(assuming you eat 5-6 times a day). But don't limit yourself if you want more, remember that your appetite signals can now finally be trusted.
Eat fats like coconut oil, animal fats, avocado, olive oil, and butter. Avoid hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils(corn oil, soybean oil, etc.) as much as possible.
Protein: Protein is very important for your body and to stabilize blood sugar. You can go as high as 50g per meal if you want to but above that it will be too difficult to digest. Make sure you get a minimum of 15-20g per meal and eat more if you wish. Don't worry about overeating it.
Simple, right?
Every 3-4 hours eat:
Carbs: 15-40g. Or around half a cup of pasta, one sweet potato, or a piece of fruit.
Fats: As much as you want, let your appetite guide you. This will probably be around 15-40g fat.
Protein: At least 15-20g. As much as 50g (You can go above that if you want to, but don't be surprised if your stomach hurts.)
If you're used to the low fat fads and calorie counting, this will be heaven for you. It will seem like another world. Succeeding on a low fat or calorie counting diet is almost impossible for most and has very high failure rates long term. If you follow the guidelines above and make them a lifestyle, being lean and healthy will stop being a dream. This is sustainable, enjoyable, and works.
Expect visible results within less than a week (unless you're already quite lean).
Confused?
1. The lower the GI, the better the meal is for stable blood sugar levels. (Which leads to fat loss, less cravings, a normal appetite, and overall well being.)
2. The higher the fat, protein, and fiber content, the lower the GI of your meal.
3. Eat low GI meals if you want to get mood balance and fat loss; to do this, eat just enough carbs to keep normal blood sugar,(15-40g carbs) and plentiful amounts of fat and protein.
