Review Of The G.I. (Glycemic Index) Diet

Backers of the G.I. regimen say 95 percent of diets fail because the dieters feel hungry or deprived. These diets can also be too complicated, requiring people to count calories, grams, blocks, or points in order to lose weight. The diets can also leave people listless and unhealthy, prompting them to eat more.

The G.I. diet operates according to a traffic light system. Red light foods are those you want to avoid in order to lose weight; yellow light foods are those you can eat occasionally; and green light foods are the foods that are preferred for your diet.

The advantages of the G.I. diet are many. First of all, it will not leave you feeling hungry or deprived. You can eat your fill of foods - provided they’re in the right category. High-nutrient foods are plentiful on the diet, meaning that the diet can be good for your heart as well as for your waistline. The diet’s promoters say it can reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, colon and prostate cancer.

The diet is also simple - if you can follow a traffic light, the saying goes, you can follow the G.I. diet. Its supporters say it’s also the type of diet you can easily maintain for a lifetime.

Some people might think the G.I. diet is similar to the Atkins diet-but the differences are significant. The Atkins diet emphases high protein and animal fat and low carbohydrates. The theory behind the Atkins diet is that if the body is deprived of carbohydrates it will be forced to break down fat as an energy source instead.

In contrast, the G.I. diet encourages carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and low fat dairy, while eliminating saturated fat.

However, the G.I. diet does have its limitations. People who have lived their lives eating foods labeled as "red light" by the G.I. system may have difficulty adjusting. And, during the first phase of the diet, an individual’s weight can actually go up until the body adjusts to a new eating pattern.

All in all, the G.I. diet is a pretty sound program, and worthwhile experimenting with.

Check out my review of Jim Stone's "Stop Cheating On Your Low Carb Diet" if you're looking for an interesting perspective on maintaining your diet in the long term.

You can read that review here!

Or, for the ultimate weight loss manifesto, check out my review of Tom Venuto's Burn The Fat here!