I've heard a lot about this diet lately and have been checking out info on various websites. It sounds like the kind of "lifestyle" that I could follow.

I've tried so many diets over the years ... most of them gimmicky and unable to stick to for longer than a couple of weeks. I just want to eat normal, healthy food without constantly obsessing about having to count calories, points, carbs, fat, etc.

I checked out Amazon and there are quite a few books available about this diet so I was unsure which were the best ones to purchase. I want a simple, no nonsense book ... one with lots of food lists and their GI Values, and perhaps a recipe book with no nonsense meals for a family, rather than lots of 'gourmet' type meals. If anyone can recommend any books I'd be really grateful.

Has anyone tried this diet? Have you lost or are you losing weight on it? How do you find it, is it easy to follow? Do you find it restrictive at all?

Any info that anyone can give me would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Nichola

My doctor recently recommended a low gi lifestyle for me. I have been counting calories and the scale has been moving a bit slower than we'd like given the effort I've been making. Well, isn't that true of all of us in a way!

I have been using The Low GI Revolution books and have found it is a lot saner than a lot of the stuff people are recommending. It requires a fair bit of planning for me, but I'm still getting the hang of it. The one fantastic thing I have found is that I'm a LOT less hungry on this plan. And I have seen results already.

The down side is that GI can be counterintuitive (what, sweet potatoes are lower than regular potatoes??) and GI is not available for all foods, as easily as calories are. The plan does emphasize low fat and lower calorie. It is not a low carb deal at all. It's just about the right foods and food combinations. Hence the planning.

I feel that this is a plan I can live with and really eat well on so I'm very motivated right now.

Good luck with your weight loss journey!

Thanks very much for your reply!

I notice that you've lost several pounds already so it's obviously working for you, well done!

The fact that you said you don't feel as hungry following a GI plan as you normally would on a diet is very encouraging!! That's when I tend to slip up ... once I start feeling hungry I tend to pick at anything I can lay my hands on!!

I realise that low fat/lower cals is still important for losing weight, but I'm also encouraged by the fact that it is not a low carb plan ... although I know I need to cut down on my carbs, I couldn't possibly cut them out altogether.

Thanks again for your advice ... I'm off to check out the books at Amazon right now!

Let me know how it goes for you. I'd love to share recipes or just chat about it and share support. Doesn't seem like there are that many people on Low GI around.

Good luck!

Hi Bella,

I ordered a couple of books from Amazon on Friday and eagerly await their arrival! Until then I'm trying to do my own thing by following the info on various websites. I'm really looking forward to getting started properly though!

I'd love to swop recipes/advice with you and generally support each other. How long have you been following a low GI Diet? When my books arrive I guess I will probably have many questions to ask you, hope you don't mind

You're right, there doesn't seem to be many people around here doing the GI diet ... I've only come across yourself and one other person so far.

I'l keep you posted and let you know how I get on with it

Nichola

I'm excited to have found this thread!! I just recently purchased a few books on Low GI. Here's what I have so far:

Living the GI Diet - I really like this book. It's an overview of the first book by Rick Gallop (The GI Diet) and a very easy read. It has lots of what you're looking for Nichola .. A food list which is broken out into Red, Yellow and Green light foods, like a traffic light. You avoid the red foods, proceed with caution on the yellow foods and eat as much as you like of the green foods with only a few limitations. For example, with bread, you're allowed only 1 slice of whole grain or stoneground whole wheat bread at a time. It has tips on eating out, exercising, frequently asked questions, sample menu plans and lots of great looking recipes (regular people food, not the gourmet stuff).

I also have the Good Carb Cookbook. This book also has an overview of how to eat on a low-GI diet with sample meal plans and also has great looking recipes. I've only tried one so far and I modified it to suit my tastes but it was wonderful. It's the Oat-Bran Blueberry Muffins only I made mine with Strawberries cuz I don't like blueberry muffins. They're wonderful and I can't wait to make more from this cookbook.

I also have New Glucose Revolution. I haven't read this one yet but I got it based on the reviews at Amazon.

If it's books you're looking for, whatever you do, DO NOT get The Good Carb Diet by Helen Foster. It's a pretty book but that's about it. Most of the space on each page is filled with big bright pictures of food with a very basic overview of GI and recipes that just don't sound very good. I was anxious to get my copy from Amazon and just sent it back for a refund.

If you guys would like, maybe we could get our own support thread going? I'd love others to interact with that aren't obsessively counting points or carb grams. I've done both before and just can't make it work for me anymore.

Slim

Hey, good to see another GI-er SlimCurves. I have been working a lot on meal planning and learning to substitute my high GI foods with lower ones. It is still mind boggling to me to find that some of the foods I thought were healthy were actually zipping through my digestive system, raising my blood sugar and sabotaging my weight loss.

And I still haven't been hungry!

PLUS! I'm close to my mini goal of getting out of the 50's and into the 40's.

I can definitely tell you guys which recipes to AVOID from the new glucose revolution LOL!! I've been cooking up a STORM! I found a recipe for some REALLY good low GI, low fat Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies I made today for the first time.

One thing I can say about the Low GI lifestyle is it really helps that I like to cook. I think some of these changes would be a bit tougher to make if I didn't enjoy cooking at home.

Have you received your book yet Nichola?

I'll be interested to hear your opinion on the Glucose Revolution book as well slim because I looked at the "Living the GI Diet" as well and prefered this one.

Leticia

Hello Again, and welcome to 'Slim' As Leticia has already said, it's great to find another GI Dieter!

Yes, my books have literally just arrived! I'm so excited I can't wait to read them from cover to cover! I got the 'Living the Gi Diet' by Rick Gallop to begin with and also his Pocket Guide so that I can carry it around with me!

The recipes sound great and I can't wait to try them out ... luckily I enjoy cooking too so I look forward to exchanging some recipes with you girls once I get into it.

How long have you girls been overweight? Is it a fairly recent thing or has it been for many years like me?

Until I had my two kids in my late 20's I was fairly slim ... although I have tried out just about every type of diet you can imagine in order to stay that way ... it never came easy!! Then gradually I gained weight year after year until now, and have been unable to stick to any kind of diet for longer than a week or two!! I'm 42 and don't want to spend the rest of my life like this ... I look and feel old, fat and frumpy, while my friends of the same age look 10 years younger than me! I've had enough of this and hope that starting on the GI Diet is my turning point.

I'm off to read my books now!

Nichola

Bella - Congratulations on your weight loss thus far. Ok now you got me interested .. Can you post the oatmeal choc chip recipe? I love oatmeal and I love choc chip cookies, I bet they're awesome together!

Even though I haven't read Glucose Revolution yet, I did try the Creamy Mushrooms and Pasta recipe. I fixed it last weekend, couldn't wait to try it and .. let's just say that I haven't tasted anything so bland in a long while! It certainly needs work. I followed it exactly as it is written. I still think the dish could be very good with a different mix of seasonings or something.

What other recipes should I avoid from this book? What's your favorite recipe?

Slim

Since we all like to cook, I have an idea – once a week or so, how about we each pick a recipe from our books to try and then report on how we like it?

Nichola - How are you liking your books? I wasn't aware that there was a pocket guide to the GI Diet. I'll have to search for it. I'd love to exchange recipes too.

Slim

Hello!!! I am Australian and living in Britain!!! On the UK fat chicks thread we often chat about low GI as there are a few of us following a low GI plan. I have been doing it for 6 months now. I calorie count as well. I eat very little bread now, and a lot more whole grains, beans and vegetables. My weight comes off at 1 to 2 pounds a week (with the odd 3 pound week to keep life interesting!!)

I can recommend Anthony Worrall Thompson's GI Diet, really good recipes and good advice. The recipes are easy to follow, most are easy with a few challenging ones. I've also got "The Low GI Cookbook" by Louise Blair, which I don't like as much as the other, but it is still good, and I have got quite a bit of use out of it.

I've found low GI to be fantastic for me, I am never hungry, I have loads of energy, I don't get the mid afternoon pass em the chocolate or I will kill you slump anymore. And hubby likes it too, he loves the food, and the way it makes him feel, and he has lost 10 pounds without trying. I also do a lot of exercise, and find this way of eating really helps me keep up with my exercise, and I have started weight training, which has made a big difference too.

I've been overweight most all my life. I was a chubby child, in my early teen years, I wore a size 12/14. But the weight really began to pile on when I moved out of state (from Ohio to Boston, MA). With no one around to make sure I was eating right, I went way, way overboard. And before I new it, I had ballooned up to a size 22. Through the years, I've managed to lose 30-50 pounds here and there, but I've always gained it back plus some. I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes the summer of 2003 and have been trying to find my way ever since.

Slim

Hi Everyone!

I'm completely engrossed in my books!! Seems really simple and straightforward so far. Surprised to see that some foods I've always thought of as good diet foods are actually high GI, such as rice cakes, which I've always kept in the cupboard for a quick fix snack when I'm feeling peckish ... I guess I'm going to have to change my ways ... maybe this is where I've been going wrong all these years!

I've weighed myself today and have lost 3lbs this week by following my own version of low GI until I received my books. Now I have them so I can follow it properly and will hopefully have another loss to report next week

Kykaree, great to hear that you never feel hungry eating low GI ... I don't think I've ever been on a diet when I haven't felt ravenous at some point throughout the day!


Slim, great idea about swopping recipes that we have cooked each week. There's so many in the book that I fancy, I don't know which one to try first!! I think I might try out the 'Hunter-Style Chicken' for dinner tonight ... my mouth is watering already!!

Nichola

Hi All

Another low GI follower here

Only bought my book a couple of weeks ago and have decided it is a lifestyle change not a quick fix like some of the other diets.

Would love to become part of the group and share successes and tribulations with you while on this journey. I got The Low GI Diet book which is by the same people who did Glucose Revolution. Very comprehensive, explains the in's and out's and has a 12 week guide which incorporates graduall increase in exercise and some personal probing.

A good website is Glycemic Index which has a search engine with updated foods as they are tested.

I have only just started as of today so am looking for all the support I can get. I would definately be interested in swapping receipes also - I love to cook and do most if not all of the cooking in the house.

Welcome Angela Good to see yet another GI follower I've only started officially today too, as I didn't receive my books from Amazon until yesterday. It's good to have a few people posting, hopefully we can help keep each other motivated.

I'm in the process of compiling a shopping list right now ... with lots of low GI foods of course!!

Nichola