Hiya all

I'm trying to choose between the GI diet and the South Beach Diet - they are both supposed to help you lose our cravings for sugary carb type things.

Has anyone tried GI? Any tips or advice? How are you getting on? Weight loss- fast or slow?

I'd really love to hear from any of you who have done this and tell me your thoughts!
Thanks a lot

A lot of shops (tesco and M&S) are labeling their stuff for the GI diet now so it may be easier to follow.

where can I get more info on the GI diet, never heard of it before. Always looking for eas ier ways to follow a plan...

Hi

I did the GI diet last year, and really enjoyed doing it, mainly because I didn't get hungry only problem was I didn't lose weight on it either I got the book by Rick Gallop, which is an easy traffic light system to use (as in red for no go foods, amber for take care, and green for go ahead), but I ate too much. There were some lovely recipes in the book, which I enjoyed, but we ate muffins everyday, or fruit crumble, or other goodies and I think I was just having too many calories.

I know a lot of people swear by it, and it is a sensible eating plan, it's only lower carb, not low-carb and encourages lots of fruit and veg - I often think it's a shame it didn't work for me as it was a diet I actually enjoyed (and there i think lies the problem - if you're enjoying it, you're not doing it right!!! )

Best of luck anyway, whichever you decide to follow.

I follow a low GI plan, not specifically the Gallup one. I use a standard GI table, eat a lot of fruit and veggies and whole grains. I don't eat much in the way of processed foods. You have to be careful with low GI, and use a low fat regime as well. Because things like dairy foods, fatty meats etc are low GI and can help bring down the GI of a meal overall, it is easy to get complacent and eat too many calories.

I have a couple of really good cookbooks, the Anthony Worrall Thompson one, which is pretty new, is fantastic and has lots of good tips.

My weight loss is steady, almost 40lbs since the beginning of the year.

There is no way I could follow South Beach, too many rules!!! I don't do rules

Thanks for the information and advice - I think I'll give it a go.Tried everything else and cant stick to them

There is definitely a lot to learn from the GI concept. A diabetic slimmer friend of mine pointed me at it when my weightloss stuck for about 8 weeks when I was at slimming world. I picked up the Holford diet, which is basically the same thing but talks about Glycaemic Loading and is all about keeping your blood sugar constant. Hence you don't feel hungry. I found it difficult to fit around a working week, as I'm not very good at pack lunches.

But I have picked up some much better eating habits which I now incorporate into a calorie controlled diet.