Golden rules for GI success
Here are the basic rules of how to eat on the GI diet
Eat three meals and one snack daily Never skip breakfast and make all meals about the same size. Good snacks include olives, nuts (50g a day), plain popcorn, crudités with a low-fat sour cream or hummus dip, individual pot low-fat fruit yogurt or fromage frais.
Always ask for wholemeal or wholegrain bread when buying sandwiches and discard the top slice. Vegetable soups with low-GI beans or lentils, and pasta and bean salads with low-fat dressing are good lunchtime options.
When eating out avoid pastry/bread-based nibbles and choose olives or nuts instead. Aim for vegetables to take up 50% of your plate, meat or fish 25%, and rice, pasta or potatoes 25%.
Remember to choose wholegrain bread over white; basmati over short grain rice; boiled new potatoes over baked or mashed; bulgur wheat over couscous.
Opt for whole fruit rather than juice - the GI is lower and your body also has to work harder to break it down.
Treat yourself. If you do need a boost - particularly in the middle of the afternoon - choose two or three squares of dark chocolate such as Green & Blacks, which has a high cocoa-solid content and is lower in sugar and fat than regular chocolate. Other treats include a low-fat ice cream, a small packet of low-fat crisps/corn chips, or a glass of wine.
Keep serving sizes realistic (100g for meat and fish, 40g pasta, 50g rice) and fill up on vegetables and salad.
Don't forget to check the fat content of food Only carbs are measured on the GI index, so keeping your fat and calorie intake low is just as important as eating foods with a low GI.
Think balance It's the overall GI effect of each meal that's important, not the individual rating of each food. If you're really craving a high-GI food, go ahead, but balance it with plenty of low-GI foods, such as vegetables, pulses and fruits.
Read more on the GI diet...
Get your seven-day GI diet meal plan
See the list of what to eat on the GI diet, plus low GI recipes
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