Glycemic Load Diet

The Glycemic Load Diet, the brainchild of Dr. Robert Thompson, is a low-carb diet aimed at reducing your diet's glycemic load, or the impact of every serving of food consumed on blood glucose levels. His diet operates under the premise that starchy or refined carbohydrates, a main source of glucose in many Western diets, lead to high glycemic loads that are a leading cause of weight gain. If you want to lose weight with the Glycemic Load Diet your best strategy is to outline what you like to eat and find foods with low glycemic index values.

The Glycemic Load, Index and Weight Loss

• The glycemic index (GI) measures the effect on blood glucose of a given amount of carbohydrates in a food source. Dr. Thompson formulated a list of foods to serve as a reference guide. Foods with a minimal effect on your blood sugar have low GI values, while those with the opposite effect have high GI values.

  Following this logic, foods with a low GI value slowly release sugar into your blood, helping to sustain your energy levels and a feeling of fullness throughout the day. Foods with a high GI value cause a quick and temporary rise in blood sugar that leave you feeling lethargic and hungry when the sugar levels drop off. This drop will cause you to eat more and result in weight gain.

Making Low Glycemic Index Choices

• Start by reviewing your eating preferences and consult a book or online website referenced below to choose foods and plan meals with low glycemic index values.The Glycemic Index diet advises dieters to consume no more than a 500 glycemic load daily. This means swapping high GI foods for the lower GI versions of the foods you enjoy.

  Taking breakfast as an example, there is no need to cut out your standard breakfast of cereal with fruit and some juice. Instead, substitute low GI versions of these items. Cut out canteloupe with 65 GI load in favor of grapefruit with 25. Instead of corn flakes, try All-Bran and cut your GI load by 36. Drinking orange juice instead of cranberry juice saves you over 20 points.

Dining Out with the Glycemic Load Diet

• Although certainly more of a challenge, maintaining a low-GI diet when eating out isn't impossible and need not be confusing. Maintain your focus on two goals and you shouldn't have problems: Remember to keep both the GI rating and the saturated fat content low in foods you choose.

  This means opting for veggies, fruit-based desserts, salads and lean meats, and avoiding or eating small portions of high GI foods that are often a standard side dishes, like potatoes, rice or chips. Avoid fried foods and skip creamy condiments, soups, sauces and salad dressings.