Most of us that have been trying to strip the pounds for a long time have learned some things about weight loss that we tend to carry around with this.  One of these things that we have learned is that in order for us to lose weight, we need to cut certain things out of our eating regimen.  For some , it is fat and for others, it is carbohydrates but you might be surprised to learn that the truth of the matter is, our body needs both of these things in order to function effectively.  Rather than cutting out sugar from  your diet, why not change the version of sugar that you’re eating?

I believe that this might sound foreign to you but you might be surprised that the sweet stuff is in almost everything that we put in our mouths.  I’m not talking about just the white sugar, the kind that we like to dump into our coffee and onto our food, I’m talking about the so called natural sugars that are carbohydrates and exist in many of the fruits and vegetables that we eat.  It is not a bad thing to eat these and as a matter of fact, eating raw fruits and vegetables can actually help you steadily lose weight if you do so in the right way.

Primarily what you need to do is to make yourself familiar with the0Aglycemic index.  A list of foods that is rated on a scale of 1 to a hundred, the higher the number, the quicker the sugar that is in the food is going to be released into your body.  If you eat high glycemic foods, you’re going to be getting fat for one reason and one reason only.  The sugar that is released into your body from these foods is released so fast that our pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to take care of it all.  Additional sugar that is not used up by the insulin is stored as fat in order for it to be taken care of at a later time. Sadly as we know too well, that time never comes.

If you begin to change the varieties of foods that you are eating to low glycemic, an amazing thing is going to happen.  First, you’re going to feel full because the food is going to stick around longer with the sugars being released into your system slowly.  Secondly, your pancreas is going to be able to get a break and it is not going to be putting so much insulin in your system that you will feel sluggish.  Therefore not only will you feel better  inside, you will begin to look good on the outside because you will be losing weight very easily and naturally. Further treatment of this  is discussed at http://www.fatpain.com

Even though this may seem like a simplistic way to lose weight, it is one that can easily be used without even trying any type of regimented weight-loss program. Rather than trying diet after diet and failing at all 20 of them, you will be making a small adjustment that will result in healthy weight loss that will last for a lifetime. Some additional resources on the subject of weight control utilizing the Glycemic Index.

The Glycemic Research Institute

Food and Drug Administration

Be well Be Happy Liz Lowry

p.s. here’s what another offers:

GLYCEMIC INDEX AND IT’S EFFECT ON BLOOD SUGAR

I remember dieting in my 20s. 95% of what I ate was fat-free, the rest low-fat. Yet, having carte blanche with the fat-free cookies, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, kept me pretty happy. I would lose weight drastically, without exercising, only to gain it back with interest when I stopped depriving my body of essential fatty acids. In those days my Russian grandmother would say: "Stop eating bread, if you want to lose weight", and I would smugly explain that her take on nutrition needs updating. Looking back, my blood sugar levels must have thought they were dancing the jig with the "Riverdance", the way I made them jump up and down over the years. Whaddaya know, grandma was right!

Turns out, watching the quality of the carbs we eat really affects our blood sugar. When examined from this point, potatoes are worse than pure table sugar. And, healthy amounts of those vital Omega-3 fats are… well, vital. Think back to all the trans fats we happily consumed with the low-fat margarine. The body can’t digest them, so they’re still where we put them - lining the walls of our arteries. Remember puffed rice cakes, the staple of every healthy diet? Deadly for those watching their blood sugar and insulin levels, they pack a whopping GI of like 90… You know, Glycemic Index. Surely by now you’ve heard how GI revolutionized the way we eat, flipping the old food pyramid on its side, if not almost upside down. Let’s compare notes for a minute.

The Glycemic Index  or Teaching blood sugars to slow-dance
Not all carbohydrates are created equally. The GI ranks carbs according to their effect on blood sugar. Low-GI carbs (55* or less) barely send a ripple through our blood sugar and insulin levels. Excessive consumption of high-GI carbs (70* or more) causes a rapid surge in blood sugar, pushing the body to extremes. Low-GI foods drip small controlled doses of glucose into the blood stream over longer periods of time. Choosing mainly low-GI and some medium-GI (56-69*) carbs balances energy levels and prolongs satisfaction between meals. It is the secret to sustainable health and weight loss. For what wikipedia has to say about the Glycemic Index.

Recent studies indicate that the effect of protein and fat on blood sugar is negligible. Looks like one can simply ignore protein and fat in mixed-meal carb calculations. And get this: studies have shown that consuming an alcoholic drink before eating reduces the GI of the meal by approximately 15%. (!)

Control portions, or you’ll dance the jig again
The GI is about the quality, not quantity of carbs. Obviously, size matters, but the food’s GI doesn’t measure portions. It remains the same whether you eat 10 grams or 1000. That’s because for fairness of comparison GI tests use 50 grams of net carbohydrate in each food. You can eat twice as many carbs with a GI of 50 than a GI of 100, and have the same blood sugar response. Scientists have determined the recommended daily glycemic load value (GL) of about 60 to 80 grams for at-risk individuals.

Let’s keep it simple. Eat small, frequent meals consisting of:
whole-grain brown carbs,
lean proteins, omega-3 oils,
fresh fruits and veggies,
milk /soy products with no added sugar,
and an occasional small bite of that delectable dessert.

Remember though, many brown breads are treated with enzymes to soften the crust, which makes the starch more accessible and elevates the GI to over 100. I can’t stress it enough: check the ingredients. Go for the natural products with the word "whole" next to the grain (wheat does not equal whole wheat).

Now that I’m married with children, I no longer obsessively watch my weight, but I’m thinking about my health more often. A word from the wise: don’t go on low-to-no-carb diet: we need those pesky carbs to maintain healthy blood sugar level, energy and muscle mass, unless you’re into fainting and the emaciated look. We know now that the Atkins diet was yet another extreme, and that’s exactly what we are trying to avoid.

*The GI tables with exact values for specific foods are widely available.
About the author: Helena Lofgren is a Web Content Specialist for Innuity, Inc. in Redmond, Washington. Are you ready to improve your health, prolong your life, and satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out Xlear and find more information and products that lower your blood sugar.

By 10x Marketing
Published: 4/10/2007