Have you lost weight using a low GI/GL diet?

May 12, 2009 8:16 AM

Have you lost weight using a low GI/GL diet? If so, how did you do it? Any good books, websites? (Please note: Not looking for general diet/fitness advice, thanks!)
posted by deeper red to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

I did lose weight. I have been on a pretty informal Mediterranean low GL diet since January and have gone from 228 to 205 since Jan 1. I usually have my only heavy carbs in the morning, something sweet to go with my only cup of coffee of the day. Then I have a small salad paired with fish for lunch and then a small fish or vegetable dinner. I have gone off beer for the last four weeks which has helped a little but I think cutting a good part of the sugar out has been better. The best way to deal with sugar cravings for me has been to have a pack of sugarless gum handy. Don't chew too many pieces or you might end up down the hall.
posted by parmanparman at 8:34 AM on May 12, 2009

Let me follow up to say that no single book has been very helpful. I tend to find the single greatest motivation for me has been to fit into a tweed jacket ... not feeling ridiculous trying to run five miles ... doing 100 push-ups. These might sound funny, they were to me. But doing 100 push-ups was the easiest part of it. I started just walking fast instead of running and did a 6.5 mile walk in an hour the first time I went out and did it. The best motivator for weight loss for me has been to break through my own expectations.
posted by parmanparman at 9:05 AM on May 12, 2009

I found the GI Diet by rick gallop to be helpful. I lost ten pounds without feeling like i was really trying - all of a sudden, i just noticed one day that it was thinner. So easy!
posted by Kololo at 9:07 AM on May 12, 2009

YES. And it's been about 5 years now? I was able to ease up on it a fair bit once I got where I wanted to be but eating right kinda becomes habit. And all of that food is kind to me, so it kinda tastes better anyway. (And fuck exercise. Ugh.)
I'll locate the info and get back to you...
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 9:08 AM on May 12, 2009

N'thing the GI Diet by Rick Gallop (and later when it came out, Living the GI Diet for more recipe ideas. But by the time Living the GI Diet came out I was already in maintenance mode). I went from ~230 to 180 while staying a bit over 6'1" . 180 is still 10 lbs higher than my athletic weight in highschool, but I'm not a highschooler any more.

After I reached 180 I switched from primarily green light to green and yellow light items, and I oscillated between 180 and 190 without any real conscious direction (I.E. I didn't see 188 on the scale and think "Time to go back to green only.") for about three+ years.

Currently off of the GI Diet for 1.5 years because of compromise diet to get the kids to eat without tears, and I'm kicking a bit above 200.
posted by nobeagle at 9:38 AM on May 12, 2009

I went on an essentially "lower GI" diet to control gestational diabetes, and lost a little weight WHILE PREGNANT. (I had plenty to lose, this was not concerning to doctors). I am very curious to see how this plays out after the baby is born (any day now). I saw a nutritionist who helped me out, read the South Beach diet book (which a cardiologist recommended to our family after my mom had a heart attack and was diagnosed with diabetes), and read lots of information on line.

After months of eating this way, I can tell you that it sucked at the beginning, but now I rarely crave the things that were hardest to give up. BUT, I am glad I had the baby as motivation at the beginning, it definitely made things easier up front.

Good luck!
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:59 AM on May 12, 2009

Obviously the South Beach Diet is the canonical low-GI book. It's about 1/3 explanation of the system and 2/3 recipes... I actually didn't find the recipes to be all that helpful as they mostly seemed gross and/or took way too long to prepare. But it does offer a very accessible explanation of why focusing on lower glycemic index foods is effective.

I think the biggest thing for me is to replace high-GI snacks and meals with low-GI alternatives. For example, replace the morning muffin with a protein bar, replace the evening beer with a glass of wine. Relatedly, I'm not much of a stickler for South Beach "Phase One" where you have to cut out sugars completely. It just seems to be too much of a pain when you have things to do in life other than prepare meals.

Another helpful thing is to always have available snacks that are low sugar and high in protein/fat/fiber. Nuts, cheese, canned tuna, beef jerky, whatever. I found this to be good especially for reducing my appetite mid-morning so that I wasn't tempted to go out and get a HUGE lunch and instead could stick with modest-sized portions (which, likewise, should keep you satisfied if they are high in protein/fat/fiber).

I've never needed to lose a ton, though; I mainly crank this system up when I've been crazy busy at work, with lots of travel or something, and I just feel the need to take off 5-7 pounds in a couple weeks, basically getting back to a previous "plateau" that I found acceptable. Seems pretty effective for that.
posted by rkent at 10:31 AM on May 12, 2009

Back when the original Volumetics book came out, I read it, started a diet & exercise program, and lost about 30 pounds in 6-8 months (wasn't tracking at first, not sure of actual timing). I wouldn't say I was following the Volumetrics plan, but it definitely inspired me, and I really took its principles to heart.
posted by peep at 11:07 AM on May 12, 2009

I lost some weight with this. Think of it more like a diet aid than a diet. Some people think of it as some magical system that if followed will automatically cause weight loss. Eating less calories than you burn will cause weight loss and it is easier to eat less than burn more, but doing both is best. Eating a low carb diet helps control the cravings which makes eating less easier.
posted by caddis at 11:54 AM on May 12, 2009

Did the South Beach Diet, but it wasn't until the third attempt, when I actually read the book as opposed to simply gleaning recipes from the internet, that I lost 35 pounds. That was without exercising (yeah, yeah. I know), and without being gung-ho about eating only low-fat foods; I'd rather eat less-processed foods even if they have more fat. Well, that and low-fat cheese makes me sad.
posted by runningwithscissors at 7:21 PM on May 12, 2009

Yes, I lost about two stone. I went on it because I was diagnosed with PCOS and it suited me pretty well. I had a rather boring diet; each day I ate:

bowl of all bran with nuts
mid-morning banana
soup and salad with chickpeas (low-GI soup, obviously, so not leek and potato etc)
ordinary supper but with baby potatoes replacing jackets, basmatic rice replacing risotto, wholemeal pasta etc.

I exercised every day as well.
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 5:31 AM on May 13, 2009

I'm doing the GI Diet by Rick Gallop right now, and it's super simple, just small decisions to eat "this" instead of "that."

I don't think of it as a "weight loss" diet, so much as a "healthy eating" diet, which happens to help me lose weight.

I'm not super strict about it either and I've already lost some weight.
posted by MesoFilter at 1:29 PM on May 27, 2009