Saturday, July 7, 2012

First Forays into Glycemic Index

After much reading and research, I decided to give the Glycemic Index "diet" a try.  As per my usual ways, I immediately ran out and bought four (yep, FOUR) new books.  I grabbed a glass of wine (which is totally okay), parked myself on the couch and started reading.

I can't lie.  The first week was tough.  Pasta for dinner 2-3 times a week?  A thing of the past.  Snacky time pretzels and crackers?  Goodbye, my loves!  Dinner rolls and *ahem* heaping *cough* servings of mashed potatoes?  Fare thee well.  But I was able to make choices about the carbs I consumed.  Unlike some of the more hardcore anti-carb diets out there, I can still eat carbs without feeling like I'm going to derail all the good I've done.

Let me just say (without getting into embarrassing numbers), I've been very pleased with the scale over the past three weeks!

So what do I eat?  Here's a lowdown of a typical day:

Breakfast:

  • 1/4 cup homemade granola (See? Carbs first thing in the morning!)
  • 3 celery stalks w/ 2 Tbsp peanut butter (yes, I do measure, thankyouvurahmuch)
Lunch:
  • Salad made with romaine or spinach, carrots, shredded cheese, turkey breast, diced hard boiled eggs, bacon and dressing of my choice (even full fat stuff)
Dinner:
  • Meat.  Lots of lean meat.
  • Non-starchy vegetables
  • Small salad
  • 2-3 times a week, I will have 1 dinner roll, or one small serving of potatoes (I'm currently trying to avoid mashed taters - I love them so hard, it's near impossible to control myself!)
Snacks:
  • Cheese (mmmm!).  I like cheddar/colby, aged white cheddar, gouda. Let's be real.  I'll eat pretty much any cheese you put in front of my face.
  • Turkey pepperoni
  • Hard salami with cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup nuts (almonds and cashews are my current faves)
  • Pork rinds (I know, kinda white trash.  But they get me over the "I want potato chips" hump.)
  • Lots of water throughout the day, with the occasional Coke Zero.


Interested in reading a bit more?  Dig this article from WebMD.

I'm off to check my pot roast!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Which books did you buy? Any that you recommend? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Anonymous - yes, definitely! I was going to add them to the post, but I was getting a little long in the tooth (or, fingers, I suppose).

I bought The Idiots Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss, and also two Idiot's Guide cookbooks (GI Cookbook and GI Snacks). You can find them all on Amazon, and they were really great investments to get me started.

I also bought a paperback shopper's guide, but I wouldn't recommend it - I fear it was a waste of money.

Unknown said...

Also, if you have a smart phone, there are a few apps out there that allow you to log your foods for the day and track your glycemic load. Lifesaver during the learning phase!

Post a Comment

 

Blog Template by YummyLolly.com - Header made with PS brushes by gvalkyrie.deviantart.com