To recap, the 45 day challenge was to:
- eat less than 100 grams of carbs a day
- workout at power enterprises 3 days a week
- do at least an hour of exercise on 3 off days a week
we are coming to the end of the 45 days, and it has been successful in two ways. For everyone exposed to the program, it has made all participants more aware of what, and when they were eating any carbohydrate throughout their day, and an important second, it has been a successful start to loosing some stubborn weight. What to do next?
We will stay with the low carb theme, but now we have to talk about what made the 45 days successful.
Controlling insulin, that is the answer, high levels of uncontrolled carbohydrate intake, means that your body releases insulin from your pancreas in order to control your blood sugar. From here the sugar is either used by the body, excreted or stored.
I said uncontrolled carb intake earlier, there are ways to do that. by eating protein and fat with the carbohydrate in appropriate balance (the zone for instance) helps control insulin release, slowing down the process, and allowing the body time to use the sugars and not store as quickly.
Another way would be to increase the fiber content of the carbohydrate that you eat. Fiber blocks the speed of the processing of the carbohydrate by your body. This also slows the amount of insulin, and also controls blood sugar.
The last way, is understanding the Glycemic index of the carbohydrate you are eating. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels.
The GI value of a food is determined by feeding 10 or more healthy people a portion of the food containing 50 grams of digestible (available) carbohydrate and then measuring the effect on their blood glucose levels over the next two hours. For each person, the area under their two-hour blood glucose response (glucose AUC) for this food is then measured. On another occasion, the same 10 people consume an equal-carbohydrate portion of glucose sugar (the reference food) and their two-hour blood glucose response is also measured. A GI value for the test food is then calculated for each person by dividing their glucose AUC for the test food by their glucose AUC for the reference food. The final GI value for the test food is the average GI value for the 10 people.
Foods with a high GI score contain rapidly digested carbohydrate, which produces a large rapid rise and fall in the level of blood glucose. In contrast, foods with a low GI score contain slowly digested carbohydrate, which produces a gradual, relatively low rise in the level of blood glucose
(www.glycemicindex.com)
What are the factors that affect the GI of foods?
Anything that will affect the rate at which carbohydrates are turned into glucose and pumped into the bloodstream will alter the GI of the food. These things can be identified as follows
- the size of the carbohydrate – the simpler carbohydrates are absorbed by the body quicker than complex carbohydrates. Short chain carbohydrates like sucrose will have an increased impact on GI as compared to starchy carbohydrates
- the manner in which foods are processed – porridge that is made from naturally raw rolled outs will have a lower GI compared to instant porridge
- the structure of the carbohydrate – the starchy carbohydrates like pasta and bread will have the same size but bread will have a higher GI because of its structure
- the manner in which foods are cooked – boiled potatoes have lower GI values than mashed potatoes
- the ripeness of a fruit or a vegetable – ripe bananas have higher GI values than bananas that are not yet ripe
- the length that the food stays in your mouth – the GI is higher when you break down the food more in your mouth and then swallow it
(www.medic8.com)
Glycemic index eating, encourages you to eat less white sugar and flour and potatoes, and start eating carbohydrate sources that are high in fiber, and are unprocessed from plant or fruit sources.
Here is how to get started:
Step #1 - Make a list of the main carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, breads, grains, cereals, pasta, rice, juices, beans, soups, baked goods, etc.) in your diet and note the number of times a week you eat that particular food. Step #2 - Now look up the Glycemic Index for each food on your list. If you can't find a particular food listed, consider the foods ingredients. If they are all highly processed (refined white flour, sugar, corn syrup) rank the food HIGH. If the food has some processed and some unprocessed ingredients, rank it a MEDIUM. If almost all the ingredients are in their natural state, rank the food as LOW. This is a good rule of thumb, but it's not exact. Also, overcooked foods will tend to have a higher GI than undercooked foods. This is especially true for pasta, vegetables, grains, and cereals. Step #3 - Identify the high glycemic foods in your diet, foods with a G.I. over 70 and try to eliminate as many as you can. Pick out some of the medium GI foods (GI between 55 and 70) you can do without. Step #4 - Then, using the GI Food List on this web site, find low G.I. substitute foods you enjoy and start working them into your every day diet. If you're eating out and have to select a high GI food try to offset it by ordering something with a very low GI. Or, consider ordering a vinaigrette dressing on a salad to bring the average GI of your meal lower. Remember, this isn't an "all or nothing" diet. No one eats perfectly all the time. Just do the best you can and watch what happens. (http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com)
