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Are you tired of trying to learn what to eat to lose weight just to get more and more confused? By understanding GI & GL you’ll gain the freedom to know what to exactly eat to lose weight. 

Is this situation familiar to you?  You have to decide what to eat for dinner and you get confused when trying to eat a low fat, low carbs and low calorie meal. It feels like there is nothing left that you can eat to lose weight!

The reason you feel this way is because of the misleading information that is out there that creates misunderstandings and makes you feel confused and your efforts worthless.  

It doesn’t need to be this way.

Some Misconceptions

Long ago calories in calories out or a low fat or low carb diet were thought to be the proper diet for weight loss.  Now we know that those are weight loss myths and that addressing Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) is the best way to approach weight management.  

By eating the right food low in GI and GL, you will be able to maintain low and steady blood glucose levels without making a huge impact in your insulin levels, an essential aspect to lose and maintain weight.  

Glucose and insulin peaks as a consequence of eating too much sugar are responsible for making you feel irritable and unstoppably hungry in the short term. In the long term, they will affect your hormonal equilibrium, especially insulin.  

The solution to avoid those glucose peaks is to follow a diet plan that allows a smooth and balanced glucose levels, like 32 Mondays Healthy Eating Plan to Lose Weight.

Download the Eating Plan to Lose Weight PDF

The Glycemic Index Effect

Glycemic Index is a measure of the effect of a specific carbohydrate on your blood glucose. Knowing a food’s GI will help you keep sugar levels under control.  

Foods with a low GI cause blood glucose to rise gently and therefore do not activate a high insulin response.  

On the other hand, carbohydrates with high GI cause a high increase in glucose, with the subsequent high-insulin response in the body.  

The high levels of released insulin work hard to reduce the high glucose levels in blood as soon as possible. This causes a sudden drop of glucose, which will make you feel an immediate craving for sugar and an increase in your appetite. This is the body’s way of recovering normal glucose to feed your brain and other organs as soon as possible. 

The Glycemic Load Effect

The Glycemic Load (GL) of food also estimates how much a food will raise your blood’s glucose level.  

Unlike the Glycemic Index, which measures the “quality” of the carbohydrate, GL accounts for the AMOUNT of carbohydrate in the food. Glycemic load is defined as the grams of available carbohydrate in the food multiplied by the food’s GI divided by 100. 

GI vs GL

GI versus GL: although the glycemic index is defined for each type of food, the glycemic load is calculated based on the serving size - of a food, an entire meal, or an entire day’s worth of meals. Remember, the GL depends on the grams of carbohydrates consumed.  

What to Eat to Lose Weight

Trying to learn and remember not only the GI but also the GL can be very time consuming, so my recommendation is that you go through the list of the GI and GL of foods you consume more often and write down (and try to remember) the ones that are not consistent. 

Remember to always stay as much as possible with those that have low GI & GL values (fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grain bread, yogurt) and try to avoid food with high GL & GL values (potatoes, rice, white bread, pasta, sugars). 

Here is the list I have put together with the GI & GL values of the foods more consumed or that you need to know about or pay special attention.

GI and GL are good reference values to determine the glucose impact a certain type of food creates, but can’t be considered alone when it comes to weight management. Healthy Portion sizes, types of fat, composition and organization of meals, sleep, exercise and stress management, are other important considerations. 

For info: this Harvard Medical School health publication has the GI and GL values of 100 common foods.

And if you want to learn a bit more you can download   32 Mondays GI & GL FREE Guide 

And remember, you don't need willpower to lose weight! Lean "how to demystify the power of willpower" reading this article:

You don't need willpower to lose weight!

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