I really like the "G.I. Plan" that Quincy follows - I just now need to find the good carbs to eat. . .

akbear

I've been 'doing' the GI diet for about 4 weeks now - like many, I came to it via LC'ing. Never had any problem with the lack of bread / pasta / fruit etc., really enjoyed the WOE, but I found that over 6-7 months of LC'ing, I just maintained my weight (I was looking to lose about 15lbs in total).

I recall reading somewhere that people can be fat sensitive as well as carb sensitive, and for me, since I didn't have a lot to lose, I think that was the issue.

On the GI diet I'm losing slowly but steadily (2lbs first week and 1lb each week after). I try not to go too high carb now anyway, so a regular day would be porridge (made with water as am mildly dairy intolerant) with splenda / cinnamon, lunch of 1 slice of rye bread with a scraping of mayonnaise and topped with thin sliced chicken plus cucumber and tomatoes and some LC soup, and then a dinner usually consisting of meat, lots of roasted veg (peppers / courgettes) or steamed green veg, and occasionally a few new potatoes. Snacks might be a cranberry muffin (as per Gallop's book), or a no-fat yoghurt. I try to avoid most frankenfoods, so will have a smaller amount of standard cheese rather than a low fat variant - or better, just pick a cheese with naturally less fat like feta.

So I guess I'm relatively LC, and relatively LF. I'm looking forward to reaching my goal so that I can incorporate back in some of the higher fat meats / cheeses on Atkins - on an irregular basis of course!!

Good to see some other Low GI'ers out there - lots of LC boards available, but haven't yet found one with dedicated GI'er strands.. till now!

I was wondering if anyone knew about protein powder for the GI diet? I know he (Rick Gallop) says that soy and whey protein is fine, but he doesn't give you guidelines about how much protein/carbs/fiber. Any ideas? Or did I miss it in my reading and the website?

Hmm.. don't know either! I checked out:

www.glycemicindex.com

which has a database, and a search for protein powder comes up with:
Hi-Pro energy drink mix, vanilla, containing soy protein and whey powder mixed in reduced-fat (1.5%) cow's milk Australia
- which has a GI of 36

Hope that helps!

Hey, thanks! Do you follow the information on this site?

When they say grams, that's weight, isn't it? as in the serving size? (e.g. 250 grams)

Have to say, I don't follow that site - but it is a major leader in GI research. Since it's Australian, lots of the information isn't relevant to me - so I just go by the red/yellow/green lists in Rick Gallop's book... Always handy as a standby tho'!

Hi one and all. Just wanted to share my experience switching over. I have been on Protein Power for around a year. Starting at 285 I got down to 211. Even with the success I was having I was getting very bored with LCing and wanted a change. What I was missing most was cereal with milk for breakfast and fruit. I realize you can have fruit on LC but not much. I was also worried that I would get so bored I would give the whole thing up and slowly gain back the weight. I was leary of switching to the GI diet because I was afraid that I would start gaining at first. The first week I switched cold turkey to a 1400 calorie exchange diet just using Low GI Carbs. Though I said I wouldn't weigh for a while I cheated and half way through the week I got on the scale and had gained 2 pounds ! Ouch ! That was so hard to get off the first time around. I stuck with it for the rest of the week and lost those 2 pounds and three more ! All right ! Only problem was that I was always hungry and once you scratch off the little exchange box we are so familiar with that's it for the day ! I work doing housekeeping all week and on LC I was never hungry.Well, I blew a day and had lunch at jack in the box. And you know I didn't have a salad ! I just blew it ! I probably will put back on a few pounds. I decided after reading the posts here to try the GI diet of Rick Gallop's. I have been on it for almost a week now. Will weigh wednesday. It is so easy to follow and I am never hungry. Some times I have a hard time getting in the evening snacks that he tells us to eat. It is sure nice to be able to grab an apple and a few almonds when I am hungy though. This diet works for me. I had my bloodwork done last week and was pleased to see that all of the work LCing brought my blood sugars down to normal as well as my blood pressure. My only problem is my cholesterol which was a total of 244.. I had a good experience LCing (though at times it was painfully slow,) and will ever be grateful. Now I am looking forward to the next phase of my weight loss experience. Now it's just fitting some walking back into my schedule. Three days a week the Doc says. When I come home from work after 8 hours of cleaning I just want to put my feet up not hit the pavement ! Oh well ! Am looking forward to hearing how you are all doing so far.
Jane

I'm glad I found this thread - I'm looking at the GI Diet for maintenance (mainly because what I'm doing now is working well and I don't feel like I need to tweak it). I've cut out all dairy from my diet so low fat shouldn't be too much of a big deal (except for mayo - can't stand low fat mayo!)

Tam

Correction..When I started Protein Power last April I had gotten down from 285 to 255 pounds by just going back to work ! I was switching around in a half hearted attempt at a few different diets at the time. That was about a year before Protein Power. But I still give myself credit for those pounds lost !It's been a lot of years trying to get this weight off and I can smell victory ! I am really getting excited now !
Jane

I am starting using GI Diet from Rick Gallop so far I lose 4 lbs (in 4 days) I really like this program and doesn't feel like I am on any diet..the plan is so simple and easy to use..just have to say .."I'm loving it" )

I'm (officially) starting G.I. tomorrow. I did Atkins for about 8 months, then tried South Beach for about a month. Then I stopped doing anything for a while and piled on the pounds all over again. But now I'm trying G.I. because it seems relatively simple and its color coded too. Well good luck to any1 who is on the plan right now.

Kim

Hi Finestof07 - I too am starting the GI diet tomorrow. I've read the books and it seems there's a big variety of things to eat. I especially missed the fruit on Atkins. I hope to keep it low carb still i.e. omitting bread, pasta, rice etc., until I reach goal. Good luck in your weight loss journey!

Hi there ... has anyone tried 'The GL Diet'. I found it a couple of months ago in the UK (am a split US/UK person!), and it's just the simplest thing I've done. My first stone (14lbs) or so was via Atkins / low carb, but found it really hard as I'm a fruit and big big veg fan, and not wild about lots of meat. Found it hard to get inspired.

The I found the GI stuff - great, complicated, lots to think about really, but much easier on the fruit and veg folk like me.

Then I fell over The GL Diet in a UK bookshop and BINGO!! wow, that's easier. I'm gently crusing down the weight scale, with very little effort really. The GL is simple, it's based on the Gi, but with a little calculation to translate it all down onto what you actually put on your plate. I love it!

Anyway, friends in the US have gone 'ooo whatcha doing?!' as my weight loss is good and my energy is up like crazy, and I've had to bring a few books over!! I'd recommend investigating the GL diet thing to anyone who asks, it's just like that's how I want to eat for ever, and then occasionally I have a little nibble of something naughty here and there and it's ok! I've never been a great fan of deprivation, and am a big 'foodie' so I'm happier than I culd ever be - as is husband who is diabetic - works really well for him.

One question - in England I use organic stoneground spelt and rye flour from one company, but can't seem to find one here - any good flour mail order sites anyone can help me with?

keep up the good fight, everyone, and it's good to know you all are here. x Claire

Hi all!

I know of a very informative website on a GI WOE:
http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm

Another name, that's known in Europe is Montignac. I tried to follow the plan 6 months ago, but failed. Right now, after being on Atkins since February, I realized that when I first read about the GI diet I was trying to figure out a "way around" which would let me eat bread, pasta, rice, etc... In that way I never managed to get rid of carb cravings. I think I'll give it a try again, but from a very different position.

Thought I'd share my experiences with all you GI dieters. I'm a newbie round here but an 'oldie' when it comes to low-carbing, having gone from 304 to 169 in about 15 months, following the Atkins WOE. However, if I'm honest I got bored with the food choices and my weight loss had really slowed down. So I read around and three weeks ago I made the change to a GI/GL approach.

And I've lost 7lbs in 3 weeks! Not that I really want to lose lots more weight, or lose it really fast, but the switch has really worked for me. I eat something every two hours or so, and sometimes it feels like I'm eating a huge amount in a day, but I'm still losing! Portion control is not something I'm very worried about any more having come this far, so you could say I've gone straight to Phase II (according to Rick Gallop). I love this approach and weirdly my body seems to love it too. I seem to have developed a fast metabolism that I've never had before.

Here's what I typically eat in a day at the moment:

Breakfast: A generous portion of old-fashioned porridge made with half milk and half water, raspberries, blueberries and sweetener

Snack: An apple

Lunch: (usually eaten in two helpings a couple of hours apart) A very generous salad of smoked salmon, cottage cheese, humous, green salad leaves, red and green pepper, cucumber, tomato, mushrooms and spring onion.

Snack: Another apple or a handful of pistachio nuts

Evening meal: A grilled chicken or turkey steak with courgette or broccoli and a low-fat mayo and mustard sauce.

And the amazing thing is I'm still losing! This is definitely the WOE for me. No hardship at all here. I'll even confess to having a small chocolate bar yesterday ('Green & Black's' organic 70% cocoa solids - yummy).



Lara