Hi Angeline!
Sorry to hear that Montignac wasn't working for you.
As far as glycemic load versus GI index is concerned, I agree to some extent. The book I first read, Eat Yourself Slim... and Stay Slim, the European version, does touch on the glycemic load theory, and to a certain extent, the phase 2 of the diet concentrates more on that, with the whole substition "eat a little bit of bad after a whole load of good"! But it is a potential mindfield.
I'm still in phase 1 of the diet, so most of the foods I eat all have a very low GI - i don't eat either cooked carrots or potatoes. It's in phase 2 when you can use "compensation" where the load of the food becomes more important.
As far as fructose is concerned - its low in the old GI index, and used sparingly, seems fine. However it can raise trigylceride levels, so may not work for some people. (Maybe that's why people don't like it?). As far as any chemical sweetners are concerned, I stay well clear of them. My take on the whole Montignac thing is that everything you eat should be as fresh and natural as possible (without becoming obsessive about it!) as the whole theory is balancing the blood sugar / insulin / digestion process as much as possible - chemicals tend to mess that up.
To be honest, to avoid any meal construction confusion, I bought the book "Micheal Montignac, Recipes and Menus" - North American adaption. I tend to stick to the recipes in there for lunch / dinner and it takes out the confusing low fat / high carb / good carb / bad carb decisions. I've been using it for about 5 months, and haven't exhausted my choices yet. It has some fantastic recipes for things like creme brulee and chocolate mousse - it certainly doesn't feel like a diet. The main concessions I make towards low fat carb meals is just picking the types of fat carefully as well (olive oils / sunflower / fish oils - all used sparingly - Forman Grill is great for that too!)
My final random note - have a sprinkle of brewer's yeast on your breakfast - it helps to reduce the bodies glucose intolerance
But I appear to be ranting now
Or rather, sound like a montignac marketing rep!