Weight Loss Food:
Considering the Glycemic Index

Instead of using blindly the low-carb diet, I recommend to apply the Glycemic Index (GI) approach and to eat preferably the corresponding weight loss food. This article is an excerpt from the Harmony Weight Management System eBook.

Put simply, when we eat foods with a high glycemic index ― such as potatoes, beer, or desserts ― the body suddenly produces a lot of insulin to compensate for the high sugar intake. If we are not able to use this insulin right away by burning it, the body doesn’t know what to do with it. So it stores it as fat!

If, on the contrary, we eat foods with a low glycemic index ― such as meats and vegetables ―, the rise of insulin is much slower and the body can turn it into energy and burn it. No need to keep it as fat.

Therefore, I recommend that, as weight loss food, you choose the ones with low glycemic index. I suggest you look for a list of foods with a low glycemic index. The Internet is full of them. My favorite sites include www.mendosa.com, managed by David Mendosa and geared towards diabetes, and www.montignac.com, managed by Michel Montignac.

I am reproducing here a list of weight loss food from a GI point of view. Those foods are essentially free of any serious impact on your blood sugar. Unless otherwise stated, all of the vegetables and fruits are raw. The numbers are the grams of available carbohydrate (that is, carbohydrate minus dietary fiber) in 100 grams of the portion of the food). Generally, any food with fewer than 5 grams of available carbohydrate in a 100-gram portion is a free food.

Low Glycemic Index Weight Loss Food

Alfalfa seeds, sprouted 1.28
Arugula 2.05
Asparagus, cooked 2.63
Bamboo shoots, cooked 0.92
Beans, green, cooked 4.69
Beans, snap, green, cooked 4.68
Beet greens, cooked 2.56
Broccoli, cooked 2.16
Brussels sprouts, cooked 4.5
Cabbage, cooked 2.16
Cauliflower, cooked 1.41
Celeriac (celery root), cooked 4.7
Celery 1.95
Chard, swiss, cooked 2.04
Collards, cooked 2.1
Cucumber 1.8
Dandelion greens, cooked 3.5
Eggplant, cooked 4.14
Endive, 0.25
Fennel, bulb 4.19
Hearts of palm, canned 2.22
Jicama 3.92
Kale, cooked 3.63
Lettuce, butterhead 1.32
Lettuce, cos romaine 0.67
Lettuce, iceberg 0.69
Mustard greens, cooked 0.1
Mushrooms 2.94-3.57 (except shitake)
Nopales, cooked 1.27
Okra, cooked 4.71
Olives, canned ripe 3.06
Parsley 3.03
Peppers, serano 3.00
Peppers, jalapeno 3.11
Peppers, sweet green 4.63
Peppers, sweet red 4.43
Pumpkin, cooked 3.80
Purslane 3.43
Radicchio 3.58
Radishes 1.99
Rhubarb 2.74
Sauerkraut 1.78
Scallions (green onions) 4.74
Spinach, cooked 1.35
Squash, summer, cooked 2.91
Squash, zucchini, cooked 2.53
Tomatillos 3.93
Tomatoes 3.54
Tomato juice 3.83
Turnips, cooked 2.9
Turnip greens, cooked 0.86
Watercress 0.79

Fruit

Avocados 2.39
Chayote (christophene) 2.20
Raspberries 4.77
Strawberries 4.72

Nuts

Macadamia Nuts 4.83
Pecans 4.26

Meat And Fish

All meat and fin fish 0.00
Caviar 4.00
Crab 0.95
Lobster 1.28
Shrimp 0.00

Eggs And Dairy

Butter 0.06
Buttermilk, low fat 4.79
Cheese, cheddar 1.28
Cheese, Edam 1.43
Cheese, Gouda 2.22
Cheese, Swiss 3.38
Cream cheese 2.66
Cottage cheese, 2% milk fat 3.63
Eggs 1.22
Half and Half 4.30
Heavy Cream 2.79
Goat milk 4.45
Mayonnaise 2.70
Milk, 1% milk fat, added solids 4.97
Milk, 3.25% milk fat 4.66
Ricotta cheese, whole milk 3.04
Soy milk, 0.51
Yogurt, plain, whole milk 4.66

Beverages

Coffee (without cream or sugar) 0.00
Diet Soda 0.00
Tea (without milk or sugar) 0.00
Water 0.00

Sweeteners

Aspartame (NutraSweet) 0.00
Saccharin (Sweet’N Low) 0.00
Stevia 0.00
Sucralose (Splenda) 0.00

Aren’t you happy to see macadamia nuts and mayonnaise on this list, and surprised to discover that, from a GI perspective, 3% milk is better than 1% milk?

Limiting myself to this kind of weight loss food has allowed me to lose 20 pounds in six months, and to keep to this weight for the last ten years. And this was done without starving myself! What are you waiting for?

Weight Loss Food

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