Nutrition
6 ways to get ready for weight loss
Nutrition
6 ways to get ready for weight loss
Your motivation to lose weight is high, and with the
G.I. Diet you now have the action plan that will help you make those unwanted pounds disappear. Still, to be successful you will have to make some significant changes in your life, and the better prepared you are, the better equipped you will be to handle any challenges that may arise. The following six steps will get you off to the best possible start.
1. Go see your doctor.
Before starting any major change in your eating patterns, check with your doctor to see if you have any concerns that could affect your weight-loss plans. As you lose weight, your health will certainly improve, and it will be wonderfully motivating to learn that your blood glucose levels have improved or that your blood pressure has gone down. It may even be possible to change or reduce any medications you might be taking.
2. Assess whether it’s the right time to start.
Are you in the middle of a job change? A major house renovation or move? Is it the week before Christmas or before the cruise you’ve been planning for a year? Then it’s probably not the best time to start a new way of eating. Some life events will make it harder—or even impossible—for you to give the program the attention it needs or to stick with it. Choose a period when your life is relatively stable and when you have time to learn new eating habits—not when your stress levels are even higher than usual. If your enthusiasm for a new slim and healthier you is high and the timing is right, then there’s no better moment than the present!
3. Set your weight-loss target.
It’s important to have a healthy, realistic weight-loss target in mind before starting the program. A good place to start is the BMI table on pages 26–27, not the glossy pages of a fashion or fitness magazine. Being too thin or too heavy is not good. Your health is at risk if your BMI is below 18.5 or above 25. Remember, the BMI table is only a guide.
Page 1 of 3 – Head to page 2 for some more great tips.
Excerpted from
The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic by Rick Gallop Copyright © 2010 by Rick Gallop. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
The other measurement you should concern yourself with is your waist measurement, which is an even better predictor of the state of your health than your weight. Abdominal fat is more than just a weight problem. Recent research has shown that abdominal fat acts almost like a separate organ in the body, except this “organ” is a destructive one that releases harmful proteins and free fatty acids, increasing your risk of life-threatening conditions, especially diabetes and heart disease. If you are female and have a waist measurement of 35 inches or more, or are male with a waist measurement of over 37 inches, you are at risk of endangering your health. Women with a measurement of 37 inches or more, and men with a measurement over 40 inches are at serious risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.
So I have your attention now! Make sure that you measure correctly: put a tape measure around your waist just above navel level till it fits snugly, without cutting into your flesh. Do not adopt the walking-down-the-beach-sucking-in-your-stomach stance. Just stand naturally. There’s no point in trying to fudge the numbers, because the only person you’re kidding is yourself.
Now that you know your BMI and waist measurement, you can set your weight-loss target and know roughly how long it will take you to reach that goal. When you lose weight in a healthy way, you can expect to lose about one pound per week. I say “about” because most people do not lose weight at a fixed and steady rate. The usual pattern is to lose more at the start of the diet, when you are losing mostly water weight, followed by a series of drops and plateaus. The closer you get to your target weight, the slower your weight loss will be. If you are planning to lose up to 20 percent of your body weight—for example, if you weigh 150 pounds and want to lose 30 pounds—assume this will take you thirty weeks, one pound per week. If you have more than 20 percent to shed, the good news is that you will lose at a faster rate. This is simply because your larger body weight requires more calories just to keep operating than someone who is lighter. Still, be prepared for measured results—it took you a while to put on those extra pounds and it will take some time to lose them. Be patient and know that once that weight is gone, it will be gone forever as you keep it off in Phase II of the program.
Although I recommend recording your progress, please don’t get obsessed with numbers on the scale. Many people find themselves losing inches before they register any weight loss. Clothes start feeling a little looser, and before you know it you are down a dress size or getting into your old jeans. Soon you’ll probably have to buy new clothes. My readers often tell me I should have warned them about the extra cost of refurbishing their closet!
Page 2 of 3 – Go to page 3 for some tips on shopping for weight loss!
Excerpted from
The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic by Rick Gallop Copyright © 2010 by Rick Gallop. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. 4. Give your kitchen a green-light makeover.
Take a look in your fridge—what do you see? Two jars of mayonnaise, some leftover cheddar and a lot of sugar-laden condiments in jars? Now open the cupboards: what’s the cookie and cracker situation? Now is the time to do an honest evaluation of what you tend to keep on hand. Consult the Complete G.I. Diet Food Guide (pages 271–277 of The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic) and throw out anything that’s in the red-light column. Be ruthless. If you always have chips on hand, you will eat them. If you keep Goldfish crackers around “for the kids,” you can be sure that they won’t be the only ones snacking on them. Give the unopened food items and cans to your skinny neighbours or local food bank.
5. Eat before you shop.
You know what happens when you drop by the supermarket on your way home from work, famished—before you know it you’ve bought the biggest tray of cannelloni ever made. The worst mistake you can make is to go shopping on an empty stomach. You’ll only be tempted to fill your cart with high–G.I., calorie-rich foods.
6. Shop green-light.
For those of you who prefer a day-by-day guide to your planning, for each week of the G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic in Part II, I provide a complete meal and snack plan and a grocery list. If you’d rather not follow the plan, go back and consult Chapter 3 to get some ideas of what you’d like to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks during your first week on the G.I. Diet; have a look at the Complete G.I. Diet Food Guide on pages 271–277; and peruse the recipe section of this book, or any of my other books, such as the G.I. Diet Cookbook. Write a shopping list and head out to the supermarket. Your first few green-light shopping trips will require a bit more time and attention than usual, as you familiarize yourself with green-light eating and meal planning. But don’t worry: before long your new shopping and eating habits will become second nature.
Since it would be impossible to include every brand available in today’s enormous supermarkets in the Complete G.I. Diet Food Guide, I’ve listed categories of food rather than individual brands, except in cases where clarification is needed, or where there is an especially useful product available. This means that you will have to pay some attention to food labels when comparing brands.
Page 3 of 3
Excerpted from
The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic by Rick Gallop Copyright © 2010 by Rick Gallop. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
1. Go see your doctor.
Before starting any major change in your eating patterns, check with your doctor to see if you have any concerns that could affect your weight-loss plans. As you lose weight, your health will certainly improve, and it will be wonderfully motivating to learn that your blood glucose levels have improved or that your blood pressure has gone down. It may even be possible to change or reduce any medications you might be taking.
2. Assess whether it’s the right time to start.
Are you in the middle of a job change? A major house renovation or move? Is it the week before Christmas or before the cruise you’ve been planning for a year? Then it’s probably not the best time to start a new way of eating. Some life events will make it harder—or even impossible—for you to give the program the attention it needs or to stick with it. Choose a period when your life is relatively stable and when you have time to learn new eating habits—not when your stress levels are even higher than usual. If your enthusiasm for a new slim and healthier you is high and the timing is right, then there’s no better moment than the present!
3. Set your weight-loss target.
It’s important to have a healthy, realistic weight-loss target in mind before starting the program. A good place to start is the BMI table on pages 26–27, not the glossy pages of a fashion or fitness magazine. Being too thin or too heavy is not good. Your health is at risk if your BMI is below 18.5 or above 25. Remember, the BMI table is only a guide.
Page 1 of 3 – Head to page 2 for some more great tips.
Excerpted from
The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic by Rick Gallop Copyright © 2010 by Rick Gallop. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
The other measurement you should concern yourself with is your waist measurement, which is an even better predictor of the state of your health than your weight. Abdominal fat is more than just a weight problem. Recent research has shown that abdominal fat acts almost like a separate organ in the body, except this “organ” is a destructive one that releases harmful proteins and free fatty acids, increasing your risk of life-threatening conditions, especially diabetes and heart disease. If you are female and have a waist measurement of 35 inches or more, or are male with a waist measurement of over 37 inches, you are at risk of endangering your health. Women with a measurement of 37 inches or more, and men with a measurement over 40 inches are at serious risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.
So I have your attention now! Make sure that you measure correctly: put a tape measure around your waist just above navel level till it fits snugly, without cutting into your flesh. Do not adopt the walking-down-the-beach-sucking-in-your-stomach stance. Just stand naturally. There’s no point in trying to fudge the numbers, because the only person you’re kidding is yourself.
Now that you know your BMI and waist measurement, you can set your weight-loss target and know roughly how long it will take you to reach that goal. When you lose weight in a healthy way, you can expect to lose about one pound per week. I say “about” because most people do not lose weight at a fixed and steady rate. The usual pattern is to lose more at the start of the diet, when you are losing mostly water weight, followed by a series of drops and plateaus. The closer you get to your target weight, the slower your weight loss will be. If you are planning to lose up to 20 percent of your body weight—for example, if you weigh 150 pounds and want to lose 30 pounds—assume this will take you thirty weeks, one pound per week. If you have more than 20 percent to shed, the good news is that you will lose at a faster rate. This is simply because your larger body weight requires more calories just to keep operating than someone who is lighter. Still, be prepared for measured results—it took you a while to put on those extra pounds and it will take some time to lose them. Be patient and know that once that weight is gone, it will be gone forever as you keep it off in Phase II of the program.
Although I recommend recording your progress, please don’t get obsessed with numbers on the scale. Many people find themselves losing inches before they register any weight loss. Clothes start feeling a little looser, and before you know it you are down a dress size or getting into your old jeans. Soon you’ll probably have to buy new clothes. My readers often tell me I should have warned them about the extra cost of refurbishing their closet!
Page 2 of 3 – Go to page 3 for some tips on shopping for weight loss!
Excerpted from
The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic by Rick Gallop Copyright © 2010 by Rick Gallop. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. 4. Give your kitchen a green-light makeover.
Take a look in your fridge—what do you see? Two jars of mayonnaise, some leftover cheddar and a lot of sugar-laden condiments in jars? Now open the cupboards: what’s the cookie and cracker situation? Now is the time to do an honest evaluation of what you tend to keep on hand. Consult the Complete G.I. Diet Food Guide (pages 271–277 of The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic) and throw out anything that’s in the red-light column. Be ruthless. If you always have chips on hand, you will eat them. If you keep Goldfish crackers around “for the kids,” you can be sure that they won’t be the only ones snacking on them. Give the unopened food items and cans to your skinny neighbours or local food bank.
5. Eat before you shop.
You know what happens when you drop by the supermarket on your way home from work, famished—before you know it you’ve bought the biggest tray of cannelloni ever made. The worst mistake you can make is to go shopping on an empty stomach. You’ll only be tempted to fill your cart with high–G.I., calorie-rich foods.
6. Shop green-light.
For those of you who prefer a day-by-day guide to your planning, for each week of the G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic in Part II, I provide a complete meal and snack plan and a grocery list. If you’d rather not follow the plan, go back and consult Chapter 3 to get some ideas of what you’d like to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks during your first week on the G.I. Diet; have a look at the Complete G.I. Diet Food Guide on pages 271–277; and peruse the recipe section of this book, or any of my other books, such as the G.I. Diet Cookbook. Write a shopping list and head out to the supermarket. Your first few green-light shopping trips will require a bit more time and attention than usual, as you familiarize yourself with green-light eating and meal planning. But don’t worry: before long your new shopping and eating habits will become second nature.
Since it would be impossible to include every brand available in today’s enormous supermarkets in the Complete G.I. Diet Food Guide, I’ve listed categories of food rather than individual brands, except in cases where clarification is needed, or where there is an especially useful product available. This means that you will have to pay some attention to food labels when comparing brands.
Page 3 of 3
Excerpted from
The G.I. Diet Diabetes Clinic by Rick Gallop Copyright © 2010 by Rick Gallop. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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