The 7-Day GL Diet: Glycaemic Loading for Easy Weight Loss

But let’s look at another food. Take carrots and use the same procedure. To get 50g of carbohydrate from carrots you would need to consume about one-and-a-half pounds (0.7kg). That’s a normal portion for a donkey maybe, but a bit excessive for the likes of us humans in one sitting. The volunteers (poor things) are fed the carrots, and the same blood tests and calculations are carried out as with the bread. The result is that carrots get a GI of about 75, making them high GI, which is why many GI diet books advise you not to eat them! Carrots are, in fact, a very healthy and low-‘GL’ food based on an average portion, so we can all thankfully continue to enjoy them as part of a balanced diet.

The GL Makes Sense of the GI

The GL goes a practical stage further. It takes the GI rating we’ve just outlined, but then very cleverly (thanks to Professor Walter Willett of Harvard Medical School who came up with the equation) takes into account the amount of carbohydrate in a portion of food we would normally eat. So now we know the effect a normal portion of carrots (around 100g) would have on our blood glucose levels, and that’s what gives us the GL rating.

It’s so simple and, more importantly, relevant to what we actually eat!

Foods rated using the GL do still get a number:

10 and under = low GL

11–19 = medium GL

20 plus = high GL

If you did want to count your GLs for the first few days to gain confidence that you are on the right track, you would be aiming to have 80GL or under on a low-GL day. A high-GL day would be 120GL or over.

BUT don’t worry. Although we do give some basic portion guidelines and GL references, you don’t have to count at all! Counting points and rigidly measuring and weighing foods is what turns us all off when it comes to diets. It’s the bit that makes diets boring, boring, boring and, besides, who has the time?

All you need to do is read through the rest of the book, start loving healthy, low-GL foods, losing weight and, best of all, be able to keep it off forever as the GL diet becomes a way of life.

As serial dieters we are all searching for our own elusive ‘diet freedom’. The GL finally brings this within everyone’s grasp without deprivation or hunger.

For us, this GL plan is the ultimate permanent weight-loss solution because:

It works – you’ll see results in just seven days.

It’s easy to follow.

It’s based on sound, sensible science.

It suits both men and women.

There’s no counting points.

There’s no endless weighing and measuring.

There’s no hunger or feeling deprived.

There’s no humiliation or guilt.

It’s a healthy diet you’ll want to adopt for life, not just for Christmas …

Oh … and it’s safe!

* (#ulink_c327fd66-8f1a-58e7-ae59-8e300f433da9) The Harvard Medical School has carried out the longest running studies into human nutrition, stretching back over 20 years, and these are still continuing today.

Chapter 2 HOW TO FOLLOW THE 7-DAY GL DIET (#u54f38a44-3770-5e23-9063-ebac940a1626)

OK, so now you’ve got the gist of how and why the GL diet works, are you ready to get cracking?

This chapter is designed to give you a short and sweet, whistle-stop tour of how to use the book, eat fantastic low-GL food from the 7-day plans and, of course, get results.

We have written The 7-Day GL Diet to give you enough guidance to guarantee results. You can start by making small changes a week at a time until, before you know it, you are actually living a healthy low-GL lifestyle. If all you want to do is follow the diet for seven days to lose a few pounds then that’s no problem, but we’d like to think you’ll want to carry on once we get you feeling all the benefits of eating low GL. Once you feel confident about which foods are low GL and which aren’t, we think you’ll want to join the thousands of successful ‘Diet Freedom Fighters’ (as they like to be known) out there who now make eating low GL part of their day-to-day routine. You can of course carry on using all the recipes, food lists and shopping guides long after the first seven days. Remember, this doesn’t have to be a short-term quick fix – it can be a way of life.

Because the three of us are so different – and the feedback we’ve had tells us you are all so different too – we’ve carefully designed three seven-day plans to suit the variations in the way we all eat and prepare our food. If you want to pick one of the plans and follow it to the letter for seven days, that’s fine; or if you prefer to mix and match, choosing meals from all of the plans, then that will work too. You can also follow each of the plans in succession for three weeks, checking your results as you go – do whatever is going to fit in with your lifestyle and feels right for you.

Whichever way you choose to use the plans, here are a few golden rules that will help you stay on track, and lose those unwanted pounds and inches.

The 7-day GL Diet Secrets of Success

Whichever plan you want to follow, make sure you eat three meals and two snacks each day. This will prevent the dreaded hunger pangs you so often get on a diet, whilst ensuring you meet your nutritional needs for the day.

Use the shopping guides and food lists we have put together for you. They are there to make everything easier and to ensure you don’t find yourself at the supermarket checkout with a whole load of high-GL foods.

Get organized – decide which day you want to start the plan, and stick to it. Get everything you need for at least the first two to three days. If you can, get rid of high-GL foods like biscuits, sweets, white breads and cakes that may act as trigger foods for you to fall off track.

Take some measurements such as waist and hips as well as weight or BMI (body mass index – there is a BMI chart on our website) before you start and don’t measure again until the end of the seven days. Weight can fluctuate daily for lots of reasons so you won’t get a true picture of your success by jumping on the scales every day – and anyway, that’s what people stuck in a diet trap do and you are now breaking free from all that!

Although we have given some general guides for portions, don’t start weighing everything you eat! There’s no need. The guides are there just to give you an idea of a sensible portion. Maybe weigh a food once, and then you’ll recognize the right portion the next time. Do use the cupped hands portion guide (see page 191) – this is the only portion rule you’ll ever need!

Don’t get hung up about counting GL points either. Although we have given you the GL values of foods it’s just to give you a basic understanding. We are all for ‘Diet Freedom’ and making everything smooth and easy, which fits in perfectly with this way of eating. Counting points and weighing food is too much like dieting for us – and remember WE HATE DIETS!

? Get active. You will lose weight following the 7-day GL diet on its own, but this book is all about helping you towards a healthier lifestyle and that means moving about more (see page 18 for details). You will feel even better and get fantastic results if you increase your activity levels by even 30 minutes a day, along with following the eating plans.

So What Can You Expect from the 7-Day GL Diet?

A lot will depend on where you are starting from, what your diet is like right now, how much you weigh, how active you are, and of course how closely you follow the plans!

The one thing we can promise you is that you will lose weight following the 7-day GL plan. You can expect to lose between 2lb and 5lb in the first week, more if you’ve got a lot of weight to lose. Unlike other diets, the difference is that if you keep to a reasonably low-GL diet you’ll keep the weight off. If you just want to lose a few pounds then a week or two following the plan may be all you need. However, most people feel so well on the plans that they carry on just for the many health and emotional benefits (see research in Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)).

For those of you who have more weight to lose it will take a little longer, but you will get there, just take it seven days at a time. Whatever your goals, we – and the many wonderful Diet Freedom Fighters – are here to help and support you. Check out our website to help keep you going.

You can use the plans for as long as you like. They are nutritionally balanced; there are no food groups you have to avoid; and above all you won’t be hungry. Once you have got the hang of things it becomes second nature, but to start with we really recommend you take it in seven-day steps, building on your success as each week passes.

When you reach your goal we’ve also given you lots more help to maintain it (see Chapter 4 (#ulink_f2957ae3-4908-5d98-b943-e0e674dfd54d)).

The Seven-day Plans

Each of the 7-day plans has a particular type of person in mind. However, because we are complicated souls, and our daily routines aren’t all the same, please remember you can jump into one plan today and another tomorrow. As long as you stick to a breakfast, lunch and evening meal plus two snacks from any of the plans you’ll be just fine.

The Seven-day Fast and Friendly Plan

This is for people who probably know there is a cooker in the kitchen somewhere but don’t have what you’d call a loving relationship with it. It’s all about fast, healthy and delicious food to help you lose weight and snacks you can munch on the run. We even give you tips for eating out and grabbing ready prepared food.

The throw-together evening meals take no more than 20 minutes from start to finish, but if there’s the odd night you do want to spend a bit longer cooking, no problem – just choose a recipe from the Foodie Friendly plan for keen cooks. Similarly, if you like to eat meat-free every now and then you can dip into the seven-day plan for vegetarians too.

What we wanted to give you was a fast, easy and convenient plan that fits in with your normal routine. This is Tina’s speciality area – she’s a great cook but far too busy to waste a minute more than she needs to in the kitchen.