Meri Raffetto, RD, is the founder and developer of Real Living Nutrition Services, providing online weight loss programs to empower people to make small changes to achieve lasting results. Meri specializes in weight management and heart disease prevention and is a member of the American Dietetic Association.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

What You're Not to Read 3

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part I: Exploring the Glycemic Index as a Weight-Loss Tool 3

Part II: Switching to a Low-Glycemic Diet 3

Part III: Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles 4

Part IV: Cooking and Eating the Low-Glycemic Way 4

Part V: Improving Your Overall Lifestyle 4

Part VI: The Part of Tens 5

Part VII: Appendixes 5

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 6

Part I: Exploring the Glycemic Index as a Weight-Loss Tool 7

Chapter 1: Introducing the Glycemic Index and How to Use It to Lose Weight 9

Getting to Know the Glycemic Index 9

Measuring the glycemic index 10

Introducing the glycemic load 11

How Does the Glycemic Index Work for Weight Loss? 13

Getting the 411 on blood sugar 13

Understanding the role of carbohydrates 14

Seeing how insulin plays a part 16

Putting it all together 16

Moving beyond Traditional Diet Plans 17

Embracing lifestyle change and abandoning the temporary diet 17

Tossing strict rules out the window 18

Planning, cooking, and enjoying healthy meals 19

Making exercise a part of your life 19

Looking at Other Benefits of a Low-Glycemic Diet 20

Better blood sugar and insulin control 20

Disease prevention 21

Increased energy 22

Improved mood 23

Chapter 2: All Carbs Aren't Created Equal 25

Distinguishing Friendly Carbs from Foes 25

Measuring a Food's Glycemic Index 26

Comparing foods to pure sugar with human help 27

Keeping a couple limitations in mind 29

Defining Low-, Medium-, and High-Glycemic Foods 30

Seeing How Fiber Fits into the Mix 31

Fiber and blood sugar control 32

Low-glycemic/high-fiber, a winning combination 33

Chapter 3: Why and How a Low-Glycemic Diet Works for Weight Loss 37

Regulating Insulin and Blood Glucose 37

Keeping blood glucose levels down 39

Controlling food cravings 40

Keeping food addictions at bay 41

Suppressing Your Appetite Naturally 43

Feeling fuller with fiber 43

Bumping up your fullness hormones with low-glycemic foods 43

Combining Low-Glycemic Foods with Calorie Awareness 44

Understanding why calories still count 44

Knowing that low-glycemic doesn't always mean low-calorie 46

Keeping portion sizes under control 46

Eating More of the Right Foods to Lose More Weight 47

Choosing lots of fruits and vegetables 47

Including healthy fats and protein 48

Chapter 4: Taking Portion Size into Account with the Glycemic Load 51

Going from the Glycemic Index to the Glycemic Load 51

Calculating Glycemic Load 53

Doing the math 53

Figuring out what the numbers mean 54

Factoring in portion sizes 54

Embracing High-GI/Low-GL Foods 56

Checking Out How Glycemic Load Varies among Popular Foods 58

Chapter 5: Determining How Going Low-Glycemic Can Work for You 61

Considering Your Weight-Loss Goals 61

Defining healthy weight loss 62

Taking a Close Look at Your Dieting History 63

Evaluating types of diets you've tried 64

Rethinking restrictive dieting 66

Putting a stop to yo-yo dieting 67

Asking yourself the right questions 67

Reviewing the pros and cons of different approaches to weight loss 68

Do You Have Insulin Resistance? 69

Health conditions related to insulin resistance 70

Characteristics of insulin resistance 71

How a low-glycemic lifestyle can help 72

Considering a Low-Glycemic Diet if You Have Kids or Are Pregnant 72

Helping kids have a healthy relationship with food 73

Managing weight and blood sugar while pregnant 74

Part II: Switching to a Low-Glycemic Diet 77

Chapter 6: Preparing Yourself for a Successful Weight-Loss Program 79

Getting and Staying in the Right Mindset 79

Creating your vision 80

Turning your vision into an affirmation 82

Using positive language 82

Setting Goals You Can Actually Achieve 83

Being realistic 83

Making your goals practical 84

Choosing "want to" rather than "have to" goals 84

Strengthening your goals 84

Focusing Your Choices with a Food Journal 85

What to Expect When Starting Your Journey 86

A shift in priorities 87

An adventure with new foods 88

New habits 88

Feeling out of your comfort zone at first 89

Chapter 7: Raising the Bar on Your Metabolism 91

Understanding Basal Metabolic Rate 91

Measuring your metabolic rate 92

Using your metabolic rate as a weight-loss tool 93

Looking at metabolism influences that are largely out of your control 94

Simple Strategies for Increasing Your Metabolic Rate 95

Building lean muscle mass 95

Getting your heart rate up 97

Sprinkling in small activities 98

Eating low-glycemic resistant starches 99

Avoiding Behaviors That Lower Your Metabolic Rate 100

Skipping meals 100

Eating too few calories 101

Chapter 8: Presenting Foolproof Healthy-Eating Strategies 103

Tips for Choosing Low-Glycemic Foods 104

Get acquainted with the glycemic index list 104

Pay attention to portion sizes 104

Keep the glycemic load of your meal at or under 25 106

Changing the Balance of Your Meals 107

Understanding different nutrients' roles and the benefits of balance 108

Using the "tapas" method for meal planning 109

Putting it all together with sample menus 112

Finding Moderation with Medium- and High-Glycemic Foods 114

Defining moderation 115

Balancing your glycemic load for the day 115

Chapter 9: Navigating the Grocery Store 117

Being a Savvy Low-Glycemic Shopper 117

Planning meals to create your grocery list 118

Knowing the best aisles to visit 120

Comparing fresh, frozen, and canned produce 122

Checking ripeness 123

Reading Nutrition Facts Labels 124

Examining the nutrition facts label 124

Using the ingredients list 126

Stocking Up for Success 127

Pantry basics 128

Freezer-friendly favorites 129

Weekly refrigerator staples 129

Part III: Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles 133

Chapter 10; Guidelines for Dining Out 135

Choosing Wisely 136

Basing your choices on how often you eat out 136

Requesting low-glycemic substitutions 137

Watching your portion sizes 138

Picking Low-Glycemic-Friendly Restaurants 142

Presenting the Best Low-Glycemic Food Choices for... 143

American restaurants 143

Chinese restaurants 144

Fast-food restaurants 144

Italian restaurants 145

Japanese restaurants 146

Mexican restaurants 148

Middle Eastern/Greek restaurants 149

Thai restaurants 150

Chapter 11: Navigating Special Occasions 151

Overcoming the Challenges Posed by Vacations, Holidays, and Parties 151

Avoiding the all-or-nothing mentality 152

Discovering moderation with high- glycemic, special-occasion foods 154

Creating balance for the day 155

Finding the Meal Items That Work for You 157

Being prepared for almost anything 157

Volunteering to bring a low-glycemic side dish 158

Presenting the Best Low-Glycemic Food Picks for Special Occasions 159

Holidays 159

Vacations 161

Parties 161

Chapter 12: Dealing with Weight-Loss Pit falls 163

Coping with Food Cravings 163

Low-glycemic foods to the rescue 165

Timing is everything 166

Strategies for Defeating Emotional Eating 166

Discover your triggers 167

Find new healthy behaviors 168

Become a mindful eater 170

Breaking Through Weight-Loss Plateaus 171

Evaluating your weight-loss goals 172

Tracking consistency 174

Switching up your exercise routine 176

Chapter 13: Finding a Support System 179

Knowing When to Seek Help from a Professional 179

When you have a challenging health condition 180

When you're having trouble making changes 181

When you need accountability and support 181

Enlisting the Right Friends and Family Members 182

Knowing which friends to involve 182

Avoiding saboteurs 182

Creating your own support group 184

Surfing the Web for Information, Motivation, and Support 184

Exploring educational websites 184

Getting involved with group forums and message boards 185

Approaching the web with caution 186

Attending Glycemic Index Programs 187

Group classes 187

Professional conferences 188

Part IV: Cooking and Eating the Low-Glycemic Way 189

Chapter 14: Getting Back into the Kitchen 191

Checking Out How Whole Foods and Convenience Foods Stack Up 191

Taking a closer look at convenience foods 192

Creating more control in your daily glycemic load 193

Finding the best convenience foods when needed 194

Making Whole-Foods Cooking Easy 195

Getting back to the basics 196

Prepping made easy 197

Using flavor combinations to add more pizzazz to your meals 198

Showing some easy throw together meals 200

Chapter 15: Low-Glycemic Cooking Tips and Techniques 203

Evaluating and Modifying Your Favorite Recipes 204

Recipe modification tips 204