Recommendations??

[Flopster]

Hi,

I am currently on LL and am going into management on 9th November. At the end of the management programme I want to introduce a low GI diet for the whole family. I know it is a while off but I want to start getting my head around what needs to be done now rather than wait.

BUT, I don't really understand it very well (OK I know that sounds wierd, sorry).

Basically I want to introduce a much healthier way of life not just for me but the kids as well.

Can you recommend any books that are easy to understand and also does anyone know what the difference is between GI and GL???

Sorry to be completely thick here - any help would be very appreciated.

 

[dizzy-n-mizzy]

Hi Flopster

I'm planning to do something similar in a few weeks time. I think I'm going to follow the GI plan on tesco ediets. Have you looked into that at all. It's not to expensive and they usually have free gifts or clubcard points when you join up so can virtually have a free trial and cancel if not for you.

Glad you are so close to management now. Welldone!
Dizzy x

 

[chicken on a mission]

Hi Flopster

When you do the LL management programme this follows and explains some of the principles of GI so by applying what you have learnt on the programme you will find that you are following a low GI programme anyway.

GI stands for the glycemic index of a single foodstuff. GL stands for glycemic loading and works on the principle that not everything you eat needs to be low GI, you can combine low GI and higher GI foods to come up with an average GL meal.

GI basically refers to the amount of time it takes you body to break down and utilise the energy stored in the food.

The gi Guide by Rick Gallop (in association with Tesco) is a slightly larger than pocket size guide which is a great 1st book so that you can really get your head around what you are going to be aiming for. It cost 99p from Tesco but the price doesn't reflect the quality and I can't recommend higly enough for your first read

 

[KD]

Oh golly. I'm sure there's going to be loads of people who'll disagree with me on this

I believe that when feeding the family, you need to look at the overall nutritional value not their GI value.

Though the GI diet is basically a sound diet for weightloss, what is suitable for you may not be suitable for the rest of the family who are still growing and using up more calories.

It's like when people use low fat food for everything. My kids get a variety of foods. Some even high fat Good healthy food though. I don't want them to feel satisfied for too long. I want them to eat well and get all the calories, fat, carbs they need at their age.

I use some of the GI priciples for myself when it suitable but I choose foods based on it's nutritional value for the boys and DH. They are strong, very healthy, slim and have no idea about GI, calories, diets or any such thing. They just have healthy eating habits.

 

[Flopster]

Oh golly. I'm sure there's going to be loads of people who'll disagree with me on this

I believe that when feeding the family, you need to look at the overall nutritional value not their GI value.

Though the GI diet is basically a sound diet for weightloss, what is suitable for you may not be suitable for the rest of the family who are still growing and using up more calories.

It's like when people use low fat food for everything. My kids get a variety of foods. Some even high fat Good healthy food though. I don't want them to feel satisfied for too long. I want them to eat well and get all the calories, fat, carbs they need at their age.

I use some of the GI priciples for myself when it suitable but I choose foods based on it's nutritional value for the boys and DH. They are strong, very healthy, slim and have no idea about GI, calories, diets or any such thing. They just have healthy eating habits.

Actually, that is exactly what I want to achieve for my family. We have never had a particularly healthy eating lifestyle here and I want them to get into the habit of eating quality food rather than takeaways, microwave meals and snacking on rubbish - constantly. None of my kids are overweight although my eldest is getting tubby. I have noticed that she is picking up some nasty habbits - her mouth is always muching and I am having to channel her eating into healthy snacks rather than crisps and chocolate.

I think though that our overall nutrition in the home needs to improve - Jamie Oliver has a lot to answer for lol and I really want them to have a healthier outlook to food - because the way I was brought up really isn't right - a diet of convenience food isn't good in the long term.

Right now they do have a mixture of foods - we eat a lot of fish and chicken but it tends to be accompanied by high fat "ready made" foods such as creamy cheesy mash or roast potatoes. It is time that subtle changes were made rather than putting them on a strict diet. I have no intention whatsoever of stopping their chocolate treat after school, or banning crisps from the house - but I would like to introduce lower sugar foods as well - nuts and seeds and dried fruit for example.

I hope that by introducing a healthier lifestyle whilst they are still young, they won't have the life long weight battles I and my siblings have had to deal with as that will become a way of life for them, just as convenience foods became a way of life for us (my mum worked so I am certainly not having a pop at her but our diet did deteriorate from incredibly wholesome to not brilliant over the years)!

 

[Flopster]

Hi Flopster

When you do the LL management programme this follows and explains some of the principles of GI so by applying what you have learnt on the programme you will find that you are following a low GI programme anyway.

GI stands for the glycemic index of a single foodstuff. GL stands for glycemic loading and works on the principle that not everything you eat needs to be low GI, you can combine low GI and higher GI foods to come up with an average GL meal.

GI basically refers to the amount of time it takes you body to break down and utilise the energy stored in the food.

The gi Guide by Rick Gallop (in association with Tesco) is a slightly larger than pocket size guide which is a great 1st book so that you can really get your head around what you are going to be aiming for. It cost 99p from Tesco but the price doesn't reflect the quality and I can't recommend higly enough for your first read

Thanks for that, I will get that book and thanks for the synopsis on the difference between GI and GL too.

Hi Flopster

I'm planning to do something similar in a few weeks time. I think I'm going to follow the GI plan on tesco ediets. Have you looked into that at all. It's not to expensive and they usually have free gifts or clubcard points when you join up so can virtually have a free trial and cancel if not for you.

Glad you are so close to management now. Welldone!
Dizzy x

Yes I was wondering whether to go on tesco ediets afterwards - just to get some menu ideas really.

Many thanks Dizzy.

 

[lavender]

Gi is a really healthy way for the who;le family to eat and in Rick gallops book he does explain the difference btween using it for weightloss and just eating well, so is very easy to addapt to suit all the family especially growing children.
My Family have been fed this way for the past 2/3 years 80% of the time ( he recommends an 80/20 approach to eating for a varied ,fun lifestyle that doesnt make you feel you can never eat a few higher calorie not so nutritious foods). i have 3 sons , 20 , 13 and 10 all who are extreamly healthy, the right weight for thier heights, active and relaxed about food, so have no worries about using GI/GL food programmes, my husband has dropped a few lbs and in general we are all the better for it.

forgot to add , check out the Gi diet forum on here too.

good luck with your LL maintenance, its a learning curve and i fluctuate between coping and having a bit of a panic, it is def a management year though and not just 12 weeks!!

i also have an Antony Worrell Thompson book from tesco which is really good and is not really aimed at weight loss but has lots of great family recipes.

 

[chicken on a mission]

I actually don't agree that low gi means low fat and so suitable for weight loss, sorry karion.

For example, avocado, hummus, full fat milk and most nuts are low GI but not necessarilly suitable for a low fat diet on which to lose weight, but they are fantastic as part of a balanced diet and great family foods with excellent nutricianal qualities for the whole family (obviously beware of nuts and small youngsters)

I follow GI/GL principles for my family and have done since my hubby was diognosed with type 2 diabetes just before Christmas 2005 but because my daughter is 4 I suppliment her diet with some extras that hubby and I wouldn't have because the amount of energy that she needs is phenominal plus she needs extra calcium for example because she is growing up.

 

[KD]

I actually don't agree that low gi means low fat and so suitable for weight loss, sorry karion.

LOL. That's okay. I know GI isn't low fat. After all don't chocolate and salted peanuts have a low GI

I was trying (badly) to say that I know of people that assume low fat foods are best for the family and change the milk, yoghurts and anything else that can be done accordingly. I was just comparing. Low fat isn't necessarily the right way for kids as they should be getting 30% of their calories from fat alone, like GI isn't necessarily the correct thing for everyone else.

my daughter is 4 I suppliment her diet with some extras that hubby

Exactly. You supplement. So I reckon that basically you give them a good healthy diet that not necessarily low GI, low fat, low anything. Just good stuff.

I kept thinking about the message I posted last night. It kept bothering me. I even dreamt about it

Just one of the things that gets me on my soap box following anything other than just good wholesome food for the family.

I kept thinking, silly cow...you don't even know enough about the GI diet to comment Doh.

 

[chicken on a mission]

Karion you are wonderful

I don't know about you but I feel even more strongly about how I feed my family than I do about what I do to myself

One of worst things that I found out about myself and felt most ashamed of which I have never shared on this forum is that the reason I put weight on when I was 22 as opposed to before was that this was just after I moved in with my hubby.

One of the lessons I subconciously learnt from my dad was that when you love someone you feed them lots of 'good' (not good for you) food. When I moved in with hubby we both put weight on as a result and my dad was just off down the same route for my daughter. I started a thread (on Discovery)about how to deal with my dad's attitude about feeding crap to my daughter because I could now understand what this did to me and could see the cycle being repeated

I don't mind admitting my own failings but bad mouthing my friends or family is something I have trouble with. My dad can't help it and I still have a hard job coming to terms with the animosity I feel towards him given that I now see my daughter of being partially at risk when he undermines me which is made even harder by the fact that he is so wonderful as a father and I love him so much

 

[KD]

I don't know about you but I feel even more strongly about how I feed my family than I do about what I do to myself

Oh yes. Me too. When I got married, I wasn't too overweight (thanks to SW that time!) My husband was though. Within a few months he must have lost about 4 stone accidently. Of course, this maybe due to the stress factor of marrying me

I on the other hand managed to put nearly the same amount on

I don't mind admitting my own failings

Oh I do. I hate it. I should be used to it by now since I've had so practice, but it still hurts my pride Going wrong is one of the few things that I excel in, and I'm told we should be proud of the things that we can do

I still have a hard job coming to terms with the animosity I feel towards him given that I now see my daughter of being partially at risk when he undermines me which is made even harder by the fact that he is so wonderful as a father and I love him so much

Aw sweetie. It's tough when we try to deal with families. It pulls at every emotion doesn't it. I miss my parents at times. Whatever their failings, we can't help but love them em.

 

[westhills]

I have just made the carrot cake from Rick Gallop's recipe, and it was SO good! AND, I only had one piece and it's been lying in my tummy keeping the munchies at bay, all evening. No sugar, olive oil for the fat content & other highly nutrious, deicious ingredients. I've cut the rest of it into pieces, which I am going to freeze, and just take one out at a time.
RESULT!

Ann x

 

[deej]

Ann,

Was this recipe in the book from Tesco or a different Rick Gallop book?

I am now in week 3 of CD 790 (moving onto 1000 plan next week) and so I am about to order a few GI books and to start filling up the cupboards with ingredients!

Thanks

Dawn