The Glycemix Index (GI) - Key To Fat Loss Or Just Another Diet
Gimmick
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.lifetosuccess-recommends.com/burnthefat.html
The glycemic index (GI) is a scale from 1 to 100 that measures how
quickly carbohydrate foods are broken down into glucose. The original
purpose for the glycemic index was to help diabetics keep their blood
sugar under control. The glycemic index has recently attracted a lot of
attention in the bodybuilding, fitness and weight loss world and has
even become the central theme in numerous best-selling diet books as a
method to choose the foods that are best for losing weight.
According to advocates of the glycemic index system, foods that are high
on the GI scale such as rice cakes, carrots, potatoes, watermelon or
grape juice are "unfavorable" and should be avoided because high GI
foods are absorbed quickly, raise blood sugar rapidly and are therefore
more likely to convert to fat or cause health problems.
Instead, we are urged to consume carbohydrates that are low on the GI
scale such as black eye peas, barley, old fashioned oatmeal, peanuts,
grapefruit, apples and beans because they do not raise blood sugar as
rapidly.
While the GI does have some useful applications, such as the use of high
GI foods or drinks for post workout nutrition and the strong emphasis on
low GI foods for those with blood sugar regulation problems, there are
flaws in strictly using the glycemic index as your only criteria to
choose carbs on a weight loss program.
For example, the glycemic index is based on eating carbohydrates by
themselves in a fasted state. If you are following effective principles
of fat-burning and muscle building nutrition such as those outlined in
my Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM) e-book (www.burnthefat.com), you
should be eating small, frequent meals to increase your energy, maintain
lean body mass and optimize metabolism for fat loss.
However, since the glycemic index of various foods was developed based
on eating each food in the fasted state, the glycemic index loses some
of its significance. you should be eating small, frequent meals to
increase your energy, maintain lean body mass and optimize metabolism
for fat loss. However, since the glycemic index of various foods was
developed based on eating each food in the fasted state, the glycemic
index loses some of its significance.
In addition, when you are on a diet program aimed at improving body
composition (losing fat or gaining muscle), you will usually be
combining carbs and protein together with each meal for the purposes of
improving your fat to muscle ratio. When carbs are eaten in mixed meals
that contain protein and some fat, the glycemic index loses even more of
its significance because the protein and fat slows the absorption of the
carbohydrates (as does fiber).
Mashed potatoes have a glycemic index near that of pure glucose, but
combine the potatoes with a chicken breast and broccoli and the glycemic
index of the entire meal is lower than the potatoes by itself.
Rice cakes have a very high glycemic index, but if you were to put a
couple tablespoons of peanut butter on them, the fat would slow the
absorption of the carbs, thereby lowering the glycemic index of the
combination.
A far more important and relevant criteria for selecting carbs for
weight loss - as well as all your other foods, proteins and fats
included - is whether they are natural or processed. To say that a
healthy person with no metabolic disorders should completely avoid
natural, unprocessed foods like carrots or potatoes simply because they
are high on the glycemic index is ridiculous.
I know many bodybuilders (myself included) who eat high glycemic index
foods such as white potatoes every day right up until the day of a
competition and they reach single digit body fat. How do they do it if
high GI foods “make you fat?” It’s simple – high GI foods DON’T
necessarily make you fat – choosing natural foods and burning more
calories than you consume are far more important factors. Although it’s
not correct to say that all calories are created equal, a calorie
deficit is the most important factor of all when fat loss is your goal.
The glycemic index is clearly not a "gimmick" and should not be
completely disregarded, as it is a definitely a legitimate nutritional
tool. Is it a good idea to eat low GI foods in general? Sure. Is eating
high GI foods after your workouts a good idea? Absolutely. But diet
programs which hang their hats on glycemic index alone as the “miracle
solution” are just another example of how one single aspect of nutrition
can be used as a "hook" in marketing and said to be the "end all be all"
of fat loss, when it's really only one small piece of the puzzle.
Eating Low glycemic index foods alone does NOT guarantee you will lose
fat. You have to take in the bigger picture, which includes
calories/energy balance, meal timing and frequency, macronutrient
composition, choice of processed versus refined foods as well as how all
these nutritional factors interact with your exercise program.
For more information on carbohydrates and the glycemic index, and for a
balanced, gimmick-free look at all aspects of fat-burning nutrition, be
sure to visit the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle website at:
www.lifetosuccess-recommends.com/burnthefat.html
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal
trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and
author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.”
Tom has written more than 200 articles and been featured in IRONMAN,
Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise
for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites
worldwide. For information on Tom's Fat Loss program, visit:
www.lifetosuccess-recommends.com/burnthefat.html