The GI Diet Blog and Board

since eggs are such a simple, inexpensive and great-any-time-of-day protein, it makes sense to have 1001 recipies to enjoy them!

SPANISH OMELETTE

Yield: 4 servings
Source: “Magic Menus for People with Diabetes”
Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/3.shtml

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 can green chilis, chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped, seeds removed
- 2 teaspoons chopped pimiento
- 6 egg whites
- Pinch of saffron
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (1%)

DIRECTIONS

In nonstick skillet, saute green pepper, onion,
and garlic in water. Add chilis, tomato, and
pimiento and boil off remaining liquid.

Combine egg whites and saffron and beat into soft
peaks. Fold cottage cheese into egg whites,
followed by the contents of the skillet.

Return to skillet and fry until eggs are set,
turning to avoid scorching. Pour off any water
rendered during cooking and serve.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe):
Calories: 71, Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Sodium: 338 mg,
Carbohydrate: 7 g, Dietary Fiber: 2 g, Sugars: 4 g, Protein: 9 g
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Very Lean Meat, 1 Vegetable

I once made the observation; and I don’t remember anymore if it was on this blog or while chatting to another person about weight loss, that once you learn and apply one method of eating, it’s much easier to learn another method, especially if it’s similar. I’m pretty thankful for getting a firm grasp of the glycemic index diet. If it wasn’t for this *basic* concept, the other methods I might employ in the future could be potentially problematic. I see the glycemic index concept sorta like a building block, or a basic programming language, that all other programming languages are based on.

I have my struggles though. While my doctor is suggesting “Atkins Induction”, I’ve been lurking on the boards and such and see many people modify plans for themselves, or change their “language of thinking”. people change from “strictly atkins” to simply “low-carb”.

Last night I was shocked to find that a buddy of mine who’s done Atkins, never read the book. I was telling him about last night where I’m visiting family and such, I had one big meal for the day (which is generally a no-no), and there was no sweetener for coffee and dessert put in front of me. Now sure, I can say no thank you. Oftentimes, I do. But I sat there and reasoned with myself and thought “come on Chris, you’ve been doing well, this is a bad day in terms of meals, blow your 20 carbs on this ONE thing”

And so I did. I probably had something close to 40-50 grams all total yesterday, many of those carbs “bad” carb choices, but at the same time… is this a license to say… oops! body is out of ketosis, I just blew my diet away to bits… I give up.

Absolutely not!

Back to my friend. I was bitching with him about being on atkins induction, and he told me he went “hardcore” for a year. He kept to under 20 grams of carbs, didn’t have food lists or anything, and even had fruit once in a while, or even a slice of bread, but for that entire year, he was under 20 net carbs per day.

To this day, he’s one of my biggest role models in the Atkins/low-carb world, why? Because he lost well over 100 lbs, and has kept it off for over 4-5 years (or longer). I met him in New Orleans in 2004, and wouldn’t have guessed he used to fat until he told me when I first started blogging about my weight loss journey.

He doesn’t know yet how much that singular remark last night eased my mind. I had forgotten that I made my *own* modifications on low gi, forgot that I purchase gi diet books that didn’t talk about carb limits, but I made my *own* daily carb limits. The key are *concepts*.

- I still stick with mostly leafy veggies
- I still don’t have fruit on a regular basis or when I do, it’s a small amount
- I still read nutritional information on packages
- I still eat protein at every meal
- I still try to drink as much water (as close to 8 glasses a day as I can)
- I still pay attention to fibre in my diet.

So there it is: I’m more at peace with doing 20 net carbs a day, and having more variety in my own personal method of following Atkins induction.

It used to be, when I talked about weight loss or diet with my relatives, I’d recieve an onslaught of unsolicited advice. I was especially aggrevated when I continued to get advice after a successful initial weight loss. While many have lost and gained 50 stubborn pounds most of their lives, few can say they belong to the ‘over 100 club’ and continue to keep that off for years to come. I remain proud of that acheivement even though I’m roughly halfway to my goal.

Nevertheless I’m enjoying my recent conversations with my older brother. There days, I’ll get whatever inspiration I can to keep moving, keep going. Afterall, isn’t that the *best* reason for losing weight to better health?

Today, we talked about the concept of not *dieting* so much as … be mindful of our nutritional needs; in essense, fuel for our bodies to make it work efficiently. My bro and I definitely belong in the “foody group”… people who enjoy savory good quality food. We want our food tasty and fun to eat. This is not something that will go away. However, at the end of the day, I think it’s equally important to really look at why we eat what we do, and if it’s going to work effectively for our bodies and health goals.

This is where exercise weighs in heavily as an important tool for me to remain commited to a low gi diet lifestyle. When I workout, which is something I try to do at least three times a week now, I now have a strong desire to “eat clean” and not sabotage results gained from my open water swims.

I just finished having a whole can of tuna mixed with mayo, 15 grams of shredded cheddar mixed over a bed of greens. While the temptation to have a slice of bread was there, I remembered I had a sandwich for breakfast earlier today, and compensated with added greens. As amazing as it sounds, even over 300 lbs, and after a solid hour work out at the lake, a simple salad with ample lean protein is enough to keep me satisfied until dinner time.

Maybe food as fuel isn’t such a hard concept to grasp after all. It is the one step I missed in my 20’s when I was working out, but still gaining weight.

Finally, I briefly read an article last week that titled: Study: Weight Gain Most Prevalant Among Fat Friends. As I skimmed through the new titles that day, my heart sank a little knowing full well that the majority of my friends are fat. While this is just a study, and may not apply to me personally, it did give me pause. I started to wonder if this was similar to alcoholics or drug addicts in recovery, where generally one has to remove themselves from friendships that will cause problems for their recovery.

Instead, it motivated me to not lose my ‘fat friends’ but to hopefully continue to be a source of inspiration to them, to each other. As the same time, I find myself equally interested now in not hiding my goals and accomplishments and desires to be thinner from my thinner friends who they themselves are constantly working to keep healthy. I found as I talk to them, including my brother, that healthy (or healthier) living is something that is a DAILY commitment. It doesn’t end after weight loss, or after years of maintaining. Success only occurs from a commitment that lasts a lifetime, not from just a few months of a fad diet.

I firmly believe now, that if you’re on a diet that isn’t designed to effectively meet your nutritional needs to keep your body functioning, essentially, if you’re not eating “cleanly”, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Thankfully, concepts learned on the gi diet meets all of my requirements in this regard.

I’ve been having a hard time with routines again, particularly around eating. If I’m up past midnight, more often than not, I want sweet. Apart from moving servers this week, that’s what I haven’t taken the time to write in this blog.

At the same time thought, this summer my routine hasn’t faltered too much thanks to the fact that I’m caring for my diabetic mother in law. Starting the day with a breakfast without fail, has actually helped curb the temptation to go for something sweet. There are those days however when I’m craving the sweet stuff.

Now, if I can just be committed to having a night time routine, I just might be able to pull this off without requiring a chocolate bar. My wife meanwhile discovered a somewhat new concept in cooking and flavours called umami. It’s gaining in popularity although I’m skeptical about how ‘important’ it is, and how much of this can be applied to the GI diet, and into my own food choices.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned while being on GI diet, is the flexible nature of it. At least I can’t really say there’s anything “routine” about the plan itself. I plan to write more on the subject later on.

The summer is finally here, and that means I’m finally out there everyday getting some exercise. The heat wave has made the water all too inviting. If there’s one thing that keeps me on my toes about my food intake, it’s exercising. Now that’s not ALWAYS the case. The other day I swam so much with very little food to start with, and ended up “binging” on “low gi” foods. But it was the binging part that wasn’t cool about that experience.

Besides creating consistency, the best workouts I’ve found need to be planned properly around my meals. Although I like to swim with little to no food prior to my workout, unfortunately the energy depletion starts to kick in at about the 1 hr mark for me.

The solution to that was simple: a light protein snack, or a meal with protein about one hour before I go out there. The results are staggering. I did a 1.5 mile swim just a little under 2 hours (I don’t swim for speed) without any hunger and the pace was consistent.

The important thing for anyone who’s following a food plan with exercise is simply to find what’s going to work for you. In my 20’s I worked out but without consistency in my work outs or in my food intake. Now I pay attention to both. Being on GI as a basic “blueprint” for my food intake has what’s made all the difference in the world. There are some days where I do pack on the calories. But as long as my sugars remain low, and I kick back to more modest or controlled food intake the following day, I’m not sabotaging my results from my swims.

Just some thoughts for today.

A couple of days ago I posted about the Kimkins diet controversy that’s being chronicled on another blog. Now, to be fair, the articles found there is a small expose about ONE diet craze that’s out there. Given the publicity behind this diet however, it’s a great example of the many problems that ensue in a diet crazed world. When so many people are raising questions about the validity of not only the diet, but the “guru” behind this plan (including accusations by many on the use of stock or fake photos to promote), it becomes a meaningful story that needs to be told.

There are many many comments found on low carb forums splashed all over the net. One that struck a chord with me was this one:

“One good question folks brought up there is - where are the “maintainers” on this plan? Can you really do this long-term without the fat?
”

I’ve asked this question myself. And let me be honest, calling my food plan a “diet” leaves me with a very sour taste in my mouth. You see, I used to be a big (pun intended) supporter of the fat or size acceptance movement. I have met many friends who have tried then shunned many diets over the years because they became fed up with yo-yo weight gain. I’ve met people who lost 150 lbs only to gain it all back and pack on more weight than where they started.

The other thing that bugs me are story lines of people who lose weight FAST, and get pics of their new bodies splashed all over magazines. So I’m going to make a promise here and now. If I’m personally EVER splashed in a magazine spread, it’s going to be an article that promotes healthy weight loss AND maintaining that weight loss over a stretch of 10 years or more. So, see you in 10 years ok? LOL

What is the rush towards rapid weight loss without healthy eating habits? What’s with the rush of weight loss without promoting exercise? If any of us who are dedicated followers of a *proper* glycemic index diet, you know that within the books you’ve purchased, exercise is PROMOTED. Period. End of Story.

I’ve kick started my swimming regime this summer with some pretty aggressive weight loss goals. By aggressive, I’m going to say roughly 20 lbs per month. The reason is simple: I love swimming and exercising outdoors and summer is the best time for active weight loss. Given the fact that I lose about 2000 calories over a 90 minute swim (that is not an exaggeration), could I possibly maintain my energy levels during a swim like this if I was on a starvation diet like that of “kimkins” ? Could 600 calories containing very low carbs assist me during this exercise routine? I have my doubts.

The GI Diet, on the other hand is the type of diet that helps with energy levels and promotes a more balanced approach. I’ll even go as far as to say, someone on a *moderate* atkins diet plan will also benefit from the protein rich diet that doesn’t significantly reduce calories that will cause your body to go into starvation mode. Men’s Health and other magz promoting weight loss by exercise continue to by my personal inspiration on balanced dieting with exercise training.

On final note: I’m a simple blogger with a simple message. At 475 lbs, I started my path back to healthier living by finally starting to listen to the advice of doctors, all of whom did not suggest a very low calorie diet. Only one, who just met me at 360 lbs, presented the idea of gastric bypass or atkins as options. When I told her I lost 125-130 lbs on exercising and use of the GI diet, her only comment was: carry on then. What more could she say? I’ve maintained this weight loss without yo-yoing for over 3 year now.

From where I sit, that’s exactly what I’m going to continue to do.

It’s odd. Breakfast is something I prepare everyday. Ever since my mother-in-law arrived to stay with me for the summer, my own personal routine has greatly improved. This includes a low glycemic index breakfast which, if you scan quickly enough you might think: it is?

How does a 3 egg omelette, bacon, yogurt, toast and jam sound to you? Would you be surprised if I told you the whole meal was under 20 carbs AND low fat? (That’s uh, *total* carbs, not *net*. But if you want to add net there, we’re be saying roughly 12-14 “net” carbs.

Welcome to the world of substitution. Now, while the GI diet tends to get people more into wholesome cooking (at least it did for me), but when you’re concerned about overal health, and cholesterol in your diet as well as fat, there are solutions out there for you that help with your meal plans.

In this case:

- I use 100% egg whites or egg beaters for my omelette, instead of real eggs. Both options are great, but since my mother-in-law and I eat eggs every day, I use real or whole eggs about 2-3 times a week. The GI Diet book I use recommend 4 eggs per week. So keep that in mind.

- bacon? Well, unless you’re using real back bacon, the other option to keep this low fat is turkey bacon. fry up in a no-stick pan, keeps your meat on the lean side with this dish.

- yogurt - I personally don’t eat this very often but my mom does. You can usually find low fat no-sugar added yogurt at your grocers that’s usually under 10 carbs per serving. She has one that was 8 carbs.

- toast and jam - no-sugar added jam., if you’re going to have jam at all, is a GREAT option for diabetics. It’s about 5 carbs per serving, but in our case, I used diet bread that’s 9 carbs per slice and 1 slice each of us, I was able to stretch out the serving over 2 slices of toast. 12 carbs total for 1 slice of toast with jam.

I usually round out the meal with spinach (hence the omelette) or 1/2 a red tomato, sometimes I add cheese. In our case today, I used soy cheese which helps cut the fat content.

I find that since I’ve been eating breakfast regularly, I’ve been snacking a lot less during the day, and I ‘cheat’ less. This is *not* a meal that compromises on taste either. If you can avoid the high fat, why not do it? the funny amusing thing for me is, this would be an appropriate meal on a moderate “atkins” diet, and there was literally not trick to this, no “faux” make-believe-you’re-eating-carbs-but-you’re-not kind of dishes that I see plastered on the net.

Get back to the basics… GI is like that.

http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1241141.html

The above article is another fairly informative article but I have a few comments about it.

When in doubt, take the water test. Just drop a little bit of a food in a glass of water. If it dissolves quickly, it has a high glycemic index. If it dissolves slowly, it’s probably low on the glycemic index.

First of all, I never thought of trying that, but that’s kind of neat. I mean, put a leaf of lettuce in a glass with water and it will take a LONG time to dissolve. So that’s a neat tip.

But here’s where I’m disappointed with the article:

But just because a food has a low glycemic index doesn’t mean that it’s healthful. “Steak and crème brûlée both have a low glycemic index,” Heber notes. “But they are loaded with fat and calories. You can gain weight on anything if you eat enough of it. It doesn’t matter what it is.”

What I have to say about this is simply: the writer is misinformed. steak isn’t low gi, it is NO GI (raw steak with no bbq sauce or sugery marinade). It’s kinda like confusing “low carb” with “low gi” These concepts are *not* the same, people!

Low GI is an all encompassing food plan. In fact, the proper low GI diet book will list what meats are low and high GI. For example: high gi meats listed in the book *I* use include:

Low GI meats include:

In other words, there’s special emphasis on lean fat meats. The same applies for cheeses.

Be informed. Low GI is *not* the same as saying something is Low *carb*

So last week I commented on finding recipes that are atkins-inspired for low carb diets but was frustrated with the high-fat content that is NOT necessary for some recipes to taste good and still be low carb. mashed cauliflower is the perfect example of that. I made mashed cauliflower and the consistency was so creamy, I couldn’t tell the difference between that and regular mashed potatoes. The magic: blend well, and no need for high fat diary products. Here’s what I did.

- 1 large head of cauliflower, broken up into florets
- about 2-3 cups of broth… any flavour is fine
- 1-2 tablespoons of margarine - go with yogurt based for even lower fat
- to add flavour and some extra creamy texture (though you don’t need it), I added about 1 cup of *soy* cheddar cheese
- 2-3 strips of crumbled low fat turkey bacon
- 1-2 chopped green onions.

Method:
boil the cauliflower in the soup broth for a full 12 minutes. Drain. Reduce heat to low-med, and add the cooked cauliflower back in for another 2 minutes. this helps dry the cauliflower out which is necessary for this recipe.

Next, I used a blender adding the florets a bit at a time, but as it blends down it will get easier. add the margarine, or butter.

blend until the consistency of mashed potatoes. I used a spoon inbetween to keep pushing down the cauliflower.

once you reach creamy texture, add the cheese, then add the bacon bits, and green onion near the end. oh, and if you like it with even more flavour, add 1-2 large garlic cloves for that complete gourmet touch.

*THAT* dear readers, is it. No sour cream, no milk, no mayonnaise, nothing. If you’re not too kean on margarine, some olive oil will do but this recipe does not need the high fat content at all.

I served this with BBQ’d chicken and a nice large salad for the perfect BBQ meal.

Enjoy.

BBQ Season has arrived.

My wife is visiting from San Francisco this week, and I must say, I’ve been getting into my BBQ grill for almost all of our dinners. A fresh salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegrette to accompany our grilled meats along with roasted red potatoes (1 potato each) has really made our meals enjoyable. Depending on the phase of the GI Diet, you can add a glass of red wine to any type of meat including fish to round out a pleasant meal, and healthy too!

For cost saving measures we tend to stick to chicken thighs instead of chicken breast meat. Meals are fast. To make them a little faster, consider microwaving your cubed red potatoes for about 3-5 minutes in the microwave. Tonight I cubed them, microwaved for 5 minutes, then in tin foil, I gathered them up, added chopped garlic, a bit of kosher salt, rosemary and sprayed the whole potatoe package with olive oil spray. Delicious!

With a fresh salad greens with olive oil and balsamic vinegrette dressing, our grilled meat meal was a perfect combination.

Now’s the time folks to enjoy your BBQ and a healthy GI diet.