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