Introduction

Carbohydrate-bashing is all the rage these days. In fact, it often seems like you can't have a casual conversation without someone mentioning he's trying to eat low-carb, or complaining about how he can never eat potatoes. Somehow carbohydrates are “bad,” and anyone who overindulges in anything that contains even a whiff of carbohydrates is equally “bad.” It's as if carbs have become their own food group to be avoided!

The thing is, the human body requires carbohydrates to function. Foods contain carbohydrates for precisely that reason. So clearly society needs to get beyond the simple bad carb/good carb classifications and figure out exactly what type of carbohydrate-containing foods help promote health and improve energy levels.

Enter the glycemic index, a scientific method for calculating the way carbohydrates in food act in the body. By giving foods a glycemic number, ranging from 0 to 100, you know at a glance what to expect. Because people rarely eat just one food by itself, and because folks tend to eat varying amounts of foods, scientists also came up with the glycemic load. It takes into account all the carbohydrates in foods you eat at one time, along with the amounts of those carbohydrate-containing foods, and calculates a number.

In short, the glycemic index and glycemic load are all about choosing carbohydrate-containing foods wisely and putting them to work for you. This book, in turn, is all about showing you how to use the glycemic index and glycemic load to your advantage in your quest for weight loss and everyday health.

About This Book

If you want to lose weight and improve your overall health, then The Glycemic Index Diet For Dummies is for you. This book offers a wealth of information about both the glycemic index and the glycemic load to help you incorporate greater amounts of low-glycemic foods in your lifestyle. In the following pages, I give you specific tips and suggestions on how to choose lower-glycemic foods whether you're grocery shopping, eating out on the weekend, or enjoying a family vacation or holiday. I even include tasty, simple-to-prepare recipes that use low-glycemic foods and throw in a list of low- and medium-glycemic foods that you can use as a quick-reference tool.

Whether you're reading this book because you don't know anything about the glycemic index and want to find out more or you're already using the glycemic index to make smarter food choices, consider The Glycemic Index Diet For Dummies your trusty resource for adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Conventions Used in This Book

It's a common misconception these days that carbohydrates, or carbs, are their own food group. However, that's simply not the case. They're actually calorie-containing nutrients found in food. Most food groups contain carbs; the only ones that don't are meat (including fish and poultry) and fat sources (think oils and butter). So when I refer to carbs throughout this book, I'm referring to the nutrient your body uses to create energy, not a made-up food group.

Following are a few additional conventions I've used that you should be aware of:

• Whenever I define a word (or put emphasis on a certain word or phrase), I use italics.
• Keywords and the specific action steps in numbered lists appear in boldface.
• Web sites appear in monofont; no extra spaces or punctuation have been added, so type ’em exactly as you see ’em.

Foolish Assumptions

I wrote this book for the people who want to lose weight and maintain that weight loss long-term while still enjoying good-tasting food. I also wrote this book for people who have a family history of diabetes or heart disease and want to take steps to improve their health now, before they begin experiencing medical problems. (Note: If you already have diabetes or heart disease, you can use the information throughout this book to take control of your health and improve how you feel on a day-to-day basis.)

Because you're reading a book about food, I'm taking a leap here and assuming that you enjoy eating. Well, you're in luck! This book includes not only dozens of recipes to help satiate your taste buds but also the reasons why these recipes were selected and what they're going to do for you.

What You're Not to Read

One of the fun things about a For Dummies book is finding all the extra information that you can skip over if you're not interested or don't have time to check it out. Sidebars (indicated by the gray boxes) and text marked with a Technical Stuff icon are included to enhance and round out your understanding of the topic. But if you're just after the nitty-gritty, you can skip these elements without missing anything essential.

How This Book Is Organized

The Glycemic Index Diet For Dummies is organized into seven parts. Here's a quick breakdown of what you can find in each one. Enjoy!

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

Part I introduces you to the glycemic index and explains how it was developed. It clarifies the differences between the glycemic index and the glycemic load, and it lets you know when to use each of these tools for meal planning. This part also introduces you to using the glycemic index as a weight-loss tool and gives you several suggestions for losing weight in a healthy, sustained manner. In this part, I show you how to apply the glycemic index whether you're young, pregnant, or have simply tried every diet known to man (plus a few that seem to have come from outer space!).

Part II: Switching to a Low-Glycemic Diet

In Part II, I give you specific recommendations and suggestions on how to change your eating habits so you can enjoy the benefits of choosing low-glycemic foods. I help you figure out how to set realistic goals that fit your lifestyle without becoming overwhelming, and I explain how you can increase your metabolism to promote weight loss.

Because often people don't realize quite how to start implementing healthy-eating strategies, I provide pointers on watching your portion sizes, adding balance to your meals, and much more. I even share specific suggestions on how to shop for groceries without spending hours in the store getting sidetracked by high-glycemic items.

Part III: Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles

I know that making changes to the way you usually eat isn't easy, which is why this part addresses some of the most difficult situations you can expect to encounter. This part is where you discover how to use the glycemic index when you eat out, attend a holiday party, or go on vacation. Now I love holidays and vacations just as much as the next gal, but I also know what tempting times they are when you're trying to stick to a new, healthier lifestyle. Consequently, this part shows you how simple it can be to continue your new low-glycemic eating habits even when you're away from home and having fun.

Changing habits isn't easy thanks to the inevitable weight-loss pitfall or two, and everybody can use a support system to meet his or her goals. Fortunately, this part provides lots of suggestions on overcoming pitfalls and finding the support you need.

Part IV: Cooking and Eating the Low-Glycemic Way

If you love to cook, and of course eat, delicious food, then get ready to devour Part IV. It's chock-full of recipes that are perfect whether you're an expert chef or a boiling-water-is-rough kind of cook. Get ready to absorb ideas for preparing a variety of meals as well as specific instructions for some tricky techniques (such as cooking beans).

Part V: Improving Your Overall Lifestyle

I truly want to encourage you to incorporate the suggestions in this book for the rest of your life, and this part gives you the tools you need to do just that. And because regular exercise is such a crucial component to lasting weight management, this part also features a chapter on exercise and activity. Finally, you should know that following a low-glycemic diet provides a wealth of health benefits; this part reveals just how that works. (Happy with your current weight? You can use the information in this part to improve your overall health!)

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Part VI is not only fun to read but also helpful and enlightening. First off, it debunks several myths about the glycemic index and sets the record straight on using the glycemic index along with other nutrition strategies. It then goes on to highlight specific foods whose low-glycemic status and health benefits may (pleasantly!) surprise you.

Part VII: Appendixes

The first appendix in this part is a list of low- and medium-glycemic foods that I bet you'll find yourself using over and over again. Granted, not every food has been tested for its glycemic load, but, you now have information about some of the most popular foods at your fingertips in an easy-to-use chart format. This part also features a metric conversion chart so you don’t have to go hunting for that conversion magnet you received ten years ago that’s buried somewhere in the netherworld of your kitchen.

Icons Used in This Book

As you go through the chapters of this book, you'll find the following icons designed to draw your attention to different bits of information.

Watch out for the paragraphs marked...