Low GI diet

becschneider
becschneider Posts: 36
edited October 6 in Health and Weight Loss
Recently i have been told that i have to go on a low gi diet, does anyone know any really good cookbooks or websites that may help me? I have also been put on a medication called diaformin to help get my blood sugars down, I was wondering if anyone was on these tablets what their experiences / side effects were?

Thanks :)

Replies

  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
    I've been on Metformin for over 10 years, when I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. I've had my medications reduced recently, (a nice side benefit of weight loss and better fitness) but I still am taking this one. No side effects as far as I can tell, though I've heard of this being prescribed as a weight loss drug.
  • aquapussy
    aquapussy Posts: 112
    Not sure about the medication, but there are tons of GI food databases just Google GI rating, here is one...

    http://www.gilisting.com/

    It is pretty simple though, stay away from all processed flours, sugars, starchy foods (like potatoes), white rice, and some fruit like bananas. You can still have complex carbs like oatmeal and whole grain breads.
  • rita27ny
    rita27ny Posts: 820 Member
    How many carbs are allowed on this diet? I know 45grams of fiber is needed.
  • stevieb3052
    stevieb3052 Posts: 58 Member
    I started on Metformin in September after being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. I noticed that my appetite was virtually killed off when I got up to my 1500mg daily dosage. I hardly ever feel hungry and when I do, it's normally thirst rather than hunger. It's been great for calorie control as I have to force myself to eat and rarely am able to get above 1500 calories, despite my BMR being 2000 before exercise.

    Another side effect has been increased gas :(

    Other side effects are widely publicised on the web.
  • becschneider
    becschneider Posts: 36
    Hey everyone, thank you for your help!! @stevieb3052 the doctor put me diaformin as i'm at great risk of developing type II diabetes, but i'm only on 500mg at the moment and the past couple of days i've had diarrhoea (TMI i know haha) but i have read that it will ease within a week or so... and me too! I have found my appetite has decreased as well, i used to be so hungry all the time and the other day i had something sugary and man i felt sick... so i know i'll stick to this low gi diet as I don't want that sick feeling again. I'm hoping that it will eventually lead to some weight loss as i have found it really difficult to lose weight, fingers crossed!! @aqua***** at coles here they have a new low gi potato called carisma, should be interesting to see how it goes!
  • MelanieHodgkiss1962
    MelanieHodgkiss1962 Posts: 49
    the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods is one I came across just recently, hope it helps
  • rita27ny
    rita27ny Posts: 820 Member
    the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods is one I came across just recently, hope it helps

    thanks for the website. what is the gi number to eat? i see they have the numbers next to the type of food.
  • curiositycat
    curiositycat Posts: 111 Member
    Check out the Zone diet--it's exactly what you're describing (40 percent of your calories come from carbs, 30 percent from protein, and 30 perfect from good fats). There are tons of Zone books that can get you started, and there's an official Zone website, too. It's more work, of course, to pay attention to your ratios and prepare much of your food from fresh, whole sources, but your body will be screaming its thanks to you!
  • terrigrace
    terrigrace Posts: 199 Member
    I have the low GI cookbook for dummies and the "idiots guide" to low glycemic cooking. I didn't know where to start and these seemed like good references. They have smallish lists of low glycemic foods, but there are quite a few on line databases that I use. My favorite cookbook is the idiots guide. The sourdough bread recipe is awesome. I make two loaves a week.
  • tracikearns
    tracikearns Posts: 138 Member
    I have found GI diet books at the library :)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods is one I came across just recently, hope it helps

    thanks for the website. what is the gi number to eat? i see they have the numbers next to the type of food.

    Low GI = 55 or less
    Medium GI = 56 - 69
    High GI = 70 or more

    You want to avoid High GI foods. Mediums are okay, you should see how you feel when you eat foods in the medium range. Low is best for you.

    High GI foods convert to sugar in your bloodstream very fast which causes a surge and spike of your insulin to deal with it. This is what makes it dangerous to your health. Low to Medium foods, while they may also convert to sugar, do so more slowly and they do not cause this spike in insulin.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    A doctor would put a diabetic or pre-diabetic patient on a low GI diet, meaning eat foods that are > 55. Diabetics should eat 45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 grams of carbohydrates per snack. Portion control and moderation is the key. You can look up what is classified as a portion size.

    You might want to check the library for diabetics cookbooks or magazines. The internet should have some diabetic recipes too.

    Diaformin is Metformin. I don't know how much Diaformin cost, but I would hope it costs the same at Metformin, which is $4.00 for a 30 day supply and $10 for a 90 day supply at Walmart, Kroger and Kmart.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    A doctor would put a diabetic or pre-diabetic patient on a low GI diet, meaning eat foods that are > 55. Diabetics should eat 45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 grams of carbohydrates per snack. Portion control and moderation is the key. You can look up what is classified as a portion size.

    Thank you, I was posting as a non-diabetic person in saying Medium GI was okay. Medium is okay for someone who is not worried about insulin.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    Thank you, I was posting as a non-diabetic person in saying Medium GI was okay. Medium is okay for someone who is not worried about insulin.

    You are welcome. A lot of doctors put their non-diabetic patients on a low GI food as well. Their patient might have high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.

    If I am not mistaken, I've heard the voice over for a Nutrisystem commercial state that their food is low GI foods. This way of eating is universal. One of my aunt's doctor put her on a diabetic diet and she wasn't even a diabetic.
  • becschneider
    becschneider Posts: 36
    Diaformin is Metformin. I don't know how much Diaformin cost, but I would hope it costs the same at Metformin, which is $4.00 for a 30 day supply and $10 for a 90 day supply at Walmart, Kroger and Kmart.

    I got a 90 day supply for $11. The Dr put me on because i'm pre-diabetic and have found it really hard to lose weight (i was 35 but have gone back down to 13 but need to be less than 6). @maxsgrl thank you for the website!! Thank you everyone for your help!! I had a look around and on the diabetes australia website they have a link for a GI site, its pretty good. I also went to www.taste.com.au and typed in low gi in the search and it came up with a heap of recipes!!
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