THE GI DIET - Support, Tips, Recipes And So Much More!!!!

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

A thread for all us GI diet followers (and anyone interested in it).

If you have any yum recipes or tips to share, please do .

If you have any questions about following a GI diet, there's bound to be a Mumsnetter who knows the answer .

I'll be posting my progress on the thread weekly - if anyone else wants to - great!

Here are some useful links (some posted on other threads, but I thought I'd bring them together here):

Sunday Times GI Diet

The Glycemic Index (including database of foods)

GI diet recipe ideas at bottom of this page

decmum, this diet is much better than eating nothing all day. The beauty of it is, you don't get hungry. I love it.

Totally agree...before I've always become extremely competitive with myself and considered the aim to be healthy food but not much of it, being dissapointed at a weekly loss of anything under 3lbs. You just can't keep that up and once you're a mum (still quite recent for me) you want a diet that works for the whole family and doesn't say 'eating disorder' to your kids in years to come. Learning the ropes and including more pulses/beans is the trickly initial bit but I like these foods so it's just a question of practicing.

I haven't really kicked in to the diet as such yet but the green tea is absolutely fabulous, it made me pee like a horse and shift my general bloat in two days!

Can't wait to get started on the real GI thing

I got green tea tea bags from my corner shop...was amazed. Otherwise any supermarket will sell them in the tea bag section.

Well, I went on holiday for a week an fell off the waggon big time. Put on 3 kg in a week! Went back on the GI on Sunday and have lost it already! felling much better too

Anything acidic is good GI wise as it helps to slow digestion, or so I've read

Can anyone explain to me what green tea is? I don't like normal tea but is this made from tea leaves or something else?

It's the tea you get in Chinese restaurants...it's caffeine free. Doesn't really taste of anything much (like all herbal teas IMO). I like the routine of having a hot drink during the day so I find this a good replacement for the tea and coffee routine.

so what is it actually made of? Actual tea or some other herb or something?

On basis of taste I'd say stewed Dock Leaves BUT it says on the packet....

'Originating from the Zhejiang province of China green tea can be traced back to ancient Chinese history which indicates that it was the first tea ever drunk.
Green tea is processed differently to conventional black teas by preserving the leaf's orginal colour giving a fresh, subtle flavour and light green appearance.
It is naturally rich in antioxidants which help protect against free radicals'

So it is the same tea as regular but processed differently.

Thanks decmum. I doubt I'd like it as I don't like normal tea. Don't mind herb teas though, camomile etc.

Been away for 2 weeks (nowhere exciting), but pleased at having still lost 2lbs.

Puff...what would you say has been your average weekly loss and has it had ups and downs even when you've been consistent?

Hi decmum .

I'd say my average weekly weightloss is 2lbs.

I've rarely put on weight, some weeks I've lost 3lbs, then stayed the same the next or lost half a pound.

The thing I've found with doing GI is it's become a way of life for me - I know I can sustain this in the long term, whereas in the past, I've been "on a diet" and then stopped when I've lost weight.

What I like about this is I don't count any calories etc and it's easy when you have a family to run around after. The one thing I do do, is watch the portion size of carbohydrates like rice or potatoes - I do measure those for myself. I'm tending to make up a big pan of soup and a big veggie/pulse based stew on a Sunday, then eat my way through them during the rest of the week (freeze portions for later).

I could make it much more varied but I can't be bothered !

Anyway, it continues to work for me so far.

Have been sort of doing a GI diet thing for a few weeks (recipes from Sunday Times etc) and have lost about 7 lbs, I think. I don't eat meat - is there a book or website that gives you recipes that are veggie/fish? Also, is there a website with a list of foods that are high, medium, low GI so I could get a better idea what food to cook with and what to avoid?

Cha, there's a link to The Glycemic Index at the bottom of this page which list the GI values of many foods.

Regarding books, I'll try to post later, after kiddies bedtime.

i've been doing this for about 10 days and haven't lost any weight at all

i do feel less bloated, but what am i doing wrong.

i haven't been completely strict at weekends (bit of booze), but have been having porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch (mostly bean/lentil based) and low wholegrain carb/high veg/little lean protein dinners.

is there a wait before weightloss kicks in or am i getting this wrong?

Not sure sophable - sounds strange, but you might not be eating enough! Or, it could be the alcohol - if I've not lost or stayed the same, it's because I've had alcohol that week, even if its say 2 or 3 glasses of wine.

Hi, just been browsing throught the thread, I have to say it all sounds very inspiring. I've been following GI principles for a couple of weeks, but am 30 weeks pregnant so not sticking to it completely. Does anyone know if it's safe to follow if you're pregnant/ I'm assuming that it should be ok as it's such a healthy diet. The links to the other web sites are great too.

Cha - I've just bought Gillian McKeith's "You Are What You Eat" cookbook (was on special offer on BOL.com a couple of weeks ago).

It's not a GI recipe book as such, but most of the recipes are based on foods with lower GI values.

There are loads of veggie recipes ans some nice fish ones too.

Franniban, I'm sure following GI principles are fine during pregnancy as it is very healthy -maybe just mention it to your midwife for reassurance.

I've decided to take the plunge and join you if that's okay (I posted once ages ago on this thread.) I bought the AWT book and a Rick Stein book (doesn't seem to be the original). Not sure how's it's going yet as only started on Saturday and I have forbidden myself to keep jumping on the scales.

Some of the Rick Stein recipes mention oat bran and wheat bran - any idea exactly what they are and where I would get them?

Old Mnetter but changed my name for a reason that's too boring to explain.

Anyway, wanted to ask Sophable whether she has much weight to loose because maybe the problem is that she only has 1/2 stone or something....always takes longer but I'm sure it will work so persevere.

I haven't actually weighed myself at all since I started because I get discouraged on slow weeks...I can tell by my clothes that it is working.

saker - you can usually buy oat bran and wheat bran in health food shops in bags (about 500g in each I think). They are basically a good source of fibre.