I’ve been following the Glycemic Load Diet for about a week now. I’m prediabetic, so I monitor my blood glucose levels. Before I started this diet, I would frequently have levels of 130-140 mg/dl or higher. Sometimes my morning reading would even be over 130. Since I started following the Glycemic Load Diet, my highest reading has been 119, and that includes measurements done after eating. This is a definite improvement.

This isn’t a difficult diet to follow. Like most low-carb diets, fast food and frozen convenience foods aren’t really an option anymore (although Culver’s does have some good salads). The basic idea is to avoid starches, which includes most “white foods.” No bread, no rice, no pasta, and no potatoes. (This also means no cookies, cakes, pies, etc.) Also, no drinks that contain sugar, and that includes juices. The author does allow some options for dessert, including a small amount of dark chocolate.

Additionally, regular exercise is recommended. He suggests walking at least every other day for at least 30 minutes. This is to help reduce insulin resistance by “waking up” certain types of muscle tissue.

You can get the book, The Glycemic Load Diet by Rob Thompson M.D., on Amazon in paperback or as a Kindle edition.

 

I started reading The Glycemic-Load Diet by Rob Thompson, M.D.  this weekend.

Dr. Thompson recommends a low-carb diet in this book, but it is not as restrictive as some low-carb diets. His eating plan is based on the glycemic load, which is similar to the glycemic index, but takes serving sizes into account. The glycemic load (and the glycemic index) indicate the effect of a food on blood glucose levels. When foods that raise blood glocose levels quickly are eliminated, the pancreas does not have to produce as much insulin. This can help with weight loss as well as helping reduce the impact of type 2 diabetes.

He also recommends regular exercise in the form of walking. This is to counter insulin resistance by keeping certain types of muscle tissue active.

As a cardiologist, he also discusses the effect of diet on arterial and heart disease. Controlling your intake of saturated fats may be beneficial, as long as doing so does not result in an increased consumption of high glycemic load foods.

I am prediabetic, and my recent blood glucose levels suggest that I may be close to the criteria for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. I’m also trying to lose weight. I know that watching carbohydrate intake is essential to managing diabetes, so a low-carb approach makes sense to me. I’ve been following his recommendations yesterday and today, and I’ve also been testing by blood glucose frequently today. Today’s highest glucose reading was 119 this morning. My dinner this evening only raised by glucose from 86 to 90 in 2 hours. In the recent past, I have frequently had glucose readings in the 130-140 range, so this approach seems promising.

If you are looking to control your type 2 diabetes, delay or prevent the onset of diabetes, or are simply looking to lose weight, I’d recommend reading this book.

The book is available at Amazon here: The Glycemic-Load Diet (paperback)

It is also available for reading on the Kindle reader or the free Kindle reading apps here: The Glycemic-Load Diet (Kindle)