Your Questions

1. Why do I crave high-glycemic food?

2. I purchased your cookbook and love it, but I was wondering how long a person should stay on phase1. I have approximately 50 lbs to lose and I am very addicted to breads and starches. I followed your Phase 1 for 1 week and did very well but I am a bit afraid to start Phase 2 as I might go back to my old food choices. I am just starting to get back to regular exercise and I walk everyday as well as weight training 3 times a week. By the way, I am 57 years old.

3. What is the difference between Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load ?

4. I have heard you say that you should not overcook pasta or rice. Why?

1. Why do I crave high-glycemic food?

Carbohydrate cravings often lead to eating high-glycemic foods such as bread, rice, potatoes,
commercial baked products and sweets. Sugar from these foods is digested quickly and causes a rapid spike in blood sugar. This, in turn, triggers a surge of insulin which causes the blood sugar to drop into the hypoglycemic range. This leads to the release of stress hormones, which drives the blood sugar back up to normal but leaves an uncontrollable hunger, resulting in the need to to eat something. Usually it is another high-glycemic meal or snack, continuing the vicious cycle. If you start the day off with a high-glycemic meal, you may eat up to 80% more calories in the day. It is important to observe whether you are spiking your blood sugar with your food choices. Switching to low-glycemic eating will diminish carbohydrate cravings and help control your appetite which will ultimately help you lose weight. (top of page)

2. I purchased your cookbook and love it, but I was wondering how long a person should stay on phase1. I have approximately 50 lbs to lose and I am very addicted to breads and starches. I followed your Phase 1 for 1 week and did very well but I am a bit afraid to start Phase 2 as I might go back to my old food choices. I am just starting to get back to regular exercise and I walk everyday as well as weight training 3 times a week. By the way, I am 57 years old.

There is no set time frame to be on phase 1 or phase 2. We encourage you to stay on phase 1 until you feel confident that you can re-introduce breads, rice, pasta in moderation and without going back into old habits. More rapid weight loss will occur during phase 1 so some people choose to alternate between phase 1 and 2 every other week. Remember, this book is about a lifestyle change and making healthier choices whenever possible. (top of page)

3. What is the difference between Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load ?

The glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers - the higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. So a low GI food will cause a small rise, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike. A list of carbohydrates with their glycemic values is shown below. A GI is 70 or more is high, a GI of 56 to 69 inclusive is medium, and a GI of 55 or less is low.

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food’s effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low.

Foods that have a low GL almost always have a low GI. Foods with an intermediate or high GL range from very low to very high GI. (top of page)

4. I have heard you say that you should not overcook pasta or rice. Why?

All starch, whether it’s made of straight or branched chains, is composed of crystals, which don’t dissolve in cold water. If you think of a grain of rice or a raw piece of potato in a glass of water, it remains the same. But heat breaks down those crystals so the starch can dissolve in water. When you cook a starchy food, it absorbs water and becomes easier to digest. The more overcooked rice or pasta is, the faster it makes your blood sugar rise. (top of page)