The answer–The person who cuts calories will lose weight more quickly, provided they cut out enough calories to get results. But that’s not to say that exercise isn’t an important part of your weight-loss efforts. Although exercise may take longer to show results on the scale people who exercise burn more calories even when they’re at rest and tend to be able to maintain the weight loss. Here’s why cutting calories may give you more immediate results, but exercise is vital for long-term success.

Weight Loss: A Short-Term Fix

Experts recommend that you aim to lose one to two pounds a week to reach your weight- loss goal. Because 3,500 calories equals a pound, you need to create a 500-calorie deficit each day — either by eating fewer calories, burning off the calories with exercise, or a combination of both — to lose one pound by the end of one week. People tend to choose dieting over exercise, and that may be because they see quicker weight-loss results.

Burning 500 calories a day through exercise can be a challenge for some people. Someone who weighs 170 pounds would have to walk for more than an hour — 67 minutes — at four miles per hour to burn 507 calories.

It may be relatively easy to cut 500 calories out of your diet. That’s equal to a large order of French fries at a fast-food restaurant or a chocolate-glazed doughnut and a small mocha latte. If you tend to have these types of indulgences every day, simply eliminating them from your diet should enable you lose about a pound a week.

However, dieting alone doesn’t usually help people lose weight and keep it off. When you eat less, your metabolism slows, which means you burn fewer calories throughout the day. Once you begin eating more, it’s easy to put the pounds right back on.

The solution: Keep your metabolism revved up with exercise while you cut calories.

Weight Loss: Long-Term Results

The reason why it is important to exercise while you’re cutting calories is because you could lose muscle if you don’t, which you build by doing both cardiovascular activities, like walking, and strength training, like lifting weights — burns more calories than fat, so it’s important to build muscle as you lose weight.

Perhaps that’s why people who lose weight are better able to keep it off when exercise is part of the weight-loss plan. Among those on the National Weight Control Registry who lost weight and maintained their weight loss for at least one year, the majority — 89 percent — did it through both dieting and exercise. Only 10 percent were able to do it through diet alone, and only 1 percent did it with exercise alone.

Weight Loss: How Much Exercise Is Enough?

It is recommended to cut about 250 calories a day from your diet, while burning 250 calories a day through exercise. For the average person, that means walking two and a half to three miles, depending on how much you weigh and how fast you’re moving. Research shows that getting 30 minutes a day, even if you break it into three exercise sessions that last 10 minutes each, helps you lose weight and gain all of the health benefits of weight loss.

What do I mean by absorb?

You come into contact with chemical calories every day.  Maybe in places you might not think of have synthetic chemicals lurking.  These ‘chemical calories’ (a term coined by Dr Paula Ballie-Hamilton in her book “The Detox Diet”) and later called ‘obesogens‘ by Bruce Blumberg, from the University of California, Irvine are often hidden but where are they hidden?

This list may horrify you, consider yourself forewarned:

• Air fresheners: synthetic chemicals abound in these in home or office stinkers!
• Cleaning products:  Often have many synthetic chemicals.
• Chewing gum and sweets/ candy & energy drinks: those apple & cherry flavours, rarely come from an apple or actual real cherry but rather more they were born in a laboratory- often the same place that makes the summer meadows smell in your laundry detergent or summer breeze smell in your deodorant!
• Perfumes and colognes: anytime you see ‘fragrance’ on a label, or ‘parfum‘, it can hide a mass of undisclosed ingredients many of which are synthetic chemicals, or “chemical calories”.
• Washing liquids and dryer sheets- contain synthetic chemicals (unless you are choosing a genuinely eco-friendly brand) and traces of these are then in the fibres of your clothes, (you know how some powders make you itch and others don’t?).  You wear clothes next to your skin all day & night.   I used to use ‘smelly’ washing powders and my skin itched when I tried a new brand.  For over 12 years I have just used a genuinely eco-friendly laundry detergent and essential oils, I save money on not using a dryer too!  What a relief all round.
• Sofa, furniture coverings and new electronics. That new computer ‘smell’ is often brominated fire retardant or PBDE- not something you want to breathe in or absorb.  Allow a new TV or computer to be plugged in for a week or two in a room with an open window before using it.
• Skin care products and make up- skin care and make up can be a battle ground of toxins which may seem like it is irrelevant but many toxic ingredients are found in regular shampoos, lipsticks and deodorants as well as a host of other skincare and make up items.  Are these toxic products stealing your radiance and even making you fat?
• Watch this film from David Suzuki Nature of Things called “Programmed to be Fat” I am not alone in sharing this vital message.  Now is the time to get toxin savvy!

If you did not have a reason to get savvy about what you are using on your skin, eating and cleaning your home with, I hope this article will have given you a few reasons to ask me how to detox your life in 2012?

You may have already heard of this controversial diet that includes Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injections with a low calorie diet to acheive rapid and lasting weight loss.  The HCG diet is getting a lot of hype with its dramatic effects, and health care practitioners and patients are wondering – is it safe? and will it be effective in controlling the ever growing obesity epidemic?

HCG, are you kidding me?!
For those who already know what HCG is, you may have concerns about injecting yourself with pregnancy hormone and hoping for weight loss.  HCG is a hormone produced in large amounts during pregnancy by the developing embryo.  It is also used as a medication for fertility treatment, and even in males for delayed sexual development.  Administration of HCG has been shown to be safe, but will it help you shed pounds?

How does it work?
For many women, pregnancy is not a time associated with weight loss, but when HCG is administered in the absence of pregnancy, it can help you lose on average 1 pound per day. HCG increases burning of fat at the level of the hypothalamus, a portion of the brain that controls your metabolism.  Instead of storing fat, or losing it at a very slow rate, HCG initiates fat mobilization, so that your fat is used for energy.  HCG during pregnancy protects the growing embryo by mobilizing the mother’s fat stores so that the fetus is never without nutrients, despite whether the mother is consuming sufficient food or not.  In men, or in non-pregnant women, HCG helps you metabolize your stored fat quickly, and re-sets your metabolic rate via your hypothalamus so you keep the pounds off.

Won’t I be hungry?
The HCG diet also includes an extremely low calorie diet of only 500 Calories per day.  While this seems absurd, those doing the diet report that they are not hungry.  The reason for this is that your body is using its stored fat as an energy and caloric source.  HCG stimulates several thousand Calories of body fat to be burned per day, leading your body to use fat for fuel instead of food.

Do I need to exercise to lose weight?
While taking the HCG, you should stick to light exercise like walking, yoga, or rebounding.  You do not need to exercise to lose weight on the HCG diet, but before and after the HCG Phase (described later), you should maintain an exercise regime consisting of aerobic exercise and weight training to stay fit.

How do I get HCG and how is it administered?
Bioidentical HCG can be obtained via prescription through your ND or MD.  It is administered via intramuscular injection 6 days per week for 43 days, or 7 days per week for 23 days, depending on how much weight needs to be lost.  For ease, the prescription is prepared for the patient in syringes, and they can be taught how to safely administer their own injections at home.

How long do I do it for?
The HCG diet has 4 steps which can be repeated until your goal weight has been acheived.

1. Phase 1: This step consists of necessary preparations before starting HCG.  This may involve detoxification, Candida treatment, and dietary counseling.  Nutritional supplementation before and after the HCG phase such as vitamins and minerals, greens, and a healthy whole foods diet is important for preparing the body for weight loss.
2. Phase 2, The HCG Phase: This step involves the HCG injections as previously described.  The HCG phase will either be 43 days or 23 days, depending on how far you are from your goal weight.  For the first two days while taking HCG, you will need to “fat load” your diet.  This involves eating high fat foods such as nut/seed/olive oil, avocado, nuts and nut butters, fatty meats and cheese.  Giving your body extra fats at the onset of the program helps you feel less hunger at the start of the low calorie diet.  After the fat loading phase, you will follow a strict 500 Calorie per day diet for the remainder of the HCG phase.  The food choices are limited, so it is best to follow an HCG diet recipe book to guide you.  You must also avoid any oils, lotions or creams applied to the skin as these externally applied fats may stall your weight loss.
3. Phase 3: During this 3 week period after the HCG phase, you may eat a normal amount of calories but you must avoid starches and sugars.  This phase involves the metabolism stabilizing at a new, higher level so that you do not gain back the weight you lost.
4. Phase 4: The last phase is the maintenance phase, where you gradually reintroduce starches and sugars into the diet.  This phase is intended to transition you back to eating a well-rounded diet without calorie restriction, and without gaining weight.  Ideally your diet should consist of whole grains, fiber, fruits, vegetables and protein, without processed foods or excessive amounts of sugar.  Vitamin, mineral, and greens supplementation is also advised.  A minimum of 3 weeks in the maintenance phase must be completed before you repeat the cycle.

The HCG protocol was originally developed in the 1950′s by Dr Simeons who discovered a relationship between using HCG as a treatment for obesity.  Since then, the program has been published and has become increasingly popular due to its safety and rapid, lasting results.

When you have a smaller body, you have lower calorie needs. When you have lower calorie needs, your relative deficit whether it’s 20%, 30% or higher gives you a smaller absolute deficit and therefore you lose fat more slowly than someone who is larger and can create a large deficit more easily.

For example, a male’s total caloric needs is 3300 calories a day (5′ 8″ and moderately to very active), then a 20% deficit is 660 calories, which brings the total to 2640 calories a day. On paper, that will give about 1.3 lbs of weight loss per week. If he bumped his calorie burn up or decreased his intake by another 340 a day, that’s enough to gives him a 2 lbs per week weight loss.

For smaller women, the math equation is very different.

If your total daily energy expenditure is only 1970 calories, even at a VERY high exercise level, then a 20% deficit for you is only 394 calories which would put you at 1576 calories a day for (on paper) only 8/10th of a lb of fat loss/wk.

If you pursued your plan to take a more aggressive calorie deficit of 30%, that puts you at a 591 calorie deficit which would now drop you down to only 1382 calories/day.

That’s starting to get fairly low in calories. However, you would still have a fairly small calorie deficit.

What this all means is that women who are petite or have a small body size are going to lose fat more slowly than larger women and much more slowly than men, so you cannot compare yourself to them.

It’s great to be inspired by our success stories, but if you’re looking for someone to model yourself after, choose one of our success stories of someone your body size and weight, rather than the folks who started 100 lbs overweight and were therefore easily dropping 3 lbs a week.

One pound a week of fat loss is much more in line with a realistic goal for someone of a smaller body size. Overweight people can lose it faster. The best thing you can do is to be extremely consistent with your nutrition over time.

Suggestion #1: Weigh and measure all your food any time you feel you are stuck at a plateau, just to be sure. When your calorie expenditure is on the low side, you don’t have much margin for error.

Suggestion #2:  Take your body comp measurements with a grain of salt, especially if you are using a good scale and remember that body comp testing is seldom perfect. Pay attention to your circumference measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror and in photos as well.

Suggestion #3: You may want to take 2 or 3 of your long cardio sessions on the treadmill and switch them to intense intervals or ANY other type of activity that has potential to burn more than 362 calories for an hour’s investment of time, or perhaps that equivalent calorie burn in less time. No need to add more days of cardio or more time – get the most out of the time you are already spending.

Suggestion #4: If you do intervals, don’t make the workout too brief (ignore the advertisements for those “4 minute miracle” workouts, etc.), or you may burn fewer calories than you were before! In fact, you might even try the method where you do HIIT for 15-20 min, then continue for another 30-40 at slow to medium intensity. Increasing total calories burned should be your focus.

Understand the calorie math I explained above and be patient, watching for slow and steady progress, and paying special attention to the trend over time on your progress chart.

Keep after it – the persistence will pay, I promise!

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Celebrity culture magnifies this already ridiculous system of judging others by their body fluctuations. There are even websites dedicated to monitoring the weight status of A-list celebrities. Among the many setbacks of being under public scrutiny, the most damaging pressure that celebrities experience is to maintain an ideal body image. Unfortunately, this sends a dangerous message to readers that the number on the scale is the only true reflection of health.

If you find yourself slipping into negative self-judgment when you accumulate extra weight, do yourself a favor, view your body fat as a simple result, not a guilt-sentence. Rest assured knowing that you will inevitably have a chance to shift out of the cycle that got you there, and that you should measure your health in terms of strength and endurance, among other factors.

Holding onto those extra pounds that keep you from achieving your ideal weight may not be your fault. Here are three reasons why diet and exercise may not be enough, and what you can do about it:

1. Hormones

When it comes to hormones, there are several common culprits: Estrogen, TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), and cortisol.

Estrogen:  Excess estrogen leads to weight gain on the hips, thighs and abdomen in women and on the chest and abdomen in men. To make matters worse, these fat cells produce even more estrogen, leading to further weight gain.

TSH: Thyroid stimulating hormone is released by the anterior pituitary. This hormone acts on the thyroid gland, and is a key factor in determining your metabolic rate. Often times, high levels of TSH indicate suppressed thyroid function which leads to weight gain, low mood, dry skin, and cold hands and feet.

Cortisol: Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stressful situations. Chronic stress leads to long-term elevation of cortisol which causes fat deposition, abdominal weight gain and those extra 10 pounds.

Solution: Hormone testing through the blood or saliva can give useful information about hormone levels, endocrine function, and metabolic rate.

Estrogen levels can be reduced by increasing dietary fiber and cruciferous vegetables, and taking supplements that remove excess estrogens from the body such as DIM, I-3-C and sulphoraphane. Avoid exposure to exogenous and synthetic estrogens in soft plastic bottles, pesticides, birth control pills, and synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Elevated TSH can be lowered through reducing intake of raw cruciferous vegetables and increasing your intake of seaweeds. A thyroid supplement containing L-tyrosine, selenium, iodine, zinc, B vitamins and magnesium can improve thyroid function. Herbal medicines and glandulars are also available.

Cortisol levels can be decreased by getting more sleep, reducing stress levels and avoiding stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine. B Vitamins and herbal adaptogens such as licorice and ashwagandha can restore adrenal gland function.

Hormone levels may also require balancing through bioidentical hormone replacement. Bioidentical progesterone may be used to balance estrogen dominance, and bioidentical thyroid hormones can restore thyroid function and a healthy metabolic rate.

2. Yeast (Candida)

Candida albicans is a yeast that can colonize on our skin and mucous membranes. It often shows up in the mouth (thrush), the vagina (yeast infection), and the gastrointestinal tract. Presence of a small amount of Candida in the gastrointestinal tract is normal, but overgrowth is problematic.

Candida overgrowth, known as candidiasis, can cause symptoms of brain fog, bloating, abdominal pain, irregular digestion, fatigue, sensitivity to smells, sugar and alcohol cravings, weight gain and difficulty losing weight.

Solution: Candida can be tested for, or a diagnosis can be made based on symptoms. A typical Candida cleanse consists of an anti-yeast diet which excludes foods that promote yeast growth, a yeast killing supplement, and a probiotic supplement.  The yeast killer clears yeast that has colonized in the digestive tract and the probiotic bacteria replace the normal intestinal flora. Water and a high fiber diet help remove the dead yeast from your system.

Getting rid of a Candida infection helps the body shed retained weight and reduces sugar cravings so you are less likely to reach for the simple carbohydrate snack.

3. Toxins

Toxins are ubiquitous in our environment and many are stored within our fat cells. Heavy metals, pesticides, plasticizers, solvents and synthetic hormones are just a few of the many sources of man-made chemicals that our bodies are susceptible to.

Chemicals, such as organ chlorine (pesticide), have been shown to increase weight gain by disrupting the body’s own hormones that control body weight. These toxins, also known as “endocrine disruptors” can throw hormones out of balance, leading to a slower metabolism and ultimately weight gain.

It is a known fact that non-organic meat and dairy contain synthetic hormones that promote weight gain in humans and precocious puberty in children, but what else is in our food? Other chemicals found in livestock include drugs that inhibit the thyroid gland and slow down metabolism, corticosteroids and anabolic steroids, all which promote weight gain and abdominal obesity in humans.

Solution: Choose organic foods whenever possible and cut down your consumption of red meats and dairy as these foods have a higher fat content, which equals more calories and more exposure to fat-soluble toxins. Even with an organic diet, chemicals and toxins are everywhere in our environment, air, and drinking water. Because of our unique genetic polymorphisms, some of us are more susceptible to the effects of toxins than others. Detoxification of heavy metals and chemicals stored in our tissues is the best way to keep toxins from building up and resulting in persistent weight gain. Talk to your naturopathic doctor about the best detoxification program for you.

If you haven’t considered exercising, now is a great time to start. First of all, you will need your strength back to perform your duties as mom such as lifting, carrying and holding the little one. And don’t forget about carrying that stroller up and down the stairs and also, in and out of the car. Energy along with strength is something you will need for those back to back late nights and early mornings. Exercise will give you that.

Other benefits of postpartum exercise are:

• Improved immune function
• Injury prevention by protecting your joints
• Lastly, who wouldn’t want to be a new mom with a rocking body?

With exercise you are better able to maintain your lean body mass.

Among the common questions asked in regards to dropping the baby weight are, can I workout right after baby is born? Are there any exercises that I should avoid? Can I start to train my abs? And how intense should I keep my workout sessions? While you are in a hurry to get your body back to where it was pre-pregnancy, remember this which is very important, every “body” is different. What works for one new mother may not work for the other. This is why it is important to consult your doctor for clearance. The advice given to you from your doctor may and will be different than the advice your fellow new mommies receive.

Furthermore, you should ease back into a workout routine. Depending on your previous fitness level you can do modified versions of exercises that you are used to doing.   If you are new to exercise you have different options. There are group classes for new moms, DVDs, books and personal trainers. If going the personal training route, be sure to hire someone with a specialized certification in prenatal and postpartum exercise training.

Here are some suggested activities to help keep the weight off:

• Walk girl!
• A great way to ease back into things is to start walking until you feel up to more vigorous exercise. Grab your comfy sneakers and the baby and start out with shorter distances such as just around the block, then eventually build up to touring your neighborhood.
• Dance baby!
• Throw a baby tunes CD into your stereo system and boogie down with your new born.
• Create your mommy circle
• Start or find a circle of moms to take exercise classes with. This is fun and motivational at the same time. Ask your gym, doctor or search the internet for other exercising new mothers.
• Eat Right
• Stock up on healthy snacks. Keep the junk snacks to a minimum in the house
• Keep hydrated
• Drink plenty of water
• Rest is important

Alongside exercise and good eating, rest is needed for any weight loss program. It may be hard at first as a new mom, but create time to rest up.

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Refined carbohydrates are essentially no different than pouring pure sugar down our throats. When refined, the vast majority of the fiber is removed, which means the carbohydrate is broken down to simple sugars and assimilated much quicker than unrefined complex carbs. Since the simple sugars are assimilated so quickly, our blood sugar levels experiences a rapid spike. It’s this spike that gives us a false sense of energy.

When our body senses this spike, it immediately responds with an attempt to re-establish homeostasis (i.e. bring the blood sugar back down). Insulin is the hormone released by our pancreas which stimulates our liver to increase its uptake and conversion of glucose in our blood to glycogen. Basically, this means the liver is triggered to remove sugar from our blood.

Although this process occurs whenever we eat, a problem arises with refined foods. The spike in blood sugar I mentioned before will trigger such a dramatic release of insulin that our bodies essentially over-compensate. Our blood sugar level plummets below a normal level. This may make you feel tried, shaky, and worst of all hungry. So the natural reaction is to grab something to eat that will spike your blood sugar again. You can see how the cycle perpetuates itself.

Unfortunately, lowering blood sugar is not the only effect insulin has on our body. An elevated insulin level tells our body to store the sugar as fat and burn muscle for energy instead. So our body will keep and increase the amount of fat, even if the number of calories are lowered.

If that’s not bad enough, insulin also inhibits various other hormones in the body, such as glucagon and HGH (Human Growth hormone). Glucagon is another hormone normally released by the pancreas, but has the opposite effect to insulin. It triggers the body to burn fat and raise blood sugar. HGH not only tells our body to burn fat, but it also stimulates lean muscle mass growth, which in turn creates higher metabolism and additional fat burning.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what goes on inside us when we eat sugar and refined foods, what’s the next step? Breaking this vicious sugar cycle I just described can be difficult. There are a few things you can do make it easier to eliminate refined foods from your diet:

Include some healthy fats with your food – Consuming a bit of good fat with your food will help slow down digestion and stabilize blood sugar levels. Some great sources include organic butter from grass-fed animals, unrefined virgin coconut oil and organic raw milk cheese. We also need fat for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

Increase your fiber intake – Fiber slows the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates into the blood stream. This means you will get a more gradual release of sugar so your body can process it effectively. It also helps by increasing insulin sensitivity. This means your pancreas will not need to secrete as much insulin, thereby reducing your chances of having the crash afterward.

Include protein in your meals – Protein will also help to slow digestion and stabilize blood sugar levels. Whether you’re looking for a snack, or a full meal, there are plenty of excellent protein sources, such as almonds, whole grains like quinoa and millet, pasture-raised organic chicken eggs, and of course organic, grass-fed meats.

Eat unrefined, whole complex carbohydrates – unrefined, whole foods will not only contain the fiber and benefits as mentioned above, but complex carbs require more steps to be broken down into simple sugars. This slower process means your energy will be more gradual and sustainable.

Vitamins and Minerals – Although I believe you can get the proper vitamins and minerals from dietary sources, it may be necessary to temporarily supplement your diet with various nutrients that are known to help regulate blood sugar levels. Some of the key nutrients include chromium, Vitamin C & E, potassium and zinc.

So if you’re looking to shed some pounds, don’t focus so much attention on your caloric intake. Work on cutting out the refined, simple sugars and boosting your energy naturally. Healthy, sustainable weight loss is a gradual process.

Are you stuck in the vicious sugar cycle?

It’s no secret that the quality of our diet has dramatically dropped in the last 30-50 years. There has been an exponential growth of refined, processed and fried foods, and a decrease in the consumption of fresh, local, whole food. So it’s no surprise that we are becoming the most overweight generation to ever inhabit the planet. This is one fact I can’t deny.

Unfortunately, the problem we face with obesity has created issues which may now even be impacting those who are not overweight.

The Body Mass Index is the single most common method of measurement used to determine whether a person is overweight. Medical professionals will tell you that a healthy individual should fall between the BMI values of 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2. According to Health Canada, your BMI is classified as follows:

But have you ever stopped to think about how these values are calculated and how it was developed? Believe it or not, this system was created in the 19th century by a mathematician named Lambert Quetelet. And what’s more interesting is that Quetelet specifically noted that the BMI is not an accurate method for determining the ‘fatness’ of an individual and should not be used for this reason. This makes me wonder, if the man who developed the calculations says it should not be used, then why have we accepted BMI as a reliable indicator?

This question lead me to think about BMI in a bit more depth. People come in all different shapes, sizes and structures. And what about the fact that muscle weighs more than fat? This would mean that most athletes and active people would be considered overweight even if they have very little body fat. Here’s a few examples of some well-known people who, according to the Body Mass Index, are overweight. I think you would have a hard time convincing my wife that Brad Pitt is overweight:

So before you run to the gym and have a personal trainer or doctor tell you that you need to lose weight because your BMI is too high, I encourage you to do your research. Keep in mind that everyone is different and there is no perfect system that can encompass all variations of body sizes. This is one of the reasons why I believe the BMI is not reliable.

I would like to leave you with a final thought to consider. We have now started labeling our children with ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ labels according to their BMI, even if the child is completely healthy. If BMI is not reliable for adults, why would we even consider applying these principles to our children? When I see happy, active kids running around and playing, I can’t help but wonder what good could possibly come of telling these children that they are overweight according to their BMI? You tell me. Do I think childhood obesity is a growing concern? Absolutely. However, I think our methods for determining their level of health still has much room for improvement.

All carbohydrates – fruits, vegetables, grains – are converted to glucose in the body. The glycemic index (GI) categorizes carbohydrates according to the speed at which they raise blood glucose levels in three hours. The Glycemic Index was devised about 20 years ago when researchers looked closer at the dietary recommendations for diabetics; which was to eat more complex carbohydrates (starch) because they took longer to process and digest than simple carbohydrates (sugar). When you eat high-GI foods, you experience high glucose levels after meals, called glucose spikes, which are damaging to our arteries and various blood vessels, and they promote insulin production. Eating low-GI foods means you avoid those spikes and dramatic falls in blood-glucose so you get a much steadier stream of energy. You, therefore, reduce your risk of heart disease and other chronic diseases that are implicated by those blood-glucose fluctuations.

Vegetables generally have a low GI below 50 and refined grains with a lot of sugar have a high GI above 80. GI is measured in a clinically controlled setting where 50-gram portions of food are fed to people who have fasted overnight. The rise in blood sugar is measured every 15 minutes for 3 hours and then plotted on a graph. The area under the curve is measured and indexed against pure glucose at 100. That number is the food’s glycemic index. The higher the rise in blood sugar, the higher the glycemic index of that food.

Low glycemic diets claim that High GI foods are bad for weight control for two reasons. Firstly, glucose spikes stimulate hunger because you are getting that dramatic drop in glucose (energy), 90 minutes to two hours after eating. By eating low GI foods you feel fuller for longer and are, therefore, not as likely to go searching for snacks every two hours. Secondly, insulin is a storage hormone that stockpiles nutrients for later use by the body. A high-GI diet causes a lot of insulin to be produced and when you have too much insulin in your body too much of the time, it makes it easier to store fat and harder to burn it.

What works in a lab doesn’t always translate well to the real world. A 50-gram portion of most root and tuber vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets and parsnips) has a high GI above 65 and about equal to a 50-gram portion of sugar and white bread. According to the GI, these starchy vegetables would be considered dangerous because they are assumed to produce the greatest insulin. However, who only eats these fiber-rich, vitamin and mineral packed vegetables alone for three hours? Usually they are part of a whole meal with protein and fat, both of which slow digestion. And the health benefits of these vegetables filled with cancer-fighting phytochemicals far out weigh any type of bread, whole wheat or white. We doubt anyone got fat eating roasted carrots, potatoes, beets and parsnips.

In addition, carrots have only 195 calories per pound and a boiled potato has about 450 calories per pound while bread contains around 1250 calories per pound (whole grain or white) and sugar contains 1725 calories per pound. The GI index is biased against lower calorie, nutrient rich foods. Let us demonstrate what we mean.

A 2-ounce carrot has 30 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 7 grams of carbohydrates and naturally occurring vitamin A. A 2-ounce serving of whole wheat bread has 160 calories, 4 grams of fiber, 24 grams of carbohydrates and added B vitamins and iron. It also contributes to inflammation in the body because gluten, the protein in wheat, is not completely digested in our stomach. It doesn’t make nutritional sense that 2 slices of bread with 5 times the calories and 3 times the carbohydrates would be more desirable to eat than a carrot. Bananas are another big no-no of low glycemic diets. A 2-ounce piece of banana has 72 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 19 grams of carbohydrates and significant naturally occurring levels of potassium and vitamin C. A 2-ounce portion of pasta has 200 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 41 grams of carbohydrate and added B vitamins and iron. Even though pasta contains more calories and carbohydrates per serving, it has a lower GI than a banana and is considered a better food choice.

The Glycemic Index just doesn’t make sense nutritionally and it surely will not make you thin or healthy due to its emphasis on whole grains versus fresh fruits and vegetables. We believe the best diet is one based on WHOLE FOODS (fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and lean protein) not wheat.