How to Eat

Eating low-glycemic is critical to your success; not only for shedding fat, but also for overall health, more energy, mental clarity, and true vitality.

The glycemic index is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or how quickly those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels (blood sugar).

The glycemic index of a specific food or meal is determined primarily by the nature of the carbohydrate or carbohydrates consumed and by other factors that affect the digestion of that particular meal (primarily the fat and protein content of that meal).

Glycemic load is defined as the weighted average glycemic index of individual foods multiplied by the percentage of carbohydrates that particular food contains. A simple calculation allows you to arrive at the glycemic load of any food.

DON’T WORRY, it’s all figured out for you and the Guide includes recommended foods based on both glycemic index and load. This document will show you the desirable, moderately desirable and least desirable foods for you. In Lesson 2, we’ll learn a little more.

The next important consideration is the quality of nutrients a particular carbohydrate contains. In this present world of highly processed foods, the quality of nutrients a carbohydrate contains varies tremendously. For example, all of our fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables are classified as carbohydrates.

I know you would agree that the nutritional value of sugar is not the greatest (it’s really crap isn’t it?). However, when you just look at the glycemic index and the glycemic load of table sugar, it really is not that horrible. Therefore, any foods that are high in sugar can give this highly processed carbohydrate a fairly good glycemic index and glycemic load. The point that we are trying to make is the fact that more and more people are becoming knowledgeable about the glycemic index of foods and basing which carbohydrates they are going to eat solely just on this index. You have to understand that the glycemic index is important but was never intended to be the only consideration when choosing which carbohydrates you were going to eat.

High Glycemic Foods

80% to 90% of the carbohydrates adults and children are consuming in the US and Canada are considered to be high-glycemic.  Bread, rice, cereals, and potatoes actually spike your blood sugar faster than if you were eating table sugar.

What are the high glycemic foods?

• Sugar, Candy, Ice Cream, Cookies
  • White Flour, White Rice, White Tortillas
  • Most Breads & Cereals
  • Potatoes
  • Highly Processed Foods
  • “Instant” Foods
  • Fruit Juices

These high GI foods cause our blood sugar to spike and then fall rapidly. When blood sugar is spiked, our bodies release the fat storage hormone called insulin. Insulin’s job is to store the excess sugar as fat. When our blood sugar falls and gets too low (what goes up must come down), you get shaky, fatigue and have brain fog. You have uncontrollable hunger and your body drives you to “eat” – anything.

When blood sugar is kept stable, all kinds of good things occur in your life and body.

• You Release Fat, IN THE WAIST!
  • Have even energy all day!
  • Feel satisfied & lose the cravings
  • Increase your fitness levels
  • Have quicker recovery times
  • You strengthen your immune system
  • Inflammation is reduced
  • AND YOU FEEL GREAT!

Processed Carbohydrates: the Enemy

The main consideration for a healthy diet is for you to understand that the major reason we are in this health care crisis today of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes is because of the processed food industry and our fear of fat. That is correct; you must understand that highly processed carbohydrates are literally destroying your health and making people fat.

Processed carbohydrates are absorbed very quickly into the blood stream and therefore spike your blood sugar, which stimulates the release of insulin (your fat storage hormone) and suppresses glucagon (your fat releasing hormone).

Most of that sugar is driven into our fat cells where it is quickly changed to fat. The blood sugar is quickly driven down by the excessive release of insulin into the hypoglycemic range where counter-regulatory hormones are then released to drive the blood sugar back up. You develop this overwhelming hunger and then you have to eat again—usually craving these high glycemic foods that started the process in the first place.

We feel, and the science shows, this is the primary underlying reason people have failed to lose weight permanently.

How could processed carbohydrates be so bad? After all some of them are low in fat. This fear of getting too much fat in our diet is unnecessary. The damage that this has caused to our health and our society is incalculable.

In my other programs, I dive deeper into the Good, Bad & Ugly on Fats. I also show how sugar and food that turns into sugar is the real enemy, and how these have a greater impact on your health and body, more than you can imagine. 

Whole Foods

In our programs, you will not need a scale to weigh your food, or deprive and starve yourself to death in order to lose weight. You simply need to understand the fact that there are good carbohydrates, good proteins, and good fats that need to be combined together into every meal and snack that you consume.

When you look at whole foods, or any food man has not messed with, you will find that with only a few exceptions they make up what we call “Good Foods: Proteins, Fats & Carbohydrates”. These are foods like apples, oranges, pears, grapes, beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, nuts, carrots, and whole grains. These foods contain the vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, good fats, good proteins, and good carbohydrates our bodies require.

Food Categories

We divide the main foods people consume into three categories:

1. Desirable Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins—should make up 70 to 80% of all the carbohydrates you consume.
2. Moderately Desirable Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins—should make up 20 to 25% of the carbohydrates you consume.
3. Least Desirable Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins—should make up only 5 to 10% of the carbohydrates you consume.

Please see the Guide for the list of the most common carbohydrates, fats, and proteins consumed in the United States and Canada. Not every food on the planet is in this document – if you have a question about something specific, please reach out to us.

Good Fats and Good Proteins

It is important to realize that the best fats and proteins generally come from our vegetables. These contain the essential omega-3 fatty acids as well as the mono-saturated fats. They are very low in saturated fats. The next best fats and protein comes from cold-water fish like salmon, mackerel, trout, tuna, sardines, etc., since they contain high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids. The next best fat and protein comes from foul because the fat of the bird is found just under the skin in the subcutaneous fat and not marbled into the meat. It is easy to skin your chicken or turkey and end up with a relatively lean serving of protein even though it is primarily saturated fat.

The worst fat and protein comes from red meat and dairy products. Fatty red meat, cheese, milk, butter, and foods produced from these sources are your main enemy when it comes to getting too much saturated fat into your diet.

Hopefully, this Recommended Food List will help guide you into better eating habits and a healthier lifestyle.

Healthy Foods List

Think of the food categories as general guidelines for your food plan –remember this is not a diet. The lists include examples of what can be included but are certainly not complete lists. If you have a clean, (or healthy) alternative that’s not here, give it a try.

You don’t have to include everything in your food plan either. Pick and choose what fits best for you according to taste, cost, and availability. Preferences change from person to person – choose what tastes best for you and works best for your body.

If you like what you eat, you’ll enjoy the plan and stick with it – for life.