Lose Weight Successfully With High Protein, Low Glycemic Foods

Diets come and go through the years, each of them generally suggesting a specific amount of macronutrients.  These include low carb diets, low fat diets, high protein diets, and more.  While each of these diets have been reported to support weight loss in the short term, most of us find it difficult to maintain our weight loss for longer than 1 year.  Therefore, the overall success of many of these diets, particularly in comparison to each other, is often debated.

The Diogenes Study, a large, multicentered, pan-European weight loss study, has attempted to determine which type of diet is best in regards to successfully maintaining weight loss.  For this study, 773 adult men and women who successfully completed an 8-week weight loss phase were randomly assigned to one of five weight maintenance diets:

1. Low protein (13%) + low glycemic index
2. Low protein + high glycemic index
3. High protein (25%) + low glycemic index
4. High protein + high glycemic index
5. Control diet that followed each country's dietary guidelines

Each diet was moderate in fat content (25-30%) and study volunteers were directed to eat as much as they wanted while aiming to maintain their current body weight during the 26-week weight maintenance phase.  The results of this weight loss study, which were recently published online ahead of print in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that:

• The high protein, low glycemic index diet was easier to stick to than the low protein, high glycemic index diet.
• Consumption of the low protein, high glycemic index diet resulted in a significant increase in body weight by about 3 - 4 pounds on average.  Weight re-gain was not observed on average in the other diet groups.
• Diet groups high in protein, regardless of glycemic index status, re-gained 2 lbs less than diet groups low in protein.
• Use of low glycemic index diet plans, regardless of protein level, resulted in about 2 lbs less weight re-gain than diets with a high glycemic index.
• The high protein groups and the low glycemic index groups were more likely to continue losing weight compared to the low protein and high glycemic index groups.  This was particularly true for the high protein, low glycemic index group.

This is an excellent study that shows us what might be the most effective way at maintaining weight loss for the long-term.  In this new weight maintenance study, a small increase in dietary protein intake and a small reduction in the glycemic index of foods consumed were of substantial help in either continuing modest weight loss or maintaining the weight volunteers lost in the weight loss phase of the study.  This study was also conducted in the children of the adult volunteers.  The childhood arm of the study reported similar benefits with the high protein, low glycemic index group showing a substantial decrease in the percent of overweight/obese children.  In contrast, children consuming the low protein, high glycemic index diet showed an increase in body fat.

The benefits of increasing dietary protein and decreasing the glycemic index are likely due to their effects on appetite and blood sugar metabolism.  Protein has been reported to increase our feelings of fullness and help maintain that feeling longer.  Foods with a low glycemic index have been shown to have little impact on blood sugar, helping us to avoid cravings and spikes in hunger.  These aspects of protein and low glycemic foods might be why individuals found it easier to stay on the high protein, low glycemic index diet plan compared to the other diet plans.

My Slim & Beautiful Diet bars and shakes are high in protein (20 grams each) and have a low glycemic index, making them an excellent and delicious addition to any high protein, low glycemic weight loss program you might choose to follow.

Start losing pounds now with my easy diet plan using delicious, low glycemic, protein-packed bars and shakes to satisfy your hunger. Please recommend to anyone who wants to lose weight using a clinically tested diet plan and weight loss program.

Aim For A Lower Glycemic Index

The glycemic index measures the impact of a food on a person's blood sugar levels.  A food with a high glycemic index causes a rapid rise in blood sugar, while a low glycemic food will not.  Numerous research studies have reported that following an overall low glycemic diet appears to have a variety of health benefits.  In regards to obesity, some studies have suggested that a diet with a low glycemic index typically has a better nutritional profile and might help improve weight control.

A new obesity research study explored the impact of the dietary glycemic index on the body mass index (BMI) and waist size of children (6-11 years of age).  For this study, obesity researchers measured the body weight, waist size, and BMI of more than 3,700 Italian school children and asked their parents to fill out a food frequency questionnaire designed to measure the types and amounts of foods and drinks consumed during the previous year.  Based on the responses to the dietary questionnaire, the study investigators calculated the glycemic index and glycemic load of each child's diet as well as their nutrient intake.  The relationship between each child's dietary habits and body measurements were analyzed.  These obesity researchers reported that:

• Children grouped into the highest quarter of glycemic index measures had the highest body mass index and highest incidence of obesity with almost a third of these children being obese.
• Over 25% of the children in the top two glycemic index levels were considered overweight.
• An increasing glycemic index value was linked to an increase is waist size.
• A high glycemic index diet was linked to increased intake of energy, carbohydrates, and fiber and decreased intake of dietary fat.

Overall, the results of this new obesity research study showed that consuming a diet with an overall high glycemic index was linked to increased body weight, waist size, and obesity risk in children. These results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overall high glycemic index diet. Previous research has also suggested that following a low glycemic diet might be important for healthy weight management due to its ability to support normal blood sugar health and to suppress hunger.

Following an overall low glycemic diet does not necessarily mean avoiding all foods that have a high glycemic index.  In fact, some fruits (watermelon) and vegetables (some potatoes) have been reported to have a high glycemic index, but these can still be a nutritious part of an overall healthy diet.  Instead of trying to avoid all high glycemic index foods, a better approach would be to aim for a healthy balanced diet that includes plenty of low glycemic or medium glycemic index foods.  By doing this, even if you have the occasional high glycemic item, your overall diet is more likely to remain at a low or medium glycemic index level.  The Glycemic Index has a searchable database of foods and their glycemic index values, making it easier to aim for a lower glycemic diet.

My protein bars and shakes are a great way to add delicious low-glycemic, hunger-satisfying foods to your weight management plans.  Visit us to learn more about my easy diet plan!

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Make Healthy Eating a Lifetime Habit!

Many of us have gone through the weight cycling process... go on a diet to lose the unwanted weight, gain the unwanted pounds back, then go on another diet.  Unfortunately, over time this seems to lead to additional weight gain since we often seem to regain more than we originally lost.  Additionally, it has been suggested that weight cycling might have negative health effects.  A better approach, of course, is to follow a healthy diet plan to reach a healthy body weight and then maintain that new healthy weight for life.  But how successful are we at doing this?

A research review paper examined the scientific literature on long-term weight loss studies to determine the answer to just that question.  This new study examined long-term changes in the daily intake of fat, fruit, vegetables, and fiber in multiple clinical trials that included over 62,000 study volunteers. According to the study investigators:

• Study volunteers overall were able to maintain a reduction in dietary fat consumption and an increase in fiber and fruit and vegetable consumption for 1 year.
• Each following year showed a reduction in the ability to maintain a healthy diet as dietary choices slowly reverted back to the unhealthy choices made at the beginning of each study.
• Only one study reported successful maintenance of healthy eating habits beyond one year.

It is clear from this study that the majority of us find if difficult to develop and maintain healthy eating habits permanently.  While healthy eating habits need to be a life-long choice, it is a choice many of us find very difficult.  There are many reasons for this including the cost of healthy food choices, the bombardment of advertisements for unhealthy, energy-dense foods, and the comparatively poorer availability of healthy options.  Our inability to develop life-long healthy eating patterns is due to a combination of the choices we ourselves make and the food environment to which we are exposed.  Changes to both of these will be needed if we ever hope to develop better eating habits as a population and reduce the incidence of obesity.

Foods high in protein with a low glycemic index can be healthier options than many energy-dense foods that typically provide little nutritional value.  My protein bars and shakes are a delicious, low glycemic part of my easy diet plan, making them a great way to lose weight without punishing yourself with hunger.

Sucralose Does Not Effect Glucose Absorption In Humans

Sucralose is one of the world's most popular artificial sweeteners; however, controversies regarding its effects on body weight are commonly discussed in the media.  This is because some animal studies have reported that sucralose consumption increases glucose absorption and weight gain.  However, a new study suggests that the results seen in animal studies do not apply to humans.

In this new study published online in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers investigated the effect of sucralose consumption in ten human volunteers.   Volunteers received an infusion of either (1) a sucralose solution or (2) a saline solution control.  Changes in blood glucose and glucagon-like peptide-1, an appetite-related hormone, were examined over a 2 hour period after treatment infusions.  The results of this human clinical trial showed that infusion of sucralose did not affect levels of glucose or glucagon-like peptide-1.

According to a recent press release, the study researchers suggested that the lack of an effect of sucralose on glucose absorption observed in this human trial is likely due to species differences in how glucose is transported.  The predominant glucose transporter in rodents is present in much lower levels in human beings, perhaps explaining why sucralose does not appear to have a negative effect on blood sugar and body weight in people.  The International Food Information Council Foundation has an excellent publication on sucralose, Everything You Need To Know About Sucralose, that is free to download if you want to read more about sucralose.

High protein, low-glycemic soy protein and milk protein shakes and bars can be a great part of a healthy weight management plan.  My easy diet plan takes advantage these low-glycemic benefits.

Impact of Glycemic Index & Load on Heart Health

The glycemic index is a ranking system that ranks the quality of carbohydrates based on how quickly or slowly they impact blood sugar.  Many studies have reported that a low glycemic index diet might have a variety of health benefits.  However, different foods have different amounts of carbohydrates.  To take these differing amounts of carbohydrates into account, the glycemic load can be calculated in order to determine the impact of different foods on blood sugar.

A new study examined the impact of the glycemic index and glycemic load on heart health in a population of nearly 50,000 men and women.  To determine this impact, dietary intake was assessed with a dietary questionnaire and the risk for poor heart health was determined over about an 8-year follow-up.  The results of this study showed:

• Women in the group with the highest quarter of carbohydrate consumption were twice as likely to have poor heart health compared to women in the group eating the lowest levels of carbohydrates.
• The increased risk for poor heart health was associated with high glycemic index carbohydrates... eating high levels of high glycemic index carbohydrates was associated with about a 68% increased risk for poor heart health, while eating high levels of low glycemic index foods was not associated with poor heart health.
• Women consuming the highest level of high glycemic load foods were at a more than 2-fold increased risk for poor heart health compared to women with the lowest level of high glycemic load foods.
• No associations between heart health and glycemic index or glycemic load were seen for men in this study.

This new study confirms previous studies on the potential health benefits of a low glycemic index diet.  Low glycemic foods (those that rank below 55) have minimal impact on blood sugar, while high glycemic foods (those that rank above 70) have a large impact on blood sugar.  To learn more about the glycemic index, visit The Glycemic Index.  Their website does a great job of describing the glycemic index, provides a list of foods and their glycemic index and publishes a frequent newsletter.

Following a low glycemic index diet is easy with my Slim and Beautiful diet plan.  Two recent studies documented that my milk protein bars, milk protein shakes, soy protein bars, soy protein shakes, and pasta have a low glycemic index.