It is getting sooo cold outside these days. They are threatening snow for us here in Ontario, Canada tomorrow. Although I have a girlfriend in Alberta who has had snow for a few weeks.
What do we do when the cold weather hits? Well, I know what I do. Buy a big container of hot chocolate powder and a big bag of mini marshmallows for the chilly nights to come. Junk food somehow finds it's way into my cupboards, cause you never know when you might get snowed in and need supplies right?! The slippers and thick socks come out, and that extra thick furry blanket gets thrown on the couch.
Are you like me and gain weight every winter regardless? I don't eat any different than usual, and I don't really excercise any less(just trade my 20 min walk outside into a 20 min ride on the stationary bike), so why the extra 5-7 pounds at the end of winter? And unlike the snow that turns into thaw, those pounds don't just melt away. I think there is a correlation to the lack of sun, hence affecting the psychological aspects of the personality, turning our emotions into fat deposits.
The following article is another type of weight management procedure you may want to try throughout this winter. I am a big mashed potato fan so the part about adding the chicken and broccoli(other favorites)to make an allowable meal was good to read.

The Glycemic Index: Key To Weight Loss Or Just Another Diet Gimmick?
Copyright 2005 Tom Venuto

The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that measures how
quickly carbohydrate foods are broken down into glucose.
The original purpose for the glycemic index was to help
diabetics keep their blood sugar under control. The
glycemic index has recently attracted a lot of attention in
the bodybuilding, fitness and weight loss world and has
even become the central theme in numerous best-selling diet
books as a method to choose the foods that are best for
losing weight.

According to advocates of the glycemic index system, foods
that are high on the GI scale such as rice cakes, carrots,
potatoes, or grape juice are "unfavorable" and should be
avoided because high GI foods are absorbed quickly, raise
blood sugar rapidly and are therefore more likely to
convert to fat or cause health problems.

Instead, we are urged to consume carbohydrates that are low
on the GI scale such as black eye peas, old fashioned
oatmeal, peanuts, apples and beans because they do not
raise blood sugar as rapidly.

While the GI does have some useful applications, such as
the use of high GI foods or drinks for post workout
nutrition and the strong emphasis on low GI foods for those
with blood sugar regulation problems, there are flaws in
strictly using the glycemic index as your only criteria to
choose carbs on a weight loss program.

For example, the glycemic index is based on eating
carbohydrates by themselves in a fasted state. If you are
following effective principles of fat-burning and muscle
building nutrition, you should be eating small, frequent
meals to increase your energy, maintain lean body mass and
optimize metabolism for fat loss. However, since the
glycemic index of various foods was developed based on
eating each food in the fasted state, the glycemic index
loses some of its significance.

In addition, when you are on a diet program aimed at
improving body composition (losing fat or gaining muscle),
you will usually be combining carbs and protein together
with each meal for the purposes of improving your fat to
muscle ratio. When carbs are eaten in mixed meals that
contain protein and some fat, the glycemic index loses even
more of its significance because the protein and fat slows
the absorption of the carbohydrates (as does fiber).

Mashed potatoes have a glycemic index near that of pure
glucose, but combine the potatoes with a chicken breast and
broccoli and the glycemic index of the entire meal is lower
than the potatoes by itself.

Rice cakes have a very high glycemic index, but if you were
to put a couple tablespoons of peanut butter on them, the
fat would slow the absorption of the carbs, thereby
lowering the glycemic index of the combination.

A far more important and relevant criteria for selecting
carbs - as well as all your other foods, proteins and fats
included - is whether they are natural or processed. To say
that a healthy person with no metabolic disorders should
completely avoid natural, unprocessed foods like carrots or
potatoes simply because they are high on the glycemic index
is ridiculous.

I know many bodybuilders (myself included) who eat high
glycemic index foods such as white potatoes every day right
up until the day of a competition and they reach single
digit body fat. How do they do it if high GI foods “make
you fat?” It’s simple – high GI foods DON’T necessarily
make you fat – choosing natural foods and burning more
calories than you consume are far more important factors.
Although it’s not correct to say that all calories are
created equal, a calorie deficit is the most important
factor of all when fat loss is your goal.

The glycemic index is clearly not a "gimmick" and should
not be completely disregarded, as it is a definitely a
legitimate nutritional tool. Is it a good idea to eat low
GI foods in general? Sure. Is eating high GI foods after
your workouts a good idea? Absolutely. But diet programs
which hang their hats on glycemic index alone as the
“miracle solution” are just another example of how one
single aspect of nutrition can be used as a "hook" in
marketing and said to be the "end all be all" of fat loss,
when it's really only one small piece of the puzzle.

Eating Low glycemic index foods alone does NOT guarantee
you will lose fat. You have to take in the bigger picture,
which includes calories/energy balance, meal timing and
frequency, macronutrient composition, choice of processed
versus refined foods as well as how all these nutritional
factors interact with your exercise program.


----------------------------------------------------
Tom Venuto is a certified personal trainer, natural
bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book,
"Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle. You can get info on Tom's
e-book at http://www.burnthefat.com To get Tom's free
monthly e-zine, visit http://www.fitren.com






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