You know now that your brain sends messages to your internal organs, and those messages vary depending on what \u00a0you eat. \u00a0Today’s post is about the foods that will help you give your body the right message. \u00a0This is a long post, but it outlines the whole plan. \u00a0You may want to print it out or bookmark it and come back to it often<\/p>\n
Some foods are \u201cgreen light\u201d foods. They are low glycemic and won\u2019t cause your blood sugar to spike.\u00a0 Your \u201cautopilot\u201d won\u2019t send out the message to your pancreas to pump out insulin to let the sugar into the cells and your body won\u2019t get the message from the insulin messenger to \u201cstore fat.\u201d\u00a0 You want to base your meals and snacks around these green light foods.\u00a0 They have a glycemic index of 55 or less.<\/p>\n
However, keep in mind green light doesn\u2019t mean free food. \u00a0 You can\u2019t eat all you want until you are stuffed.\u00a0 That\u2019s true with some of the foods, but some, particularly those in the bread category, can become high glycemic if you eat too much of them.<\/p>\n
Other foods are in the yellow category.\u00a0 Go slowly on these.\u00a0 Too many and you are in trouble!\u00a0 You can have some occasionally — maybe one or two a day — but overdoing on these can sabotage your plan.\u00a0 These have a GI number of 56 to 70.<\/p>\n
You can guess what the red light foods are.\u00a0 They have a number above 70.\u00a0 These are foods that are easily digested and dump masses of sugar quickly into your bloodstream. \u00a0 \u00a0 They don\u2019t just add calories, but tell your body to pack on the pounds — which isn\u2019t exactly the message you want to give it!<\/p>\n
A red light doesn\u2019t mean never-ever.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a good idea to stop and think about before you put it in your mouth.\u00a0 Is it really worth it?\u00a0 You won\u2019t feel as well after you eat it.\u00a0 You will be sad to think of your body getting that wrong message.\u00a0 But, if it is really worth it, enjoy it. Savor every small bite.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ruin the pleasure by feeling guilty.\u00a0 Just resolve to pass the next time and go take a walk.\u00a0 And don\u2019t take seconds. Or thirds. Or — well, you get the picture.<\/p>\n
Most of your meals and snacks should consist of green light foods, with yellow light foods in a balance and, once in a while, a red.\u00a0 You will be eating meats and vegetables with some fruit and whole grain breads with some interesting and surprising additions. That doesn\u2019t sound too difficult or depriving, does it?\u00a0 It\u2019s not.\u00a0 It\u2019s something you can do for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n
Here are some lists of common foods for you.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Green Light Meat, Poultry, Seafood, and other Zero Foods<\/strong><\/p>\n Zero?\u00a0 Yes, because of the protein, most meats, poultry and seafood have no insulin response.\u00a0 Nuts are also on this list, because most of them have a glycemic number of 0. Cashews are the exception, with a low number of 22.<\/p>\n Zero does not mean free, though.\u00a0 These foods do have calories, which do count.\u00a0 You won\u2019t lose weight — or be healthy — by gorging on these foods. You can, however, do both by making these green light foods a part of your daily diet.<\/p>\n \u00a0Green Light Vegetables<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, here is good news!\u00a0 This is a category of food that is free, or nearly so, especially when you eat them raw.\u00a0 The fiber makes them hard to digest, so it\u2019s difficult to eat enough to give you a big insulin spike.\u00a0 They also fill you up and provide lots of nutrients. \u00a0 It would be easier to list the veggies that are NOT on the list, since most are green-for-go.\u00a0 Spend some time checking out the produce section of your grocery store and buy some different varieties of vegetables.\u00a0 Here are some suggestions of old standbys and some that might not appear regularly on your table.<\/p>\n The bean group falls in this category, too.\u00a0 Here are some to choose from.<\/p>\n If it isn\u2019t on the list, it is still probably okay since the yellow and red light list is pretty short.<\/p>\n \u00a0Green Light Breads<\/p>\n These breads will be dark and chunky, because they have lots of fiber.\u00a0 That means your stomach will have to work to digest them and the sugar will go into your bloodstream slowly and steadily instead of in a spike.\u00a0 Here\u2019s my list of breads with a glycemic index less than 55:<\/p>\n A note of caution: Read the label!\u00a0 Some breads are labeled \u201cwhole wheat\u201d but they are really only white bread with carmel color added to make it look browner.\u00a0 Just remember– the chunkier and chewier the better.<\/p>\n Green Light Cereals<\/strong><\/p>\n There is quite a bit of difference, for some reason, in where specific cereals fall in the different reference lists I have.\u00a0 Grape Nuts, for instance, has been listed in all three different categories in three different books.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t really matter too much, though.\u00a0 If you are eating mostly on the green lists and have one serving of a borderline cereal, you probably are not going to suffer from it — especially if you enjoy it and it helps keep you on the plan. Grape Nuts cereal isn\u2019t likely to slow down your weight loss — unless you eat the whole box in one sitting, of course!<\/p>\n Note that low GI cooked cereals are not \u201cinstant\u201d but slow-cooking. That\u2019s because they take the fiber out and pre-process the cereal to make it quick.\u00a0 Plan on a longer cooking time<\/p>\n That\u2019s a short list — but you can add others by reading the labels.\u00a0 A good-for-you cereal will have at least 10 grams of fiber and be low in sugar.\u00a0 Try to keep it under 10 grams, but the lower the better.<\/p>\n Again, remember, green is not the same as free. This category is another that is easily moved from green to yellow or red if you have more than a single serving.\u00a0 Also, read the box for the serving size.\u00a0 A serving of Special K is one cup. A serving of Bran Buds is 1\/3 cup.<\/p>\n \u00a0Green Light Dairy<\/strong><\/p>\n Look both ways as you approach this green light!<\/p>\n Most dairy products have a low GI — including yogurt, some puddings, and even ice cream.\u00a0 They contain both protein and\u00a0 fat, which slow down digestion so that you don\u2019t have the big sugar dump and insulin flood.\u00a0 Beware, though, that they do contain more calories and can move pretty quickly from low to high glycemic by eating too much.\u00a0 One dip of ice cream, for example, is low glycemic. Two dips moves it into high.<\/p>\n Most dairy products, including:<\/p>\n \u00a0Green Light Fruits<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Here is a quick list of fruits you can enjoy making a part of your new lifestyle.<\/p>\n Choose fresh, whole fruit if possible.\u00a0 Remember to check to make sure that the fruit is not packed in sugared syrup if you are choosing frozen or canned fruit.<\/p>\n Is your favorite fruit not on the list?\u00a0 Ask me and I\u2019ll look it for you.\u00a0 Unlike vegetables, though, there are several fruits that are in the moderate to high categories.<\/p>\n \u00a0Yellow Light\/Red Light Cereals<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Cereals seem to wander from one category to another more than any food in my various lists.\u00a0 One reason for that might be that formulas for the cereals often vary from country to country and the bulk of testing has been in Australia. Here are some\u00a0 breakfast cereals that tend to have a lower GI number, but are not on the green list.<\/p>\n Most of the rest are on the red light list, including:<\/p>\n And by the way — don\u2019t dump sugar on your cereal!\u00a0 Use another natural sweetener if you have to have it sweeter.<\/p>\n \u00a0Yellow Light\/Red Light Breads<\/p>\n Most of the breads do fall in these categories and should be eaten in small amounts and in moderation, especially if they are a trigger food for you.\u00a0 Some of the yellow light breads are:<\/p>\n Lots of red lights here!\u00a0 A few are:<\/p>\n In general, just be aware that the whiter the bread, the more quickly it will be digested and turn into sugar in your blood stream.<\/strong><\/p>\n Yellow Light\/Red Light Fruits<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are only a couple of red light\/occasional fruits. They are:<\/p>\n watermelon — which actually has a low glycemic load — more about that in a later post.<\/p>\n dates (borderline — some lists have them as yellow)<\/p>\n \u00a0Yellow Light\/Red Light Vegetables<\/strong><\/p>\n There aren\u2019t many of these, but there are a few.\u00a0 Some of the vegetables to eat more sparingly are:<\/p>\n You can still have them, as they are nutritious and filling and have only medium GI numbers.\u00a0 You just don\u2019t want to make these the core vegetables in your daily diet.<\/p>\n Even fewer are on the red light list. \u00a0 Potatoes and parsnips are just about the only ones I could find.<\/p>\n Most of us can live without parsnips, but potatoes have long been a staple in the western diet.\u00a0 Try eating boiled or grilled new potatoes when you must have them, but it\u2019s time to start substituting other vegetables for these high glycemic ones.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be talking about lower glycemic options in later posts.<\/p>\n \u00a0Yellow Light\/Red Light Dairy<\/strong><\/p>\n Not much on this list!\u00a0 Most dairy products have a low GI number. That doesn\u2019t mean, though, that they are free food, as they do have calories.\u00a0 Just about the only products that change to yellow\/red\u00a0 are ice cream and pudding.<\/p>\n In general, foods that are low glycemic have one or more of these factors: \u00a0protein, fat, and fiber. These are the three things that slow down digestion and keep a major insulin dump from happening. \u00a0Since insulin is implicated in all kinds of diseases and health problems, from diabetes to glaucoma, it is important to keep it down to low doses. \u00a0You’ll not only lose weight, but you will be healthier and will feel younger, too!<\/p>\n Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You know now that your brain sends messages to your internal organs, and those messages vary depending on what \u00a0you eat. \u00a0Today’s post is about the foods that will help you give your body the right message. \u00a0This is a long post, but it outlines the whole plan. \u00a0You may want to print it out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29,634],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eating-plan","tag-eating-plan-2","tag-food-lists"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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