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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss

by Lucy Beale, and R.D., C.D.E., Joan Clark
Released 2005-07-05
Read articles about Weight Loss
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43 Reviews

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5 stars Everyone should have this book!

2006-07-08     104 of 105 found this review helpful

My Boss bought me this book when I was diagnosed with Adult II Diabetes. This book is more precious to me than a raise! I love the way the author composed the book...humor, honesty, great recipes and tips. Highly recommended for any person who wants to live a healthy life style. I have lost 15 lbs and my husband has lost 20. We both want to lose 30 lbs each. If you follow the suggestions in the book you will lose the weight. No matter if it is 30, 50 or 100 lbs...the glycemic works. The book encouraged me to find a good cookbook for glycemic recipes and I found a great one here at Amazon.com.

You will feel better, sleep better and have more energy. The recommendation for "Emergen-C" found in the book is great. I found a box at Rite Aide and this is a great vitamin drink. It can also be found online. Talk about a pure energy boost! Wow...great stuff and pure vitamins.

LOVE this book. Buy it. You will not be sorry. My friends and coworkers are now reading the book and following the very simple suggestions. It is so easy! Not a drastic restrictive diet at all. Very simple. Highly recommend.

5 stars Very helpful

2006-02-23     101 of 103 found this review helpful

I thought this book was very helpful. It not only gives you ratings by glycemic index but also by load. It also discusses sleep, artificial sweeteners and other issues that affect weight gain. Cutting back on artifical sweeteners has really curbed by appetitie. And of course, the information on the Glycemic intes is very useful tool. There were some foods that I thought were a problem that I found out had very high glycemic indexes. I highly recommend this book.

5 stars BUY THIS ONE FIRST!

2006-07-07     86 of 90 found this review helpful

I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance about a year ago, and while doing my research, I recently discovered the GI Diet and I have to say this book is wonderful at explaining all the terms and giving me the basics, so that I can finally lose weight. I am currently involved in Weight Watchers and kept gaining weight each week. With this diet, I am LOSING and it feels wonderful. WW is great for support and encouragement, so I am using it together with the Glycemic Diet. This book has helped me tremendously and it is very easy to read and understand. Some of the GI books were way too technical. Thank you for this book.

4 stars This is better than most of the other Glycemic Index books I have read.

2006-08-23     42 of 43 found this review helpful

This book covers more information than other books that I have reviewed on this topic. There is a lot of advertising for the Glycemic Level way of eating, but the topic seems to still be lacking in information. The Complete Idiot's Guide offers more comprehensive information including a longer list of foods with with the Glycemic Index levels. This is the first book I have read that shows the formula for figuring the index yourself.

3 stars Vegetarians beware!

2007-04-11     40 of 49 found this review helpful

This book has a lot of information that is very helpful. It has some great tips for living a healthier life.

I had to write a review, however, to warn my fellow vegetarians. I was very upset when I got to the paragraph in the book stating that vegetarianism and the GI diet are incompatible. The authors had some very discouraging comments on combining the GI lifestyle with vegetarianism. It seems the authors believe that eating meat is essential to being on a GI weight loss program.

Turns out this is their opinion. There are lots of other books available on the glycemic index that are more accepting and encouraging of vegetarian and vegan diets.

I never would have bought this book if I had known it would advise against being a vegetarian.

5 stars Very informative

2006-03-18     37 of 39 found this review helpful

This book is a down to earth and humorous take on using the glycemic index to control or lose weight. It gives the reader the needed information to make wise choices for implementing the diet and yet does not overload one with excessive termonology and scientific reasoning. A great book for one wanting to learn more about using the glycemic index program.

5 stars Idiot's Guide to the Glycemic Index Weight Loss

2005-09-26     36 of 49 found this review helpful

An excellent guide for anyone that is using the Glycemic Index in their diet. It is very comprehensive and easy to understand. It has been a great help with our South Beach Dier Routine.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about dieting.

3 stars Complexities...

2007-02-15     30 of 33 found this review helpful

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss seems to take the long way home on it's explanations.

If you're looking for absolutely every detail of everything about the subject, this might be the guide for you.

If, instead, you were looking for some concise information, easily digestible, I'd keep on with my search.

It felt, to me, as if the Guide gave too much information, and that if I really was a 'Complete Idiot' in need of a simple explanation I would've been boggled down in the first few paragraphs. As it was, I simply lost patience with the load of information, feeling it was more like a textbook.

I think it would be more appropriately named, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Glycemic Index, Plus all the Details the Nutritionists know, In Addition to..."

I have found two books on the subject which were more along the concise and cogent lines I require. "The Good Carb Diet Plan", by Helen Foster, which is the most abbreviated, with simplified information, good-looking and very digestible, and "The New Glucose Revolution Life Plan", by Jennie Brand-Miller and Kay Foster-Powell. The second provides alot of information, but didn't try to convince me that it was a guide suitable for a "complete idiot".

5 stars Speaks to me in my language.

2007-07-17     27 of 28 found this review helpful

This is not the end-all be-all book on GI Weight Loss, but it contains everythig I need to know in language I understand completely. Following the GI eating principals, I've already lost 3 pounds in just 2 days. This will slow later, but I'm pleased to know...it works!

Well written, solid coverage..you will come away understanding the basic principals of GI eating, and what to eat when in order to create the weight loss you're seeking. It offers some recipes, but also information enough to create your own so you're not dependant on certain recipes.

Will definitely hand this off to anyone looking to understand the GI basics in "everyman's" lingo.

As I get further along in this, I'm sure I'll want something more comprehensive, and what's even better...this book has some great recommendations for more in-depth study/understanding, complete with pros/cons, etc...so you know what you're getting before you spend the money. Very impressed.

1 stars Only for the person who knows NOTHING about nutrition!

2008-01-10     21 of 24 found this review helpful

I am newish to the Glycemic Index Weight loss idea, so I thought I should start with a book that covers all the basics of the Glycemic Index. This book covers all the basics of everything. There's even a section entitled 'Don't Supersize'. Really. Gosh, I didn't know that supersizing my french fries would cause me to gain weight. There are even recommendations on what you should wear when exercising or stretching. In a 332 pg book supposedly on the Glycemic Index, there are only 5 pgs of Glycemic Index values (in large type). In addition, this book also contains a lot of poorly thought out, pseudo-science. If you have never exercised or considered your health or nutrition, then maybe this is the book for you (just don't believe everything you read in it). If you have exercised before and have given your health a bit of thought, then this is not the book for you.

5 stars Excelent resource of nutritional information

2006-03-14     17 of 31 found this review helpful

Should be on everyone's bookshelf whether they are diabetic or not.

5 stars Best Diet I Have Ever Tried

2007-09-14     14 of 14 found this review helpful

I heard about this diet from a co-worker. He lost 25 pounds before his wedding last year, so when I decided enough was enough with my weight, I looked for information online. This book is easy reading and very informative. It explains how certain foods effect the insulin levels in your body. The idea is keeping insulin level throughout the day. The diet doesn't really restrict any foods except sugar. This is one of the easiest diets I have ever tried and the GREAT part is, I do not have cravings or hunger pains. So far, I have lost 23 pounds in 6 weeks with moderate exercise 3-4 times a week.

5 stars Do your Own Thing

2007-02-22     14 of 18 found this review helpful

This is a great book for setting up your own eating plan without using fad diets. Even people who aren't dieting can use this to establish better eating habits.

5 stars momoftoddler

2007-06-07     13 of 15 found this review helpful

this book is very good it definetly is for someone who dosent have a lot of time to read. It reads like an outline. The information in it is very easy to understand and extremely helpful.

5 stars This book is Awesome!!!

2007-02-01     12 of 12 found this review helpful

I have been trying to lose weight for the last 10 years (since having my children). Every Monday I would start a new diet that would end a few days later with binges and plans to start again next Monday. Recently I bought this book and I am so impressed! I have lost 9 pounds in the last month. I have not starved at all and I have eaten out at restaurants every weekend and I have had treats too. I feel healthy and I now can wear cute clothes again. I have more energy and I am sleeping better too. I also have more confidence in my ability to lose an additional 10 pounds. I have been recommending this book to everyone!

3 stars Good basic info...but the recipes are a joke.

2007-11-07     11 of 12 found this review helpful

After all the hype in the last year about the Glycemic Index, I thought I would take a dive into the world of Good Carb, Bad Carb...just for my own education. Thus, this Idiot book was one of the first I tore into.

The basic info is very good:how and why your body manufactures and controls blood sugar, insulin and cortisol level control,and how to figure overall Glycemic load of foods.

I was especially glad to see the chapter on soy, a very overrated and potentially harmful food that has been sold as the cat's meow of health foods. Soy's digestibility is extremely poor, and does not contain the essential amino acids needed for healthy tissue manufacturing. Many vegans I know are the sickest looking, most unhappy people on the planet. It's easy to see why when they totally reject any animal protein and try...very unsuccessfully...to replace it with other incomplete proteins. Here's a little factoid: wild squid has, ounce for ounce, ten times the digestible protein than tofu, which is fermented and has thus more digestible protein than non-fermented soy products. However, it is incomplete, missing at least two of the nine essential amino acids one needs, whereas squid has all nine to boot!

Truth is stranger than fiction, and the authors did an excellent job of debunking several myths in re soy, veganism, and the overall failure of foods that have been touted as alternatives to getting enough protein in one's diet. Needless to say, you MUST consume animal products to get all nine essential amino acids, and you cannot get them from any other food.

The biggest problem with the book is the lack of complete recipes. I know; this isn't a cook book. However, when you add recipes, you would expect them to at least be tried and complete. It's ironic that the authors provide sample menus, but failed to provide the recipes. Some recipes are hilarious, like the "Spinach and Red Pepper Omelet," which has NO spinach in either the recipe or the directions! This is a common problem in several of the recipes, like the "Cinnamon Nut Oatmeal with Berries 'n Cream," which has no creme in it: they used CHEESE! And the Spinach Dip is horrid. Use your own recipe.

No, I haven't tried them all, but will. So far, only two of the six are worth doing again: The Tomato Cup is lovely; Apple-Walnut Tuna Salad is the other one.

I suggest, in the end, you forgo the recipes and buy another book that is a low glycemic cookbook.


5 stars Best Glycemic book out!

2007-04-04     11 of 12 found this review helpful

This book has helped me better than any other diet books I've read. I am now at my right body weight and feel great!

4 stars Diet

2007-03-16     11 of 14 found this review helpful

I like this book, and would and have recomend it. I wish it had a better list of the index. I downloaded the one suggested, and paid for it.....It was not helpful at all!

5 stars Very Informative, Easy to Read

2007-08-10     9 of 10 found this review helpful

Even if you're not going on the diet, the information in this book will be very useful to you. It will probably at least influence the way you eat and solve the mystery as to why you get so hungry after you eat certain foods.

5 stars Most detailed Glycemic Index diet book for the Average Joe!

2007-01-21     9 of 9 found this review helpful

It's easy to read, easy to understand, and yet very informative. She covers everything that is essential to weight loss and the GI, including stress and suppliments. I would and have recommended this book to everyone!

5 stars Simple and Complete

2007-02-18     8 of 8 found this review helpful

This book is great for anyone trying to follow a weight loss program based on the glycemic load and glycemic index. It explains what you need to do and why. It explains a lot about how your body works and in simple to understand language. A must read for diabetics.

5 stars Valuable weight loss information for the "mature" adult

2007-05-30     7 of 9 found this review helpful

Very readable and useful information for those worrying about being "pre-diabetic".

5 stars explain it so I can understand.

2007-03-13     7 of 9 found this review helpful

Well written. Uses language (not jargon) to explain things in a way useful to the average person educated beyond high school.

5 stars The dish on sugar!

2008-02-08     6 of 6 found this review helpful

Was diagnosed with Type II last December and after the anger and denial phase, I finally got busy and read everything I could find on diabetes. This book - hands down - was the easiest to understand and completely turned my negative attitude into a 'can do' approach to adapting the principals of GI living. With a sensible progression of information, it gives you the tools and motivates you to take responsibility for your health. My sugars are now within normal range and I've lost over 20 pounds in the last 6 weeks since reading this book. So you could say, this book changed my life!

3 stars Goes nowhere

2007-11-24     6 of 6 found this review helpful

Even for an idiot's guide, this is rather sparse. Most of the time is spent on "rah-rah!" encouragement, and not enough on the diet or on the glycemic index.

4 stars Good Information

2007-10-06     6 of 6 found this review helpful

This book provides good, supported information regarding the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. It is a valuable tool in planning a diet that supports health and promotes weight control for those of us who are prone to hyperglycemia and metabolic syndrome.

4 stars Helpful!

2007-08-14     5 of 6 found this review helpful

A lot of what is in this guide is common sense but a lot is really helpful. I am a little stumped by the idea of eating a lot of veggies for breakfast but I'm figuring that out...

5 stars All you need to know about GI

2007-03-25     5 of 7 found this review helpful

An easy to read, easy to understand guide to eating and living the GI diet way. All you ever needed to know.

3 stars The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss

2006-01-30     5 of 75 found this review helpful

This was okay. I've seen better, I've seen worst.

5 stars the complete idiots guide to glycemic index

2007-07-10     4 of 7 found this review helpful

i really enjoyed reading this book and thought it was very informative and thought prevoking. i would recomend it to others for weight loss and over all health.

4 stars Educational!

2007-06-27     4 of 9 found this review helpful

This book has good information, but it isn't a page turner! It doesn't flow as easily and freely as some, but the information is good.

5 stars Great Book!

2007-03-09     4 of 5 found this review helpful

This book is great! Tons of information if you are wanting to learn more about the Glycemic Index Diet and reviews on other books on the subject. It really helped me figure out how to make healthier choices.

5 stars The Complete Idiot`s Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss

2007-01-14     4 of 5 found this review helpful

Any-one wanting to learn about the Glycemic Index this is the book to buy It is great reading and good advice. Easy to understand information

4 stars The Complete Idiots Guide toGlycemic Index Wieght Loss

2006-11-03     4 of 8 found this review helpful

Very good book. I found it very helpful.

3 stars Some Suggestions Impossible to Follow

2008-03-09     3 of 3 found this review helpful

This book, while it gave some advice that was useful (news about acid foods and cinnamon), overall it was quite complicated - and actually took me off the track I had been on through another, easier to follow method of being on a low glycemic diet. Some advice to reduce stress by moving into more urban areas to avoid traffic confrontations were a bit extreme. It makes better sense that living in a less stressful home life to be a better benefit in managing our stress than just the travel time it takes to get back and forth to work. Found much information of little use - and found other books to be much more helpful with an easier path to follow.Living the G.I. (Glycemic Index) Diet

5 stars A Must to Understanding Type II Diabetes and Food

2008-04-21     2 of 3 found this review helpful

This book is one of the best sources of information on understanding how food works in your body, especially for those who have Type II Diabetes, or have the history of this disease in their family.

I also bought a copy for my mother, who has Type II Diabetes, and she said it explained more to her than her doctor ever did. Best of all it is easy to undertand and to apply to your life and food choices. She is now on a better path forward for managing her Diabetes.

3 stars somewhat easier to understand

2007-10-10     2 of 8 found this review helpful

I am really struggling with this low glycemic index idea. I see the value of it but for some reason, it still seems rather difficult to put into practice. This book was the best one I've read on the subject and I would recommend it to someone serious about eating this way. As for me, I don't feel any closer to understanding it, which is odd since I have been on plenty of other diet plans without any misunderstanding. I'm sure it's just me and maybe I'm just not ready to make that change.

5 stars So much info, simplified

2008-07-29     1 of 1 found this review helpful

This book has so many extra tidbits of helpful information, beyond the usual GI stuff. It is written so that you can read it in short bursts. Great for anyone pressed for time. It has really helped refine my knowlege of GI eating.

4 stars How to do nurti-system on the cheap...

2008-07-10     1 of 2 found this review helpful

I was spending loads on nutrisystem which it's big claim it that it's low glycemic, so you don't get hungry and have energy. I like the concept, but was tired of pre-packaged foods, so I bought this. I definitely learned stuff I didn't know, such as acidic foods slowing down digestion, whether pasta is bad or not, which breads to eat and the dish on sweetners (I use Stevia now, never heard of it before). I try to follow low-glycemic concepts along w/ a reduced calorie diet for weight loss. It gets four stars b/c there was a lot to the book that wasn't helpful, but the good stuff makes it worth it!

4 stars informative

2007-11-14     1 of 1 found this review helpful

This book has lots of info. But not too many recipes or suggestions. Sort of confusing but with another book about GI diet, this would be a good reference

4 stars The Complete Idiot's Guide to GI Weight Loss

2007-08-23     1 of 9 found this review helpful

This is an informative book. So far I have not had much success loosing weight and it has been 3 weeks. I am probably not following the rules.

5 stars GREAT BOOK!!

2008-12-12     0 of 0 found this review helpful

This book is a great help. I have learned so much and am not finished reading it yet. I am down about six pounds so far and have not been hungry or had the "chocolate and sweet cravings".

5 stars The Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weightloss

2008-10-24     0 of 0 found this review helpful

I've been doing glycemic index food intake for eight years. I'm 60 yrars old and people are always amazed by how healthy and energetic I am. The glycemic index diet helps buid body muscle and reduce body fat it is as simple as that. Muscle burns calories so once you stick to this way of eating it supports a healthy lifestyle. Muscle also supports the skeletal structure which I think helps reduce back and joint problems.

I love this book,
DIANE

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