Slimmercook

Sorry this post is a week late. I had written this last Monday, but my internet connexion crashed as I was posting it, then I was down with sinusitis and did not feel well enough to rewrite the post.
I’ve been looking forward to starting this plan for a while. I’ve done quite a bit of reading about the low glycaemic index (low GI), also spelt low glycemic index, and its refinement, the low glycaemic load (low GL), and I’m persuaded of its relevance to effective weight loss and maintenance. I’ll write at greater length about these concepts in another post. Today I want to outline my new plan. One reason I chose it is because I live in Greece so the Greek foods are familiar to me and I cook this way often anyhow, but if you aren’t keen on Greek or Mediterranean cuisine please don’t be put off, there is no need to switch wholesale to this, many of the foods and recipes are not “Greek”.
The basic plan is outlined in The Greek Doctor’s Diet (2005) and The Greek Doctor’s Diet Cookbook (2006) as well as the handy-sized Beyond GI: Understanding Glycaemic Load (2006), all by Dr Fedon Alexander Lindberg. I’m now reading his latest book, the GI Mediterranean Diet (2009), which has more theory than the others. All four books contain lists with GI/GL values of common foods. The smaller Beyond GI does not have recipes, but food choices and lists are in a clear format. The original Greek Doctor’s Diet and the latest Mediterranean version both have 47 recipes, but they are the same ones. The Cookbook has over 100 recipes, and the basic principles and sample meal plans have a nice clear layout.
In a nutshell, here is the Greek Doctor’s Diet, but I urge you to read one of the books to get the full details as well as to understand the underlying theory. Three good meals a day, plus two snacks. Protein at each meal, even the snacks–but this doesn’t always have to be meat, this is not an Atkins-type diet. For two of the main meals, the plate should be 2/3 full of low-GI carbohydrates such as vegetables and pulses, and 1/3 protein (a piece of meat/chicken/fish the size of your palm, or eggs, cottage cheese, or tofu). At one main meal a day you are allowed 100g (cooked weight) of medium-to-high GI carbohydrates such as whole grains (brown or basmati rice, oats, buckwheat), wholewheat pasta, wholegrain bread (pumpernickel) or cooked root vegetables (beetroot, carrots, celeriac, sweet potato). Every day two pieces of fruit, 250ml milk, one tablespoonful of olive oil, 15 g nuts and seeds, at least one serving of pulses/legumes such as beans, lentils, chickpeas. All low-GI vegetables are unlimited and can be eaten in any amount.
I did well on my first week, not hungry at all, and enjoyed a wide variety of food. Unfortunately I had to go to two birthday parties at the weekend, with junk food, but I’m glad to be back on track again.