Happy FFF & ANS

3 Comments / ADA Column, Call to Action
Happy Fun-Flexible Friday and Yea for
our ANS Column with R.D., Lauren O’Connor!
Please keep sending your FANTASTIC questions!
I’m learning sooo much from ALL of you!
And THANK YOU to those who send wonderful emails
to me from yesterday’s blog and to those who posted
comments!  YOU ROCK!!!
Coming very soon:  The MORSEL”grocery shopping” LIST!!!
Many of you have asked me to create a “SHOPPING GUIDE” of my
favorite staples.  I’m busy creating & organizing by Department.
—
Q:   I’d like to know if the dietician feels a food’s glycemic index
is more important than its caloric value in losing/maintaining weight loss.-Karen

A:   That’s a great question, Karen! It’s important to keep an eye on both.
As you probably know, you need a caloric deficit to lose weight:
Cutting 500 calories from your daily energy requirement is safe and effective for weight loss
(about 1 pound/wk). Sounds simple enough.
But what you eat DOES matter because if you don’t balance
your intake, high glycemic foods can affect your ability way
to lose weight and make it difficult to maintain your weight.
If you can’t control your appetite,
you won’t be able to limit your intake so easily.
Foods high on the glycemic index are digested more rapidly
and tend to spike your blood sugars.
They may not only trigger hunger more often,
but the subsequent surge of insulin that lowers your blood sugars,
can leave you with the inevitable “crash and burn.”
—
Why?
Because in a healthy person, insulin is quite effective at doing its job
and the drop from high to low blood sugar can be dramatic.
When feeling low on energy, we tend to reach for more food.
Furthermore, high-glycemic foods offer another downfall:
With an abundance of glucose (sugar) to transport from the bloodstream
to your tissues, insulin signals the body that there is plenty of energy available
– so rather than burning energy for fuel, your body tends to store it (as fat).
for more tips about the Glycemix Index (GI).
The Skinny Chef explains that while watermelon is high on the glycemic index,
it is very low in calories and high in water content.
Thus making it an acceptable choice.
—
What to do if you enjoy some of those tempting high-glycemic foods?
I wouldn’t ask you to go cold turkey, but try to cut down.
Pair them with lean proteins and foods lower on the glycemic index,
including a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates
that will keep you more satiated (and your blood sugars more level). 
Train yourself to enjoy lower GI index carbs, experiment with new snack ideas/recipes —
there are plenty of foods low – medium on the GI index for you to choose from and enjoy!
And remember fruits and vegetables (which are generally low to medium on the GI index)
are typically lower in calories – yet more nutrient-dense –
than highly processed (high GI) foods –
a great benefit for weight loss/maintenance and your health!
—
Lauren O’Connor, MS, RD is a registered dietitian
and owner/nutritional consultant for Nutri-Savvy.
Her approach and motto: “Savor, Taste and Enjoy…Nutrition”.
She focuses on building healthy values and choosing a wide variety of foods,
allowing for all foods – even sweets, in moderation.
O’Connor is a member of the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
As a nutritional expert, she’s contributed to various online media including
abcnews, everydayhealth, iVillage, Shine by yahoo,
Shape, LivingInThin, FitSugar and Multiples&More.
For more info. about Lauren O’Connor and her Services,

3 thoughts on “Happy FFF & ANS”

  1. Karen

    Thanks for the info Lauren…I especially liked your explanation of having too much sugar in the blood and your body’s interpretation of that resulting in fat storage.

    Thanks Mo for giving people this opportunity!

Comments are closed.

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