The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies - Meri Raffetto [36]
"D" quadrant: This group is very visual, enjoys taking risks and trying new things, and gets bored easily. D-quadrant individuals benefit from a nondiet approach that uses visual examples of meal preparation as opposed to a rigid dietary plan because they'd get tired of following a meal plan or eating in a strict way.
Another interesting thing that Treitler found in her observations is that all successful long-term losers had found a coach, mentor, or guide while they were losing their weight. During this time, they all underwent some sort of major life transformation. They stepped away from their old lifestyle and into a new one, letting go of all of their old hang-ups around food. They also incorporated some sort of meditative practice into their lives, such as walking or yoga. This self time seems to be an important link to help people let go of some of the behaviors that aren't serving them anymore.
Putting a stop to yo-yo dieting
Yo-yo dieting — when you try a diet, lose weight, go back to your old habits, and gain the weight back — is what I consider the plague of weight loss. It's a vicious cycle that's all too easy to fall into every time a new diet comes out.
Yo-yo dieting can affect your metabolism in a negative way, making it much easier to gain weight later on. Plus you have the added frustration of always struggling with weight loss. Add to all that the fact that, according to research, yo-yo dieting may even affect your immune system in a negative way, and you realize how important it is to avoid this behavior.
If you're a person who frequently gets stuck in the cycle of yo-yo dieting, I suggest you do your best to let go of the diet mentality and look at the low-glycemic diet as a new lifestyle that requires you to be committed to a new way of living.
If you're looking at a low-glycemic diet as a temporary way to get your weight down, you'll likely end up in this yo-yo trap yet again. The trick to ending yo-yo dieting is to embrace a new, realistic diet regimen and be willing to let go of your old behaviors. Like any new thought process, reorienting how you think about food and eating will take some time, but that's perfectly fine (and normal!).
Asking yourself the right questions
People often dive right into new diet regimens only to find that those regimens don't work for them or that now just isn't the right time in their lives to make changes. If you're still trying to decide whether a low-glycemic diet is appropriate for you, take a few minutes to ask yourself the following questions:
Can I see myself following a low-glycemic diet for a lifetime?
Am I ready to make lifestyle changes?
Am I willing to look at this as a process rather than a quick fix?
Do I enjoy low-glycemic foods?
Do I enjoy trying new foods and recipes?
Will I have good support from my family?
Do the low-glycemic guidelines seem like something that will work in my current lifestyle? If not, am I willing to make some changes to my lifestyle (such as cooking at home more and/or buying new foods)?
What do I really want — to lose weight fast or to lose a little weight more slowly so I can give myself the time and space to adopt new habits?
If losing weight was just a matter of following a plan and exercising, then it'd be easy. However, losing weight successfully and for the long haul requires changing your habits and, in some cases, a lifetime of conditioning. That makes the road a bit harder, but it's not impossible to travel if you take the time to point yourself on the right path. Evaluating your dieting history and addressing the preceding questions fully will set you up for long-term weight-loss success on a low-glycemic diet.
Do You Have Insulin Resistance?
Insulin resistance is a condition in which your muscle, fat, and liver cells don't respond properly to insulin, a hormone produced