The Glycemic Index & Weight Loss

The Glycemic Index measures how much sugar different foods generate when digested

What happens when you eat a food with a high glycemic index (one that produces a lot of sugar in your body)

step 1 YOU'RE HUNGRY and you reach for something like a donut, a bowl of white pasta, even a baked potato
step 2 Food is digested and generates blood sugar
step 3 This blood sugar is leveled by insulin (a hormone released by the pancreas)
step 4 Certain foods generate a lot of sugar production - - countered by a lot of insulin production (if you are overweight it may pump out more)
step 5 All of the extra insulin produced brings blood sugar down too far
step 6 Now you're at a semi-starved state > > now you have very little energy & you may get a headache
step 7 With low blood sugar the brain sends a message that YOU'RE HUNGRY (more calories in, repeat the cycle if the food choice is similar)

AND WEIGHT LOSS:
Web MD reports that If you're trying to lose weight, calories count more than the types of food in your die t (based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Tufts University study). The study concluded that after a year, overweight people on a low-carb low-glycemic-index diet lost just as much weight -- 8% of their original weight -- as people on a reduced-fat, high-glycemic-index diet.

Foods that have a high glycemic index or produce a lot of blood glucose in the body are: White bread/rolls, potato chips, donuts, waffles

Foods that have a low glycemic index are: lettuce, grapefruit, broccoli, peanuts, tomatoes, milk, spaghetti

A great complete list is available at: http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm