How to Figure Carb Values for the Belly Fat Cure
There's no way to specifically target the fat accumulated around your belly for reduction through either diet or exercise. By reducing your overall percentage of body fat (the portion of your body weight that fat makes up), however, you diminish your belly fat. Simple carbohydrates make up the bulk of "empty calorie" foods. Because the body is able to rapidly digest them, they spike blood sugar levels which in turn can cause you to feel hungry even when your body doesn't actually need food. The Glycemic Index is the measure used to determine how quickly a carbohydrate breaks down.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- 1 pen and 1sheet of paper OR a word processing program capable of creating tables
- Internet access OR a Glycemic Index food reference book
- 1 yellow and 1 green highlighter (if you're going to use a pen and paper)
Instructions
-
-
1
Prepare a table with three columns and at least 20 rows. In the first column compile a list of the most common foods in your diet (other than meat). The second column is reserved for your food's Glycemic Index (GI) value. The third column is reserved for your food's Glycemic Load.
-
2
Use the GI link below or simply go to www.glycemicindex.com. There are also many Glycemic Index books on the market which offer the Glycemic values for different foods. If you used the GlycemicIndex web site, click on the Database tab towards the left of the screen to prepare to search for the GI values of your food.
-
-
3
Look up each food on your list and record their Glycemic Index value and their Glycemic Load value.
-
4
Highlight in green those foods which have a Glycemic Index value AND Glycemic Load value of 54 or less.
-
5
Highlight in yellow those foods which have a Glycemic Index value or Glycemic Load value between 55 to 69. Leave blank those foods which have a Glycemic Index value and Glycemic Load value above 70.
-
6
Either eliminate or eat very sparingly the foods which were left blank on your list. Try substituting a healthier food in its place, one which satisfies the same craving but which has a more desirable Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load value. Eat modestly those foods highlighted in yellow.
-
7
The foods highlighted in green should make up the bulk of your carbohydrate intake. If you want to add more foods to this list, use your Glycemic Index food reference to look up low GI and GL foods. Most reference books have a section which categorizes foods according to value. And the resource link below gives the option to look up foods this way as well.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Carbohydrates play a vital role in nourishing your body. They are the brain's preferred fuel choice and should make up about 50% of your daily diet. In trying to reduce body fat, the point is not to eliminate carbohydrates from your food intake, but to stick to eating those carbs which take longer to digest and which promote steady blood sugar levels to hold off hunger between meals.
