your eating choices are on autopilot and you don't need to put as much focus on memorizing lists of low-glycemic foods.
Consistency: This is the most important part of making new habits. If you start creating some changes, go back to your old habits for two weeks, and then try some new changes again, it'll be a l-o-n-g time before your new diet feels like a natural part of your life. You won't be perfect, but try not to let setbacks turn into weeks so that you're practicing your goals consistently. (See Chapter 20 for some advice on dealing with setbacks.)
Patience: Beating yourself up when you face setbacks and challenges is easy, but please try not to give in to the temptation. After all, you're adopting a new lifestyle that (just like any other new change) takes some time to master.
You don't have to love every change you try. The trick is to find the changes you do like and put your focus there so they become habits. You can find many strategies to make a low-glycemic diet work in your unique lifestyle. For example, most people feel that finding low-glycemic rice and pastas that work in their lifestyle is a bit challenging. On the flip side, they may find it simple to add in low-glycemic fruits and vegetables because a wider amount of options exist. Focusing on the positive changes helps you feel accomplished, which in turn helps you achieve your goals.
Feeling out of your comfort zone at first
Changing habits is critical for long-term weight loss, but it comes with one large challenge — stepping out of your comfort zone. Anytime you do something new that's different from your prior conditioning, your habitual brain tells you to stop and return to your old habits because this change feels different and uncomfortable. You turally feel tension when changing habits, which in return forces you to act. You either slip into default mode and go back to your old, comfortable habits, or you stick to your decision and move forward to create new habits.
Maybe you're starting a new job that requires you to be in the office at 8:00 am. Now you have to get up at 6:00 am when you're used to getting up at 7:30 am. Pretty uncomfortable, huh? You're tired, it's dark outside, and your body clock feels completely off. Can't you just feel your body pulling you back to bed? Well, you have two choices: You can get up, despite how uncomfortable you feel, and go into work on time, or you can choose to go back to your old habits and stay in bed, accepting the consequences of losing your new job.
Eating a low-glycemic diet works the same way. If you go back to your old habits to avoid the temporary discomfort of change, you'll be accepting the undesired consequences (in this case, not losing weight, not feeling better, and not developing a healthier lifestyle). Developing a new habit is really only uncomfortable for the first couple weeks or so. After that, you're in a new, better-for-you comfort zone.
After you start consistently incorporating low-glycemic foods in your diet, you'll feel more comfortable. Just be prepared for a brief period of being out of your comfort zone first.
Chapter 7 : Adding Low-Glycemic Foods to Your Meals
In This Chapter
Understanding how the glycemic index can help you make good food substitutions
Swapping high-glycemic grains and breads for lower-glycemic varieties
Adding in plenty of fruits, veggies, and beans to provide bulk and help with weight loss
I ncorporating delicious, low-glycemic foods into your everyday meals and snacks is easier than you may expect. You probably already enjoy several low-glycemic foods, which gives you a head start on meal planning. Putting the glycemic index to work is a matter of knowing whether a food is low-, medium-, or high-glycemic. You don't have to memorize a whole bunch of numbers, because several published glycemic index lists are readily available. You can seek them out or just head to Appendix A for lists of popular foods, including foods found in this
Consistency: This is the most important part of making new habits. If you start creating some changes, go back to your old habits for two weeks, and then try some new changes again, it'll be a l-o-n-g time before your new diet feels like a natural part of your life. You won't be perfect, but try not to let setbacks turn into weeks so that you're practicing your goals consistently. (See Chapter 20 for some advice on dealing with setbacks.)
Patience: Beating yourself up when you face setbacks and challenges is easy, but please try not to give in to the temptation. After all, you're adopting a new lifestyle that (just like any other new change) takes some time to master.
You don't have to love every change you try. The trick is to find the changes you do like and put your focus there so they become habits. You can find many strategies to make a low-glycemic diet work in your unique lifestyle. For example, most people feel that finding low-glycemic rice and pastas that work in their lifestyle is a bit challenging. On the flip side, they may find it simple to add in low-glycemic fruits and vegetables because a wider amount of options exist. Focusing on the positive changes helps you feel accomplished, which in turn helps you achieve your goals.
Feeling out of your comfort zone at first
Changing habits is critical for long-term weight loss, but it comes with one large challenge — stepping out of your comfort zone. Anytime you do something new that's different from your prior conditioning, your habitual brain tells you to stop and return to your old habits because this change feels different and uncomfortable. You turally feel tension when changing habits, which in return forces you to act. You either slip into default mode and go back to your old, comfortable habits, or you stick to your decision and move forward to create new habits.
Maybe you're starting a new job that requires you to be in the office at 8:00 am. Now you have to get up at 6:00 am when you're used to getting up at 7:30 am. Pretty uncomfortable, huh? You're tired, it's dark outside, and your body clock feels completely off. Can't you just feel your body pulling you back to bed? Well, you have two choices: You can get up, despite how uncomfortable you feel, and go into work on time, or you can choose to go back to your old habits and stay in bed, accepting the consequences of losing your new job.
Eating a low-glycemic diet works the same way. If you go back to your old habits to avoid the temporary discomfort of change, you'll be accepting the undesired consequences (in this case, not losing weight, not feeling better, and not developing a healthier lifestyle). Developing a new habit is really only uncomfortable for the first couple weeks or so. After that, you're in a new, better-for-you comfort zone.
After you start consistently incorporating low-glycemic foods in your diet, you'll feel more comfortable. Just be prepared for a brief period of being out of your comfort zone first.
Chapter 7 : Adding Low-Glycemic Foods to Your Meals
In This Chapter
Understanding how the glycemic index can help you make good food substitutions
Swapping high-glycemic grains and breads for lower-glycemic varieties
Adding in plenty of fruits, veggies, and beans to provide bulk and help with weight loss
I ncorporating delicious, low-glycemic foods into your everyday meals and snacks is easier than you may expect. You probably already enjoy several low-glycemic foods, which gives you a head start on meal planning. Putting the glycemic index to work is a matter of knowing whether a food is low-, medium-, or high-glycemic. You don't have to memorize a whole bunch of numbers, because several published glycemic index lists are readily available. You can seek them out or just head to Appendix A for lists of popular foods, including foods found in this
Similar Books
Never the Bride
Rene Gutteridge
The Unburied Past
Anthea Fraser
Ghosts of Bergen County
Dana Cann
The Golden Rules of Love: Western Romance
Tammy Andresen
Tangled Threads
Margaret Dickinson
A Treasure Deep
Alton Gansky
Kid Gloves
Anna Martin
The Cardturner
Louis Sachar
After Impact: After Impact Trilogy, Book 1
Nicole Stark
He Comes Next
Ian Kerner