Detailed Explanation of Low-GI Diets and Common Weight Control Meal Plans

Learn the low-GI diet and lose weight in just one session.

A low-GI diet aims to control blood sugar levels, because only with stable blood sugar can we lose weight successfully. Therefore, it's essential to understand the glycemic index of foods.

The glycemic index (GI) refers to the rate at which a food affects blood sugar levels during digestion and absorption.

High-GI foods

Because glucose is quickly digested and absorbed after entering the intestines, it can rapidly enter the bloodstream, leading to high blood sugar levels and stimulating excessive insulin secretion, resulting in obesity.

Low-GI foods

Because it stays in the intestines for a long time and is released slowly, the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas is reduced, which can effectively control blood sugar.

Blood sugar levels are determined by the sugars we consume. There are two types of sugars in food: one is sweet sugar, such as white sugar, brown sugar, fructose, and sucrose; the other is non-sweet sugar, such as starchy foods like white rice, white flour, steamed buns, and noodles. Therefore, the main cause of weight gain is excessive or unbalanced intake of sweets and staple foods, leading to metabolic imbalance and eventually weight gain.

Therefore, if you want to control your weight, you must understand the GI value of food and choose low-GI foods as much as possible during the fat loss period.

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Common weight control diet plans

Dietary intervention therapies are broadly categorized into energy control and nutrient control. Energy control includes: very low-energy diets (200–600 kcal/day); low-energy diets (600–1200 kcal/day); and intermittent fasting (5+2) (1200–1800 kcal/day). Nutrient control includes: high-protein diets (protein providing 20%–30% of energy); and high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets (ketogenic diet).

Energy-restricted balanced diet

The basic principles of a restricted-energy balanced diet are low energy, low fat, high-quality protein, and complex carbohydrates. Essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid should also be added to the diet. The intake of refined sugars and beverages should be strictly limited, while ensuring a sufficient proportion of fresh vegetables and fruits. It is recommended that protein, carbohydrates, and fat provide approximately 15%–25%, 20%–30%, and 55% of total energy, respectively. These are mainly divided into the following three categories:

① Reduce the intake by a certain percentage (30% to 50%) from the target intake level;

② Reduce daily intake by approximately 500 kcal from the target intake;

③ Daily energy supply: 1000-1500 kcal.

A restricted-energy balanced diet can effectively reduce weight, lower body fat, improve metabolism, and is easy to maintain in the long term to achieve weight loss goals. It has the highest safety and universality, facilitates the transition to a normal diet, and is suitable for people of all ages and different degrees of overweight and obesity.

low-energy diet

Low-energy diet therapy reduces the intake of carbohydrates and fats while meeting the needs for the five major nutrients: protein, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and water. It is mainly suitable for people with mild to moderate obesity and can be chosen according to individual circumstances. It should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.

Very low energy diet

Very low energy diets primarily rely on protein for energy, strictly controlling the intake of fats and carbohydrates to induce a state of starvation. However, this approach leads to a decrease in lean body mass (also called "fat-free mass," which is the weight of all body components other than fat, such as protein, carbohydrates, and non-bone inorganic substances), easily causing electrolyte imbalances and gout. This method is mainly suitable for severely obese individuals and is typically managed through hospital diets. Appropriate micronutrient supplementation is required, and strict medical guidance is usually necessary to prevent complications.

Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting (5+2 fasting) involves eating normally for 5 days a week and consuming only 1/4 of your usual energy intake (approximately 500 kcal/day for women and 600 kcal/day for men) on the other 2 non-consecutive days. It is primarily suitable for mildly obese individuals. This fasting pattern is beneficial for weight control, prevention of type 2 diabetes, and metabolic improvement, but it can easily lead to nutritional metabolic disorders and is not suitable for pregnant women, children, adolescents, or for long-term use.

High-protein diet

A high-protein diet aims to ensure sufficient protein intake to maintain a positive nitrogen balance (in nutrition, the relationship between the amount of protein ingested and the amount of protein excreted is called nitrogen balance; a positive nitrogen balance is when nitrogen intake exceeds nitrogen excretion). This reduces the mobilization of protein from lean tissues such as muscles for energy. A high-protein diet primarily consists of high-protein foods such as meat and eggs, or supplemented with protein powder. Daily protein intake should exceed 20% of total daily energy intake, but generally should not exceed 30%. This dietary pattern can effectively manage weight and body composition in overweight and obese individuals and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it should not be used for more than six months and is not suitable for pregnant women, children, adolescents, the elderly, or obese patients with kidney disease.

Meal replacement

Replacing one or more meals with non-standard food forms such as multivitamin powders or energy bars, or

Low-carb, very low-sugar diet

In a normal diet, the daily intake of carbohydrates is 20-90 grams. A diet with carbohydrates accounting for less than 20% of total energy is considered very low or sugar-free, usually less than 20 grams, obtained solely from vegetables and fruits.

This dietary pattern can lead to rapid weight loss in the short term, but it cannot be used long-term and should not be used for more than a month. Long-term use of low-sugar or very low-sugar diets can lead to deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, bone loss, damage to blood vessel walls, constipation, and even mental symptoms such as depression and anger.

This method can only be used under the guidance and supervision of a nutritionist or doctor by severely obese individuals (BMI>35). It is not suitable for children, adolescents, and the elderly.

Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet refers to a healthy, simple, light, and nutrient-rich balanced diet. This particular diet emphasizes eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, fish, legumes, and nuts, followed by grains. It also recommends using vegetable oils (containing unsaturated fatty acids) instead of animal oils (containing saturated fatty acids) for cooking, with olive oil being particularly encouraged. The Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of certain cancers, decrease risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, improve fatty liver and insulin resistance, and improve kidney function; however, it has little effect on weight control.

DASH diet

This diet promotes a high intake of fruits and vegetables and a low intake of fats, with high potassium, calcium, magnesium, and fiber as its nutritional characteristics. This approach can effectively prevent and control high blood pressure; however, it is not suitable for patients with certain conditions such as hyperkalemia and severe enteritis.