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With all of the diets and programs out there for us to choose from, it can be hard to know which one “really” works for you.  If you’re like me, you’ve probably tried what seems like a zillion different diets and eating plans, weight loss groups and clubs, and still struggle with food and exercise – and losing weight.

Although losing weight can make you healthier, if losing weight is your GOAL, that may be part of the problem!  Weight fluctuates – especially for women – from week to week sometimes, and maintaining a specific number on a scale can really be frustrating.

Understanding that FOOD IS FUEL for the body, and learning how your body uses that fuel, or how your body stores that fuel – is really essential to finding Good Health. While reading The Sugar Solution, and starting to dig into The Maker’s Diet, it seems to me that the only effective goal that seems to really work for people is focusing on GOOD HEALTH.

How you feel.  How you act.  Your energy level.  And yes, the new wardrobe that often goes along with this.

Focusing on fitting into some “ideal” guideline that someone else created for you can be really difficult.  Focusing on how you FEEL when you wake up in the morning, and whether or not you struggle with aches and pains, mental fogginess, a continual rollercoaster of emotions, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, migraines – tends to bring things into perspective.  Would you agree?

While I was pregnant with Georgie, I only brushed up against the Glycemic Index in a vague kind of way.  But now, as I’m reading more about it, I see what a valuable tool it can be.

Taking a look at the Glycemic Index, and understanding how certain foods may elevate or stabilize the blood sugar levels in your body, can also help you understand why – at times – you feel more crummy than others.  But learning something new, like how to use the Glycemic Index, doesn’t have to be difficult.  And the more you understand how food is supposed to FUEL your body, rather than how it feeds your soul, the more you understand how and why you may feel the way you do.

This is the journey I’m undertaking.  Writing about my food addiction recently, here and here, really turned something on in my brain. (All right Peanut Gallery, have at it…)

We wonder why one diet doesn’t work for everyone?  Well, its because we each have our own individual chemistry and biological makeup.  Some bodies require more protein, or more carbohydrates, and one particular eating plan isn’t going to fit every single person.

Paying attention to what you eat – and then how it makes you feel physically – can, with the help of the GI, understand which foods fuel your body more efficiently than others.

Does that seem too simple?  So simple that it should have made the headline news?  I know!!!  Learning how your body reacts to certain foods may be a key to helping you move closer to GOOD HEALTH and MORE ENERGY.  Its probably not about combining foods, or avoiding foods altogether.  It’s about balance and learning how your body works.

The Glycemic Index is online.  You can learn about lactose intolerance, how to compare foods and learn to make better choices for eating, and about specific food “values” and about eating GOOD foods that don’s spike your blood sugar, leading to a crash – making you feel all kinds of crummy and irritable…  You can learn to FUEL your body in a way that helps you lose weight and maintain a balance of blood sugar, leading to better health for your body all the way around.

If you want to know how and why the GI works, I do recommend you pick up a copy of The Sugar Solution – from your library or local bookstore – for more details about how blood sugar fuels your body and how too much sugar makes you sick, whether or not you are diabetic or have any kind of sugar concerns.

The rise of obesity and diabetes in our country is staggering.  We’ve seen the news reports.  And maybe for you it’s very personal and difficult.  Maybe, like me, you’ve been obese for more than a decade, and it doesn’t seem like you will ever feel GOOD again.

But, I can tell you from experience with eating differently during my pregnancy with Georgie, that a few small changes can make a world of difference, and learning how to use the GI to guide your eating, may be the difference between feeling good and feeling crummy – and even the difference between life or death!

Disclaimer: If you have any current medical conditions, or are under the care of a physician, do not attempt any diet or change in eating without consulting your physician first.  While these change may seem healthy, medications are often based on weight and changes in your weight may affect the effectiveness of your medication.  Feel free to discuss the Glycemic Index with your doctor.  I am not a medical professional, so I can’t give you any medical advice.  I can only share my own opinion and experience here.

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