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2007 Summer Newsletter
Most women are aware of osteoporosis or bone loss, especially post-menopause, but are unaware of another equally debilitating condition, muscle loss. Women over 40 lose an average of 1% per year of their muscle mass, and as they already have only two thirds of the muscle mass of men, this can have a considerable impact on their health and weight. This process of muscle wastage is called "Sarcopenia".
The same process occurs in men though it tends to be a little later in life. However, in physically inactive people, there is a steady decline in lean muscle mass and corresponding physical strength from the age of 25 to 60 years. (About 0.5% loss per year). Thereafter the rate doubles every 10 years.
The problem with losing muscle mass and strength is twofold. First, the weaker you feel, the less likely you are to stay active and you will become frail and "old" faster. Frailty in old age is primarily the result of depleted muscle mass and therefore strength.
Second, it can impact your weight. Lean muscle mass gets replaced by fat cells and muscles burn calories, fat doesn't. Muscles are the largest consumer of energy (calories) in your body and as everyone knows -- or should know as readers of the GI Diet -- if your body is burning less calories because of less muscle mass, then these calories are now being stored as fat. The net result, a weaker, fatter you.
Women are at particular risk here because weaker muscles put less stress on bones, which in turn, leads to weaker bones i.e. bones need to be constantly stressed otherwise they become thinner and more fragile. Couple this with a greater risk of osteoporosis after menopause, and risk of bone fragility and breakage substantially increases.
So what do you do? There really is only one solution, strength training. I know many of you will want to stop reading right here. A vision of sweating, grunting, muscle-bound Rambos is the usual association with strength or weight training. The reality is a long way from this. Before going further, weight training is not the same as aerobic training such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming, which most of you enjoy. This is great for your cardiovascular and circulatory system but does virtually nothing to build muscle mass. To do this you need "resistance" or something for muscles to work against. Weights are by far the most common way to do this.
But there are some excellent home weight train exercises at www.strongwomen.com and www.go.tufts.edu/growingstronger.
The most remarkable thing about weight training is its amazing ability to restore muscle strength in a very short period of time, even for the elderly. Research studies have consistently shown that only 12 weeks of weight training can double the amount of strength. Even elderly and frail nursing home residents have shown similar results.
The other component in building muscle mass is diet, specifically protein. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for adults, regardless of age or sex is 0.36 g per pound of weight (0.8 g per kilo). That represents 45 g for a 9 stone person; 56 g for 11 stone and 71 g for 14 stone. However, studies have shown that people who exercise with weights require 25% more protein to maintain muscle mass, and an amazing 50% more to increase muscle mass.
Based on this, you should be looking to increase your daily protein intake if you intend to take up weight training. Incidentally, a total of 90 minutes a week is recommended or three times 30 minute sessions. Never two days in a row as muscle tissue needs of time to regenerate between sessions.
Fortunately most green light products are relatively high in protein. To ensure that you are selecting the green light products that will have the most impact on increasing your protein intake make sure you include some of the following foods: --
Note: serving size is followed by the amount of protein in grams
Meat: 120 g = 33 g
Fish: 120 g = 30 g
Poultry: 120 g = 33 g
Beans: 225 mL = 15 g
Cottage cheese: 115 mL = 13 g
Skim milk: 225 mL = 8 g
Liquid eggs: 115 mL = 12 g
Yoghurt: 175 mL = 8 g
Kashi Go Lean: 40 g = 13 g
Pasta: 175 mL uncooked= 7g
Bread w/meal multigrain= 3/4 g
Oatmeal: 60 g uncooked= 12 g
Nuts (best choices): 25 g Almonds/Peanuts/Cashews= 5/6 g
So if you are over 40 for women and 50 plus for men, you should seriously be considering adding some weight training to your routine. This can be done at home with simple weights, which are inexpensive and readily available at fitness outlets, or join a fitness club. Either way, it will extend your active life and help control your waistline. An excellent return on a modest time investment.
Summer Tip
One of the summer's favourite treats is ice cream, and I personally find it almost impossible to walk past our neighborhood "Tasty Freeze" truck. Unfortunately ice cream can be a waistline disaster because of the amount of fat and sugar. Premium ice creams such as Haagen-Dazs are the worst offenders with typically 25 g of fat (half of that saturated) and 350 cal per serving (125 mL).
Your best alternatives are brands with low-fat and no sugar added. Rather than worrying about counting grams of sugar or fat, it is best to look for the number of calories per serving on the label. Target 100 cal or less per 125 mL serving.
One of the principal reasons these "light" brands are low-calorie is that they have air added which makes them less dense and therefore contain less fat and sugar.
It is well worth the extra effort to identify the right light brands so can enjoy the summer treats without compromising your health or weight.
Frozen yogurts are a good alternative as they are usually low in fat but can contain a lot of added sugar. Again apply the 100 calorie guideline to pick your best option.
Readers' Letters
I have received emails from many of you saying how much you enjoyed reading other people's stories as they found them both informative and motivating. I have included a couple more this time round including one from a GP in a rural practice.
If you are at all concerned about whether the GI Diet is sustainable over the long term, this letter should help alleviate your fears.
I first bought your GI Diet book in August 2002 when I needed to lose weight and wanted to find a sensible and healthy plan. I felt that the GI diet made a lot of sense and helped me to understand how to put together a lot of things I had heard before but in a practical "how to" guide. I lost approx. 2 1/2 over the first 6 months to reach my goal (12 stone 12 lbs down to 10 stone 5 lbs). My husband and I did this together (he also lost approx. 1 1/2 stone) which was a great help.
We changed the way we grocery shopped, read labels and chose recipes. We learned how to make the best choices possible when we ate out. Four and a half years later we have continued to maintain these habits.
I had a baby in June 2005 and during my pregnancy was confident that when I was ready I could lose the weight again after our son was born. I was back to my healthy weight a few months before his first birthday. His 2nd birthday is coming up in June and I am happy to say that I am still maintaining my healthy weight.
The biggest benefit I think is how much better we feel and the increased energy we have when we eat properly (with three kids we need all the energy we can get!). We are also now modeling better eating habits for our three children and I hope they will never have to struggle with weight issues themselves but will learn healthy habits from the start.
4 1/2 years later the GI diet is a way of life for us. Thank you!
--Sherry
Hi Rick
Thank you for this wonderful diet. I have been on it for 8 months and I have lost a grand total of 3 1/2 stone!!! I still have a few more to go, but this is the easiest diet plan I have ever been on. I know that I can do this! I have gone from a size 18 to a size 8 and now have a much smaller wardrobe in all senses of the word.
I started your diet the first week of June 06 and was amazed to find that even when I went on holidays - the travelling and staying with family - still stayed on track and lost weight. I thought for sure I would put back on about 5 pounds. Imagine how surprised I was to find that I had lost"5". I used your book "Guide to Shopping and Eating Out"
I work in a busy grocery store and see a lot of people. I get asked all the time "HOW DID YOU DO IT"and I tell them about your books. I think I must be responsible for the sale of several of your books. Now I would like to be able to help my daughter-in-law.
Thank you for all your help and by reading your books and receiving your Newsletters I feel that you are there with me supporting me in my journey to a new SKINNIER HEALTHIER ME!!!!!!
--Pauline
Hi Rick,
Congratulations on an excellent diet programme. I am a GP and have practiced in a rural community for 30 years. I have developed a special interest in managing my diabetics better. Along with using a CDA flow sheet on all of their charts, I discuss diet and exercise. Living in a rural community means that I have access to only one dietitian and a monthly diabetic clinic run by one of our dedicated nurse managers at our local hospital so, guess what? The GP gets to do much of the teaching.
Your books and your web-site have found a very important place in my teaching. I have many patients who have already been successful beyond their wildest expectations. It was really exciting to see a morbidly obese woman who had really almost given up on any hopes of health (her GTT was in the diabetic range also) walk into my office tenderly clutching your book "The GI Diet" and proudly announcing that she had already lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks.
My wife and I also latched onto your program and WOW!!!!! What a difference. With regular walking, some weight lifting and your marvelous recipes I have lost 2 stone 5 pounds and am well on my way to my ideal weight. We have had a wonderful time preparing the meals and an even more wonderful time eating them. Even the two teens in our home enjoy the food. We rarely get to enjoy leftovers as the kids find them first. One of the things we learned is that it is much easier when both husband and wife prepare the meals together. I have incorporated this suggestion into my teaching and use it as a method of encouraging healthier relationships as well as healthier bodies.
Thanks so much, Rick for what you have accomplished.
Sincerely,
--Bill
Dear Rick!
Just finished reading your newsletter and thought I would pass on my experience with the GI Diet!
Back in November of 2005 while in my doctors office for my routine yearly check up, as I sat there at the age of 35 weighing 19 stone 4 lbs and struggling with high blood pressure my Doctor decided it was time for a full blown blood work up to really check me out.
The next week devastating news came to me, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and High Cholesterol along with my hypertension. There I sat in my doctors office crying. I am no stranger to Diabetes, my grandmother lost both of her legs to amputation, and eventually died from this terrible disease, sitting there crying I could not believe what I had to myself, I let this happen by allowing myself to become so inactive and overweight. I thought I was doomed.
My Doctor is such a fantastic guy, he encouraged me to get motivated and take control of my life, sent me away with numerous prescriptions, a blood pressure monitor and a glucose monitor. I was overwhelmed, I was testing my blood sugar three times a day, same with the blood pressure, and feeling very depressed!
My husband, my 9 year old son and my family were very supportive and encouraged me to start on a healthier way of life, so I started researching diets, and quick fixes...............found nothing I liked, every diet I had ever tried was torture!
About a week later while shopping at Costco I stumble across this small book called the GI DIET, I skimmed through it and it had a section on how it is safe for Diabetics, so I bought the book.
This book, (I now have 4 of them) has become a bible to me, I can quote many passages in it. I read it, followed it, and I am happy to tell you that I was thrilled when the weight started to come off. I was amazed! 'ERick, I was losing weight rapidly. I was seeing my doctor often during this time and he was amazed every time he saw me, he could not believe it.
By that March, 5 months later, my blood pressure was back to normal, my cholesterol was normal, and my glucose levels were that of a NON Diabetic! I was removed off of ALL of my medications and was monitored often to make sure and sure enough, I was maintaining healthy readings and still losing weight!
It was exactly 12 months in November of 2006 and I was in to see my Doctor again and my levels are excellent and not only that I have lost 7 stone 10 lbs, in the years time!
No one can believe I have lost all this weight with no pills, no surgery, no "diet", I tell them all I am living the GI way. This is such a no brainer way of living, we cannot believe it! I feel FANTASTIC! It is a little expensive because I have had to buy a few new sets of wardrobes in the past year but that is ok, I am looking great in my new clothes.
Not only have I lost and I am still losing ( hoping to lose another 10 lbs) with hardly any effort but my daily walk and eating GI foods, my husband has lost 3 stone, and my 10 year old son has lost 10 lbs.
Rick, I cannot tell you what this has done for me, I have been saved, given a new life, and a better outlook on my future with my family!
Such a simple way of living, I am enjoy the food, we are always satisfied, never feel deprived and just cannot thank you enough for putting this into such a fantastically easy no brainer way to live, using the traffic light system is awesome!
Just thought I would share my success with you because without your book I am not sure that I would be a success storey especially after have failed at so many other "diets".
Your biggest (well skinnier) fan!
--Jennifer
Recipe
With summer here, fresh fruits and vegetables are bountiful. Here is a recipe from the G.I Diet Cookbook that capitalizes on some of the wonderful choices around us. Enjoy!
Mediterranean Summer Salad
This recipe from our daughter-in-law Jennifer is most delicious at the height of summer. You can easily make substitutions too. If you don't have yellow or orange peppers, substitute green or red peppers. Red onion could easily replace the sweet onion.
3 medium tomatoes cut into chunks
1 cucumber, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 orange pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 sweet onion (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced
85 g (3 oz) pitted black olives
4 tbsp fresh basil, cut into thin strips
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
125 g (4 oz) low-fat feta cheese, crumbled
- In large bowl, mix together tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion, olives, 3 tbsp basil and parsley. Add olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper; toss gently. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with feta and remaining basil.
Hint: If you prefer a more marinated salad, you can complete this recipe up through Step 1 several hours in advance.
Serves 4
If you would like to read more free recipes, click here, or you can buy the G.I. Diet Cookbook today!.
I would like to thank the many people who have taken the time to e-mail me their experiences with the G.I. Diet. The feedback has been incredibly helpful to me and I hope to keep sharing these learnings with you either through the Newsletters and/or future books.
Kind regards, Rick G.
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