Nutrisystem And The Glycemic Index – How Does This Low Carb-High Protein Combination Work?

If you spend any time researching this diet or hanging out in the weight loss forums, you probably already know that nutrisystem is based on foods which have a favorable glycemic index. But, what does this mean exactly and how does this affect the foods you would be eating on a daily basis if you chose to go with the nutrisystem diet? I'll answer these questions in this article:

What is the Glycemic Index? Simply put, the glycemic index measures the quality of the carbohydrates you consume and how they affect your insulin and blood sugar. In most high protein / low carbohydrate diets, you're shooting for carbohydrates that break down and are digested slowly so that your blood sugar levels are kept at stable and desirable levels. This keeps your metabolism running steadily and strong and contributes to weight loss.

Foods That Are Low And High On The Index: Foods that achieve a steady blood sugar are said to be "low on the glycemic index" or "good carbs." Since it takes them so long to be digested, you'll feel full and satisfied for longer and you'll hopefully eat less low quality foods which will only make you feel hungry anyway.

On the other hand, foods that are high on the index ("bad carbs") are burned through quickly causing your blood sugar to spike and crash. They leave you feeling jittery, irritable and hungry, so you're a lot more likely to consume more of them and therefore also consume a lot of unnecessary and empty calories.

How Nutrisystem Diet Foods Score On The Glycemic Index: The Advanced foods are formulated to have a favorable combination of "good carbs" combined with a low amount of calories and a high amount of protein. Additionally, the Advanced foods have fiber and omega 3s added to give you a feeling of being full, so hopefully you will need to eat less.

Although Nutrisystem doesn't actively advertise this, the combination is designed to put your body in metabolic state called ketosis so that your body will burn its own fat since the "bad" carbohydrates are not available. Although ketosis sounds scary, in my experience you don't feel much different. You can test to see if you've reached this by using ketone strips, available in most drug stores.

Does This Mean Nutrisystem Is A Low Carb Diet Like Atkins Or South Beach? Yes and no. Although it is a high protein / low calorie diet which encourages a favorable index, you aren't banned from snacks, sweets, or carbohydrate containing foods. The beauty of this diet is that it offers many comfort food and snack options like pizza, chocolate, pasta, nachos, macaroni and cheese, and pancakes.

So, if you're picturing not eating anything but meat, cheese, and eggs, you're very likely to be pleasantly surprised. In a nutshell, although you will likely get low carb diet results, you won't have to eat all protein foods.

Ava Alderman is the author of the free ebook "Getting The Most Out Of Nutrisystem," which includes detailed information about how to be successful with this diet, a three weeks free coupon, motivation, and tips to ensure the most dramatic results. Get your free copy here, (no information required) or you can visit her diet review website at http://celebrity-diet-review.com/

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