The diet I put Julie on, is kind of a modified version of the GI diet. I recommend the GI diet to a lot of people looking to lose weight since it doesn’t exclude any food groups, doesn’t require any calorie counting and encourages a way of eating which is healthy and sustainable.

Julie and I did a 12 week programme, and during the first 4, Julie wasn’t allowed any foods that weren’t classified as low GI. This was pretty tough as it means that a lot of staple foods are out. In the second 4 weeks, we added in some medium GI foods and introduced a cheat meal once per week. And for the final 4 weeks we added the remaining medium GI foods and threw in an extra cheat meal per week.

As I mentioned, one of the most important elements of the diet for Julie, is getting into the habit of eating regularly. Ideally, Julie should be eating 5 small meals spread roughly evenly throughout the day. The meals should be big enough that she’d not hungry during the gaps, and small enough that she’s not too full to eat when her next meal is due! Eating in this way is a fantastic metabolism booster, which, in turn, helps to burn fat more quickly!

If you want to play along at home, here’s the food that Julie was allowed in weeks 1-4:

Protein:

• Eggs, hard boiled
• Low fat cottage cheese
• Chicken breast
• Turkey breast
• Any kind of fish

Vegetables

• Any leafy vegetables
• Aubergines
• Raw Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Asparagus
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Celery
• Cauliflower
• Artichokes
• Onions
• Squash
• Cucumbers
• Sweet peppers (any color)
• Zucchini
• Green Beans

Fats

• Any nuts or natural nut butter (in moderation!)
• Olives and Olive oil
• Sesame oil
• Coconut oil
• Flax oil
• Sunflower oil

Drinks

• Water
• Tea/coffee (no sugar)

If you must have a sweetener in your tea/coffee, then Splenda or similar is OK, similarly I let Julie have soy milk but only in her tea/coffee.

Right, so that leads us to the list of foods that weren’t allowed

Banned!!!

• Yoghurt
• Milk
• Ice Cream
• Fruit and Fruit Juice
• Alcohol
• Starch – Potatoes, Rice (yes, even rice cakes), Pasta
• Cheese
• Red Meat
• Pork
• Bread

If you’re thinking that some of these foods would be allowed on the GI diet, you’re right. I excluded some foods because of their effect on digestion or other factors. Sorry!

Finally, as I mentioned here, if you’re playing along at home, I really can’t emphasize enough the importance of eating regularly. You should be aiming to eat around every 3 hours, don’t leave big gaps between meals!!