Avoiding complications – Marianne
‘About 10 months ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. I had been overweight for most of my life and have been treated with medication for hypertension for 20 years. I searched the Web for a nutritional plan to help me lose weight. As a nurse I knew I craved carbohydrates, especially bread. I came across the plan for glycemic index and have followed it since then. So far I have lost over 30 pounds. I visited my physician after six months of weight loss and my cholesterol levels and glucose levels (HbA1c) were all the normal range. When I see my physician next month she wants to stop my diabetes medication. I exercise every day and feel so much better. I have a lot more energy, I sleep better, and I actually enjoy going out with my friends and family. I hope to lose more weight and avoid any complications from my diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension.’



Preventing diabetes – Jason
I've been overweight most of my life. I remained overweight after becoming a vegan in 1994. I've had diabetic symptoms such as chronic pain and fatigue in the arches of my feet since I've been 18, and occasionally constant thirst, and frequent urination. When I got blood cholesterol panels tested, it always came back with the same results: Normal total cholesterol, high triglycerides and low HDL. My doctors always told me to lose weight and exercise more, but I could never lose the weight permanently. In the summer of 2004, I once again had a cholesterol panel blood test. Once again the results were the same, high triglycerides and low HDL. I looked up the symptoms in the Dr. Weil website. It says high triglycerides, low HDL and weight concentrated around the mid-section (the classic apple shape, which was how I looked), were symptoms of insulin resistance. There was another article that recommended eating lower on the GI index. That information led me to the website and books. After a few days after adopting a low GI diet to my vegan diet my foot pain was gone. I started to lose weight immediately. After a few months I was down to 140 pounds from the 160s. The symptoms of insulin resistance in my follow-up blood test were greatly diminished. Today my BMI is 22. I really do believe the information in your books and web site saved me from diabetes and heart disease. I have no hesitation in recommending the GI website and books to friends and family. Merry Christmas.

‘I am so pleased with the results of a low GI diet I want to share my experience’ – Robert
You may think I am being premature in writing like this but I am writing to say thank you for the existence of the low GI diet and all the researchers and others who have made it accessible through the books you publish and the database you provide.



I had been unwell for some time and in the week of 27th June I was hit by what I call a ‘metabolic storm.’ I was admitted to hospital with a BGL in excess of 33.3 mg/L and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, although I was on an insulin drip followed by insulin injections for most of my hospital stay. While I was in hospital my wife obtained The New Glucose Revolution and The Low GI Diet Cookbook, which I read avidly.

When I left hospital I was on Gliclazide plus the usual dietary control. My endocrinologist suggested that given this was likely to have been a long-term problem BGL in the range 6–10 would be a good range for me. I accessed your website, signed up for the newsletter and browsed the database. The two books became my food bibles and I followed the suggested regime ruthlessly. Within two weeks I was in trouble with my BGL being driven too low, I got down to a BGL of 3.1 and frankly anything below about 5 did and does tend to give me a bad case of the shakes. So, Gliclazide was stopped and from then on I have relied entirely on dietary control. My endocrinologist says I only really need to check my BGL several times a week or if I suspect there is a problem, but part of my regime is consistency, meals at a regular time, plan ahead, check what is happening. Following is some data to illustrate the results:


Click to enlarge

I firmly believe this has been achieved by the resources that you provide, and that I would not be where I am today without them.

‘It is nothing short of a miracle’– Rose
My husband had a major stroke in 2004, and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, as well. His blood sugar has been like a roller coaster no matter how carefully I monitored his diet, until we accidentally happened upon The Low GI Diet Guide to Diabetes at our local book store. For the past 3 weeks we have followed your 7-days of menus religiously and my husband’s blood sugar has been holding so well it is unbelievable. The calorie and carb levels of your menu plans appear to be absolutely perfectly calibrated as he cannot exercise because he is paralysed.

It is nothing short of a miracle. In just 3 short weeks there's been a remarkable turnaround in his blood sugar and in the way he feels. His blood sugar has been right on target every day and he has lost 6 pounds! It's wonderful to see him feeling so well. Now he has asked if I could come up with 7 more days of menus so that he doesn’t eat the same thing every week!

Amy kills two birds with one stone …
When I consulted dietitian Johanna Burani about my weight and my diabetes, I weighed in at 320 pounds and I am only 5 foot 7 inches (giving me a scary BMI of 50) – yes, I had trouble walking and even getting out of bed! My doctor was not optimistic about what the future held unless things changed as there's diabetes on both sides of the family. I really hoped there'd be a way to control it naturally. I am not a 'pills' person, and was already taking blood pressure medication and was not happy about that at all.



I knew I simply had to straighten out my diet and the big incentive was when my doctor told me I could come off Glucophage if I lost weight and kept it off. So I started walking for 45 minutes in my lunch hour and lost 36 pounds. But I always felt hungry and the temptation to grab a cake or donut or chocolate candies to snack on was constant, and all too often I gave in and raided my boss' candy dish in the afternoons. And all too soon the weight started coming back on.

So I decided to consult a dietitian. When I first saw Johanna, she asked me to construct a 24-hour food and drink diary. It's not as easy as it sounds! I had never really thought about portions. I just ate what I was served – or as much food as I felt like. But I am not a fussy eater at all and I love my fruits and vegetables. What did become clear was that I was eating far too many 'gushers' (high GI foods).

Johanna explained that she could probably 'kill two birds with one stone' – that is she could help me lose weight and control my blood glucose levels naturally! So we put together a game plan that I could stick to. Essentially all I had to do was exchange my quickly digested carbs for more slowly digested ones. This meant I had to decrease the high GI fruits and replace them with trickler fruits; breads had to be whole grain (with lots of grainy bits) and my evening meal would consist of smaller starch and protein portions with half my plate covered in vegetables.

Amazingly Johanna said that this might be all I would have to do (as well as some exercise and drinking lots of water). I have to say I couldn't believe it; but it was virtually all I had to do! I signed up at a women's only gym near where I worked doing both cardiac and resistance training for 45 minutes most lunchtimes and stuck to my low GI ‘trickler’ diet. In a little over a year I lost 118 pounds – and after the first 50 my doctor took me off blood pressure medication! My most recent bloodwork shows a 31 percent jump in my good HDL cholesterol; a 74 percent drop in triglycerides and a 26 per cent drop in mean glucose levels. So I got my wish – no medication and a nice bonus – no joint pain. I also got back my life. I workout six days a week and I really love my spinning classes. In fact I am thinking of becoming a spinning class instructor – part time of course.
– From Good Carbs, Bad Carbs by Johanna Burani, published by Marlowe & Company and reproduced with Amy’s and Johanna’s permission.

Bedrich: Little changes – Big difference
‘For 15 years I ran my own small company in Prague. During those 15 years I spent a lot of time driving or sitting at a desk, developing software applications and seeing clients. Many times I would miss meals and I would end up eating on the run or I would miss meals completely and have a huge meal late at night. The result was my weight soared from 76 kg when the company began to a peak of 97 kg during 2005. My energy levels were not good, I felt unhealthy, and worse, a blood glucose test in 2004 showed that my 2-hour blood glucose levels were too high. Both my mother and father had type 2 diabetes and, at 55, I knew I needed to make some changes but didn't know how or where to begin.

Everything changed for me when I visited my daughter in Australia for 3 months in late 2005. She told me about the GI and the importance of daily exercise. I began eating oats with fresh fruit for breakfast and for lunches I would make my own sandwiches using capeseed rolls, salad and a cheese slice. I used avocado instead of butter. We always had a salad with dinner that contained different beans and vegetables. We typically ate poached chicken breast or tinned fish but would also have lean cut steaks on a BBQ. Another major change was daily walking to and from the bus or train station. When I left in late February 2006, my weight had dropped to 82 kg. Best of all I just felt so much better.

Today back in Prague my weight is 84 kg nearly four months later. I continue to choose low GI carbohydrates in place of the old high GI versions I ate before Australia and am now walking to the train station to get to work leaving the car behind. I am confident I will be able to maintain my new weight with these new but easy changes.’



David Lee Nall says: ‘Taking care of yourself is the best way to take care of others.’
‘I was living the American dream: I had a beautiful family, a new house, four cars, and a business that was grossing seven figures. I had come a long way for a skinny, dyslexic kid who had been a poor student. But in the midst of all this hard-earned success, my weight had climbed to 245 pounds, my energy levels were flagging, and I discovered some tumors on my stomach and lower back. Although the tumors were diagnosed as benign, the health scare was a wake-up call. I wasn’t even 30 years old. My son was only four. I wanted to be around to see him grow up.

On 1 December 2004, I decided to change my life once and for all. I made the decision to start taking care of myself. I bought healthy foods, watched what I ate, and restructured my exercise routine. And I resolved to enter the 2006 Texas Shredder Classic, a natural, drug-tested, body building contest.
I began eating small, frequent meals totalling 350 grams of protein, 300 grams of carbohydrates and 40 grams of fat daily. However, I was getting headaches and always feeling hungry. Then I found out about glycemicindex.com. By choosing slow carbs, I was able to lose weight without feeling hungry and sustain my intense workouts. Five days a week I did 30 minutes of high intensity cardio workouts and weight training, with 45 minutes of cardio on the weekends. After losing a total of 59 pounds and dropping my waist size from 42 inches to 32 inches, I placed second in my class at the body building contest.

But the real reward was how I felt: I hadn’t felt this good since I was in high school, when I’d first started weight lifting and strength training as a way to overcome the weak knees that prevented me from playing sports. Today, I still manage my franchise business, but because I enjoy seeing people undergo the same kind of transformation I went through I also have my own personal trainer business. My motto is that no one is ever too old to adopt a healthy lifestyle; the body has an amazing ability to heal and renew itself.’
www.davidleenall.com

‘A low GI diet – best thing I've done in a long time’ says Lorraine
‘I started hearing about low GI diets back in 2004 but only looked into them properly in early 2005. At the time I weighed 90 kg which was at least 20 kg over a healthy weight. Ironically, I work in the fresh produce industry, I had a good working knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating guidelines plus I have quite good cooking skills. Previous attempts at calorie-controlled diets failed because the hunger pangs would win out in the end. And a few months going low carb in search of a quick fix left me heavier than ever.

After reading up on GI principles and seeing that this clearly wasn’t another complicated fad diet I opted to join an excellent online site offering a personalised GI diet plan. Pretty quickly I could see that I hadn't been eating regularly enough, my food choices hadn’t been ideal, there hadn’t been enough variety in my diet and that my portion control had been non-existent.

Today I am 21 kg lighter and have a healthy BMI (body mass index). I maintain my weight by a combination of sensible portion control and food selection. Fruit, vegetables, salads and pulses are now the major part of my diet. Pasta/rice/bread and potatoes are limited to much smaller portions and are always the wholegrain version. I limit meat to two or three small portions per week (red meat just once a week) and I try to include a low-fat dairy item every day. I've found that the GI principles are flexible enough to be applied to eating out, holidays, special occasions and so forth. It’s a rare event when I'm faced with a choice where nothing is suitable. Not everything I eat is low GI by any means, but certainly the majority.

Medically speaking I feel much fitter. An asthmatic condition has all but disappeared and I am confident that I have halted what would have been an inevitable slide into diabetes, heart disease and a host of other more minor complaints.’

Jaws dropped at the gym when Margaret walked in
‘I was 60 years old last July. When I saw the photos of me at my surprise birthday party I was depressed at the amount of fat that had accumulated around my midriff! I weighed 80 kg and should have weighed 65 kg. I set out to put this right by eating ‘diet’ and ‘low fat’ foods along with my regular gym sessions and lots of walking. I was attending my local gym on average five times weekly for aquarobics and Pilates. Nothing was working. Very frustrating and even more depressing! I attended a session at the local RSL Club at which Dr Sandra Cabot was speaking about the effects of high GI carbs and sugar in foods and their impact on the syndrome X condition. It just clicked with me that I was going down the wrong path to achieve weight loss. I weighed 82.7 kg that day.

By 24 January 2006, I weighed 76 kg and my doctor was impressed! My subsequent blood glucose, cholesterol tests were all in normal range. They were all raised to upper levels of normal range in the previous year. Exactly one year on from my 60th birthday I am 72 kg and my BMI = 26.4, a bit too high still. Waist is 84 cm and hip 111 cm. I am wearing size 14 much better than the 16–18s of last year! I feel great but know that a few less kilos would be preferable. My goal is 68 kg. However, I have so much more energy for all the activities of daily life including an upcoming trip to China, Northern Thailand and Nepal assured in the knowledge that I will have the energy to enjoy fully all that these countries have to offer. All the people who attend my gym classes have remarked on how great I look and want to know what the ‘secret’ is!’

Sue Drops a Dress Size
‘Having tried countless diets over the years to lose excess weight, I embarked on a low GI diet after Christmas 2005. Always a ‘foodie’, I not only enjoy nice food but I love to cook. My problem was portion control and my sweet tooth. I decided that low GI seemed a sensible route to continue to enjoy good food, but some re-education was necessary. I desperately wanted to drop several dress sizes and my determination was strong. That’s why I decided against the traditional slimming club (many of which I had tried in the past which only served to make me food obsessed).

I invested in several low GI cookbooks instead to ring the changes and to avoid meal-time boredom setting in, and I enrolled at my local gym. Meal times were interesting and plentiful and I honestly never felt hungry. The first couple of weeks I missed puddings and chocolate but soon kicked the sugar cravings – I now reward myself with an occasional square of dark chocolate and savour and enjoy it. I increased my activity levels steadily. I take a brisk daily walk for 20 minutes or so and I tried various gym classes until I found two which I love and look forward to immensely. No obsessive calorie counting has meant this new regime is not a ‘slimming diet’ but has become my new way of life, my family and I are all much healthier for it. I have lost 1 stone 10 lbs (24 pounds/11 kg) in 4 months with real ease and I am so much happier and more confident. Learning about low GI has changed my life!’

Cliff Shares His Secrets for Maintaining Tight Glycemic Control and Weight Loss
‘My low and good quality fat, medium protein, high carbohydrate and low GI diet have proved invaluable in helping me maintain tight glycemic control and long term weight loss for some years. I now weigh 93 kg—down from 118 kg back in 1980 when I was 40.

I took early retirement about 12 years ago for health reasons and because I knew that I needed to make some real lifestyle changes if I was going to have a life. Before that I had worked as an actuary, which is a very high pressure, demanding job. At 46 I was diagnosed with diabetes, some three years later I had a mild heart attack, and in 1995 I needed to take insulin to manage my diabetes. 1997 was my landmark year. I had successful six-artery bypass surgery and learned how to manage my diet using GI.

When I started using the low GI approach, the first thing I had to learn was not to focus on the GI alone but to use it as a carbohydrate selection tool in meal preparation and when shopping (where label reading is of paramount importance). Memorising which of my regular basic foods are low GI is very useful for me, as I do not have to look up the GI & GL tables very often. Also I find it essential to count my daily fat and carbohydrate intake using a simplified ‘portion’ unit method, as I must not only monitor my GL but also my total energy intake.

What works best for me is to have six small meals daily, each with two or three carbohydrate portions, depending on my BGL two hours after the previous meal and current level of physical activity. (I know that this is very compulsive. But it works for me as a disciplined daily routine, which does not unduly inhibit my quality of life). Equally important is for me to average at least one hour’s walking, or equivalent exercise, daily.

To ensure good mid morning BGL readings, I find it necessary to confine breakfast to two pieces of low GI fruit, rather than higher energy density cereal and milk with the same carbohydrate content – I eat bread and cereal later in the day when my insulin resistance is lower and I am consequently more at risk of having a ‘hypo’.

I average five or six pieces of fruit per day (at the risk of having too little bread and cereal!). And have a large plate of microwaved vegetables (mainly home grown) and side salad as part of the normal evening (fifth) meal, which is usually the only one including meat or seafood. My weekly main meal goal is: 30% seafood; 30% vegetarian; 30% poultry, pork, veal and game meat; and 10% other red meat.

Portion control is an ongoing challenge, as is insidious non hungry eating (I suffer from binge eating syndrome), especially in the evening.

From my experience, I must concede that my program would be rather difficult to maintain fully if still working full time in a demanding stressful job. Being retired makes life much easier for a diabetic. But I am well and managing well. I have no serious diabetic complications – no eye or renal problems, my heart health is stable and the main problem I have is moderate peripheral neuropathy. Just for the record: my HbA1c is now 6.1, triglycerides 1.3, cholesterol – total 3.4, HDL 1.1, LDL 1.7, and VLDL 0.6.

Jeanne’s story – ‘I lost over 100 pounds using a combination of good eating habits and low GI foods’
After the birth of my eighth child instead of losing weight I started to gain. We were gaining nicely her and I. The problem was she was supposed to and I was suppose to snap back – isn't that the way it works? A few years earlier, I had started to snore, had reflux and I had a constant ache in my right side, which was gall bladder. I knew in my heart it was diet related as most illnesses are, but I did nothing about it.

When my daughter was about a year old I had had it. Weighing in over 270 pounds I decided to change the way I ate. I found that certain foods made me feel better and lose weight. I made the change. I don't call it a diet because I feel diets fail and I am not failing. I eat low glycemic carbs. But I eat lots of carbs. There you are, with the right foods you can eat what you want and feel satisfied and lose the weight. It speaks for itself. I also eat protein to build muscle mass and low fat dairy. I am now in good shape I feel I have a ton of energy. I am rid of reflux, no more pain in right side and best of all no fatigue. ‘I have lost over 100 pounds using a combination of good eating habits and low GI foods. It is not a diet because it doesn't fail. My skin tone is great and my general health has improved. I forgot to mention I am a person that will not eat white sugar. Sucrose, frutose, any ose is not for me.

Anne’s story – battling hypoglycemia
My life has always been controlled by my hypo attacks. I never go anywhere without a ‘fix’ in my pocket, be that an apple, a packet of chocolate nuts and raisins or a carton of juice. My story starts when I was an early teenager in 1957. I would be miles from home, roaming the countryside when I would gradually develop an inability to function properly, which manifested itself in weakness, perspiration and irritability. I was fortunate if an attack took place during autumn as I could find blackberries, crab apples or sloes to eat until the feeling passed. Instead of walking home I would have to sit and wait for a bus. I began to notice a pattern to these attacks. They nearly always took place in late afternoon. I had a long way to travel to and from my school involving a long walk, a ferry trip and a train journey. At the end of the school day I couldn’t wait to get home to have something to eat. My school life was totally disrupted by these attacks and I could never stay on at school and enjoy extra curricular activities or extra study. Concentration levels were poor and my school work suffered.

I was better able to control my eating patterns once I started working. When I became a working mother, however, with two children, shopping after work, etc. I found that once again my cravings during the late afternoon were almost unbearable. I resorted to sherry as soon as I reached home and this sustained me whilst I cooked a meal and attended to the usual chores. I found that alcohol, together with assorted savoury nibbles was the answer to giving me that vital boost when I was flagging. As far as I was concerned, I was just an oddity – no one I knew could sympathise or understand my problem and probably thought I was just greedy. I never seem to reach the stage of feeling full and can just go on eating and eating. I don’t. I stop when I realise that I should have eaten a sufficient amount but I don’t feel full. I think part of the problem is that I still tend to eat a ‘traditional’ meal of carbohydrates, protein and vegetables. When I am hungry I cannot face a salad, however varied and interesting. I have found that eating a small snack every two hours or so does stop me from reaching the stage where I lose the ability to be sensible. I should add that I do not have a sweet tooth and have always eaten sensibly, except when I am experiencing a sugar ‘attack’ and then I will eat anything to hand. I have brought up the subject with various GPs over the years.

I have discovered over the years that the foods I like most are my worst enemies. These include potatoes, bread, bananas, rice and alcohol. In the last month I have stopped drinking alcohol and limited my intake of potatoes and bread. I try to eat oat bread wherever possible and am following the low glycemic principle as far as possible. I know when I have eaten the wrong thing and, instead of turning to alcohol I eat a yoghurt or some apricots until I feel comfortable again.

Sanna’s Story: Giving Your Body the Fuel It Is Actually Meant to Run On
‘I found out about GI in a food magazine in Sweden last year. I had never been on a diet, and cannot count calories if my life depended on it! But as I read in this magazine about the principles of eating with low GI, I thought, hey, I want to try! So I systematically exchanged my white flour, sugar, and potatoes to lentils, beans, veggies and dark whole grain bread. The results were immediate. Since my second daughter was only three months old when I entered my GI adventure, people were quite upset with me that I would “diet” when I was still breast feeding. But what I was doing was not dieting at all! I simply began eating more healthy, and my overweight just melted away. In three months I went from 72 kg to 64 (I am 166 cm), and I felt great! I happily continued to nurse my daughter until she turned one, and then I lost another 3 kg.

I feel energised, slim, healthy and HAPPY! Thank you for spreading the word about GI! It is not hard at all! I never go hungry, and I don't skip meals to try to force myself to lose weight (that most often leads to later binging anyway). In the beginning it was quite a challenge to overcome the sugar pull, because that stuff is as addictive as anything! But now I don't even crave it anymore! I am free!

Try it out you too! Find a friend, and walk the GI road together. It is great to have someone to encourage you, and with whom you can exchange new exciting GI recipes. You will not want to go back once you have experienced the enerGi boost of giving your body the fuel it is actually meant to run on!’


Sanna

John’s Story: Managing Diabetes with GI
‘Having just finished reading The New Glucose Revolution I would like to share with you my success in managing diabetes with a GI diet. I am 64 and was diagnosed diabetic at the end of May 2005. I was admitted to hospital very ill – blood pressure 256/149; HBA1C 13.2; blood glucose 11.4; cholesterol 7.2; weight 113 kg.

For several months I had been ill and showed all of the typical symptoms of diabetes – weight loss, craving for sweets, continual need to urinate etc. But being a typical male I refused to seek treatment until my condition was chronic. After five days in ICU and three in a recovery ward I was discharged with my blood glucose at 8.2 mM, blood pressure controlled by medication and using Lantus 24 ml daily. Other medication was Tritace 10 mg, Lipitor 20 mg and Ecotrin 81 mg (which I had been taking for 15 years) daily and Glucophage 500 mg bd. Fortunately, scans and tests revealed no abnormality to heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. Eyesight had deteriorated but has since restored itself and all pulses and nerves to extremities were normal. Eyesight has since restored itself and I use the same reading glasses I used before diagnosis.

After having visited one of the South African diabetic associations, which was a disaster, I found out about the glycemic index and started the diet. Having now read several of your publications and visited many websites I have adopted this as a lifestyle and have adhered to it for 6 months and intend to do so for the rest of my life. I have found the experience stimulating and fulfilling and limitations on dietary requirements minimal. In addition I have a regimented regular exercise program of a minimum of 30 minutes, 5 days a week on a treadmill at 6 km per hour. Over the past 6 months I have reduced my insulin requirements and for4 weeks now have stoped all insulin injections. Random blood glucose readings vary between 4.5 and 6.4 mM and this week I underwent my biannual medical the results of which are as follows. Blood pressure 126/74, HBA1c (glycated) 5.5, cholesterol 3.27, LDL 1.24, HDL 1.57. All liver, kidney and urine tests normal. ECG normal. Weight 100 kg. I believe this is testament to the success in low GI foods in the control of type 2 diabetes. Thanks for all your research and long may it continue.’

Leigh Hatcher has been an Australian TV and radio journalist and newsreader for 32 years. One day in the summer of 1998 his life turned upside down. A simple virus took him into the wilderness of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for more than two years—until he found low GI. Here he tells his story.
"It began simply and suddenly. I was in the middle of our annual holiday at a great Aussie beach and after a marvellous morning in the surf, I laid down for my daily 10-15 minute ‘power nap’. For once I woke up 2 hours later, feeling as if I’d been run over by a truck.

By the end of that week, still feeling below par, I was sent off for some blood tests which showed I’d contracted a viral hepatitis. I was told to take two weeks off work and I’d be fine.

However, I kept returning to the doctor for weeks – months, struggling to describe a body and brain that were both running on empty. It seemed like something toxic was flowing through my veins. I was overwhelmed by crushing fatigue and weakness.

Within six months, I lost my high profile job as a frontline TV reporter and news reader. After a year of increasingly rarefied tests which came back ‘normal’ – (normal was the last thing I was feeling!) – I was diagnosed as suffering ‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’.

I remained in this ‘wilderness’ for another year until a doctor friend discovered some research which said that for a proportion of CFS sufferers, it’s worth looking at their metabolism. I went for a 5 hour glucose tolerance test, where both glucose and insulin were tested and just for once ‘abnormal’ readings came back – in the ‘pre-diabetic’ range.

A dietitian put me on a low GI diet, with graded activity, then graded exercise, with a prediction that I’d notice an improvement in my health in two weeks! A fortnight later I returned to see her and announced – ‘You’ve given me a life again!’

Today, five years later, I’m still on the low GI diet, swimming 5 kilometres a week again and continue to revel in good health. I’m not back to 100% - probably 90-95%.

Low GI is not the ‘key’ for every CFS sufferer, but it has transformed my life and the lives of numbers of sufferers I’ve known. Coupled with exercise and a decent amount of sleep – it’s given me a life again."


Leigh Hatcher

—Leigh Hatcher has written about his journey through the wilderness of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in I’m Not Crazy, I’m Just A Little Unwell. See his website at www.notcrazy.net

Sarah
‘I want to share with you about how applying the “GI factor” to what I eat has changed my life! I was always slim until I reached about 15, then over a period of three years I put on more and more weight. I do not really know why this was, maybe pressure from school, personal problems. When I started university, I became conscious of my weight and attempted to lose weight through various means and methods for about 5 years. Sometimes, it was a planned diet such as the ‘Greenlane’ eating plan, but more often than not it was trying to control or lessen the amount of kilojoules (calories) I was taking in and increasing my exercise. Seems, sensible, but in hindsight I can see that following the traditional ‘food pyramid’ I was eating a lot of low calorie but high GI products. For example, I would have one salad sandwich or bread roll for lunch and then a muffin for afternoon tea, toasted bread for breakfast etc. Sometimes, I did manage to lose quite a bit of weight but then I would ALWAYS yoyo back up to my original weight or more. Everyday, I battled with the scales and it almost became and obsession, I could not figure out where I was going wrong. Also—I was always hungry! I associated diets with being hungry.'

'Anyway, after doing Atkins (successfully losing weight but then putting it back on) a friend recommended the GI book. I read it and started applying the principles (e.g. I ate Bran cereal instead of white bread in the morning, pasta instead of a sandwich, fruit for a snack instead of a muffin). Slowly, but surely (and with a bit of exercise) the weight fell off to the point where I lost more than 10 kg—and got down to about 52 kg (I am short). Even better, I was not suffering from the same energy drain, constant hunger etc. Now, sometimes I eat—just because it is dinnertime—but not because I am hungry! My self esteem has picked up as a result etc. too. I bought a GI cookbook and have tried out a few recipes. The best thing is, this is not a fad but a way of eating that I will always stick too.’

Felix
‘Well, my story goes a bit like this. Back in late 2003, at age 41, although my general health appeared OK, I began to notice that my weight was inexplicably starting to drop, and I was starting to drink a lot of water and felt the need to urinate quite a lot. By early 2004 things had worsened considerably. Basically I began to feel very unwell. Dizzy, extreme lethargy, blurry vision and the weight loss continued. Although I realised that something was clearly wrong with my health and yes I was worried, I was extremely reluctant to visit my GP! In the end, urged by family, I did and the blood tests that followed showed a very high blood sugar level of 23. Yes I was diabetic Type 2.’

‘It was all rather a shock, and I was immediately placed on the usual diabetic medication, and I began to learn all about type 2 diabetes in the hope of managing my condition. Not long after, a Ham Radio friend, (thank you Ron), told me about the ‘GI’. I had vaguely heard of the term, but knew nothing really about it. Searching around on the net I found this excellent web site and my knowledge of the GI began to grow. I went out and bought some of the books and began eating in accordance with low GI principles. It has been a most interesting road of discovery ever since. During my growing up years, my mother, although well intentioned, had been feeding us some of the worst possible foods in terms of high GI, things like plenty of white bread, white rice potatoes and these were essentially the staples of our diet. And yes at first sight, they are nutritious foods.’

‘In retrospect, it is now obvious to me that I was borderline diabetic for some years prior to being officially diagnosed. Looking back now I realise I had all the symptoms. Back to early 2004, my initial success with low GI eating was quite spectacular. My blood sugar levels were rapidly brought back until control, to the point where I was able to give the medication away completely by mid 2004. I preached the low GI message wherever I went. I even did a well received radio studio interview on ABC radio in Townsville preaching the virtues of low GI eating only a month or so after commencing to eat the ‘low GI’ way. The best thing was that I had never felt better.’

‘Perhaps the one thing that clearly shows the value of low GI eating, is the fact that prior to official diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, I had already begun a regular exercise program, mainly walking, in the hope of improving my general fitness. However that didn't prevent the appearance of type 2 diabetes with all the worst symptoms! I still do the same kind of regular exercise, the only thing different now is strict adherence to low GI eating! Need I say more? My mother is a convert to GI eating and likewise, she has seen clear health benefits. My father, well, he still likes his refined white bread, but he mostly eats the ‘right stuff’ in terms of low GI.’

‘For me anyway, the road to good diabetes control and good health has been quite an adventure, and admittedly there have been some low points where I've done the wrong thing and paid the price, but as long as I do the ‘right thing’, all is fine. In all honesty, it isn't that hard to stick to the ‘straight and narrow’. Temptation is always there. But all I have to do, is remember what happens when I do the ‘wrong thing’ (extreme dizziness, confusion, hallucinations and being basically feeling very ill), and the temptation simply disappears, and they are just the short term effects of a very rapid blood sugar rise! My only regret to all this is the fact that I didn't know about the GI twenty years ago! Still, I can say that despite the effects of time, I can say without any doubt at all, that my general health now is better than it's ever been, thanks to low GI eating. Long may it continue.’