Move Over 5:2 Diet, The Low-GL Diet Makes You Lose More Weight & Faster

The 5:2 diet is the darling of the diet world, but as we know, there's always a better diet waiting round the corner. 

A new book called Burn Fat Fast: The Alternate Day Low-GL Diet Plan by Patrick Holford and Kate Staples (she used to be the gladiator Zodiac before she broke her neck), looks at the priniciples of fasting and food combining, as well as what exercise to do to complement the diet. In short, a full body plan. 

What is striking about the diet is that even though it incorporates fasting, it's a good plan for people who like to eat, or more simply, don't like the hunger aspect that we associate with dieting. Better still the exercise plan involves - on certain days - only 8 minutes of working out. 

 

Salmon and potatoes - mixing carbs with protein

So, first off, what is a 'low-GL diet plan?' GL stands for glycemic load, which measures the amount of sugar and starch in food and their impact on your body. Patrick says that a measure of glycemic load shows how much carbohydrate there is in each food and how fast the carbohydrate will break down into glucose (and therefore how quickly your blood sugar levels will rise).

The crux of the diet is about managing your insulin, or blood sugar levels. Insulin, says Patrick, is an ageing hormone, and also plays a key role in burning fat. So if you can control the levels of insulin, you can slow the ageing process and keep the weight off. 

The idea of the diet is that you combine three fast days where you can eat a maximum of 800 calories, in low-GL foods. You can feast the other four days (on low-GL foods) and should implement the exercise plan during the week.

How does it work and what should I eat?
Since 2005 we've been studying and testing the GL diet – not by eliminating carbs but actually introducing the right kind of carbs alongside protein. Eaten together, protein takes longer to digest