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The Glycemic Index (GI) is often a factor that is either non-existent or not given any thought in many athlete’s diet plans. Athletes (and coaches) regularly understand the function of Protein, to a less extent Carbohydrates and to an even scarcer extent Fats. So when It comes to the application of GI within a diet – It’s no surprise that this isn’t even known or comprehended well enough for athletes to consciously apply its functionality in their diets & programs.
Information on GI is abundant and therefore a very simplistic view will be applied here for the sake of this write-up to purely get to grips with its importance and how you might be utilizing it already without knowing.
What Is GI?
In short – An ‘Index’ which ranks foods on a scale of 1 to 100 in accordance to their blood sugar (glucose) levels after consumption.
Why should I care about GI?
Foods considered ‘High GI’ (>70) are digested and absorbed rapidly, with energy being metabolized for use very quickly in the body. Think White rice or even soft drinks here. Things which contain what we would call - simple sugars.
Likewise, ‘Low GI’ (<55) are the opposite and produce minor fluctuations in blood sugar levels and stabilize these levels over a longer period of time. Less fluctuations in blood sugar = less chance of developing diabetes & heart-disease over time. Think oats, lentils, beans for Low GI.
Eat low GI more often – got it…
Unfortunately, this is where that train of logic applied by many who DO believe they understand GI ends and another factor comes into play, with that factor being – Glycemic Load (GL). GL builds upon GI in a sense, as it is calculated and based upon the quantity of the carbs & food consumed in each meal.
Not to get in the weeds here, but a simple rule can be as such;
The more food you eat in a single sitting, despite its GI, will increase the overall GL increase in the meal.
Now there is an equation to figure that out but realistically we’re not too involved here to want to get that crazy in this article – simply put – Just know that GL exists, so you can’t gorge on low GI and call it a day!
GI & GL…okay, got it, what next?
Alright, so this is where we can get really crazy with it or keep it sane. For the purpose of this entry article lets keep it basic, BUT really knowing GI/GL in-depth will absolutely be a huge benefit for those using Insulin or Insulin+GH in combination as its fundamental to a good plan using the stuff quite honestly.
Applying the logic of ‘Low GI = slower release’ and ‘High GI = faster release’ those of you inclined to using Insulin already may notice this way of looking at it as oddly familiar and applying it with the same approach will work similarly in application.
Okay…so how do I apply GI in my diet knowing that?
Knowing all this, there are a lot of ways we can apply it and some will be beneficial dependent on protocol, training time & type, routine, time of day, overall food consumption, pharmacology applied, and many other factors. So in the interest of keeping, it sane here, lets assume we’re just an enhanced athlete NOT using insulin, GH, or any other drugs beyond say Testosterone.
A basic diet might contain ‘Low GI’ in the parts of your day where energy spikes are not needed. Let’s say you work a 9-5 office job, during the day you will not need large amounts of energy immediately here.
But once works done you go the gym to train, so a ‘High GI’ carb source would be more useful where energy utilization is a lot higher here. If we were to eat that meal at say 5.30 and train at 7, then we would be in-time with a ‘High GI’ release window, if not, then perhaps we add other elements to it.
We could use a ‘Moderate GI’ if we were training at 8 to stretch it out if we wanted, or eat closer to training, or add fats to slow the release/hold-time of carbs, fibre, etc… there’s many other options to use here.
As noted, it can get awfully complex, but know that GI is only 1 element of a good diet plan and it has its time and place – especially for timing of blood glucose in enhanced athletes using insulin, or those dieting for a show, peaking for a competition, and yes, many, many other uses.
How can I figure out what GI foods are?
Google works, or you can simply search the food item here for a very complex breakdown and tool for GI/GL & Carbohydrate consumption planning in your diet: https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/
Anything else I should know?
Plenty more, but for now the only other critical advice I will say here is that - the addition to protein & fats to a carbohydrate source WILL affect the overall GI and digestion of it.
Coupled with the way the food is cooked and what variant. For instance, a white potato which is baked will have a higher GI/GL than one which is boiled.
Also, things like resistant starches effect the flow on effect of this too, with even something as simple as cutting the potato prior to consumption changing the way its absorbed and utilized.
--------------------------------
So guys, I know this is awfully complex for something that sounded simple to begin with, but once we start optimizing things this often tends to be the way. Something to consider in your plans for the future and a topic worth at least know of, even if you never think about it again beyond reading this post.
The Glycemic Index is yet another tool that can enhance or detract from your plans & goals. Use it where best applicable in your day-to-day!
-YeahBuddy
Information on GI is abundant and therefore a very simplistic view will be applied here for the sake of this write-up to purely get to grips with its importance and how you might be utilizing it already without knowing.
What Is GI?
In short – An ‘Index’ which ranks foods on a scale of 1 to 100 in accordance to their blood sugar (glucose) levels after consumption.
Why should I care about GI?
Foods considered ‘High GI’ (>70) are digested and absorbed rapidly, with energy being metabolized for use very quickly in the body. Think White rice or even soft drinks here. Things which contain what we would call - simple sugars.
Likewise, ‘Low GI’ (<55) are the opposite and produce minor fluctuations in blood sugar levels and stabilize these levels over a longer period of time. Less fluctuations in blood sugar = less chance of developing diabetes & heart-disease over time. Think oats, lentils, beans for Low GI.
Eat low GI more often – got it…
Unfortunately, this is where that train of logic applied by many who DO believe they understand GI ends and another factor comes into play, with that factor being – Glycemic Load (GL). GL builds upon GI in a sense, as it is calculated and based upon the quantity of the carbs & food consumed in each meal.
Not to get in the weeds here, but a simple rule can be as such;
The more food you eat in a single sitting, despite its GI, will increase the overall GL increase in the meal.
Now there is an equation to figure that out but realistically we’re not too involved here to want to get that crazy in this article – simply put – Just know that GL exists, so you can’t gorge on low GI and call it a day!
GI & GL…okay, got it, what next?
Alright, so this is where we can get really crazy with it or keep it sane. For the purpose of this entry article lets keep it basic, BUT really knowing GI/GL in-depth will absolutely be a huge benefit for those using Insulin or Insulin+GH in combination as its fundamental to a good plan using the stuff quite honestly.
Applying the logic of ‘Low GI = slower release’ and ‘High GI = faster release’ those of you inclined to using Insulin already may notice this way of looking at it as oddly familiar and applying it with the same approach will work similarly in application.
Okay…so how do I apply GI in my diet knowing that?
Knowing all this, there are a lot of ways we can apply it and some will be beneficial dependent on protocol, training time & type, routine, time of day, overall food consumption, pharmacology applied, and many other factors. So in the interest of keeping, it sane here, lets assume we’re just an enhanced athlete NOT using insulin, GH, or any other drugs beyond say Testosterone.
A basic diet might contain ‘Low GI’ in the parts of your day where energy spikes are not needed. Let’s say you work a 9-5 office job, during the day you will not need large amounts of energy immediately here.
But once works done you go the gym to train, so a ‘High GI’ carb source would be more useful where energy utilization is a lot higher here. If we were to eat that meal at say 5.30 and train at 7, then we would be in-time with a ‘High GI’ release window, if not, then perhaps we add other elements to it.
We could use a ‘Moderate GI’ if we were training at 8 to stretch it out if we wanted, or eat closer to training, or add fats to slow the release/hold-time of carbs, fibre, etc… there’s many other options to use here.
As noted, it can get awfully complex, but know that GI is only 1 element of a good diet plan and it has its time and place – especially for timing of blood glucose in enhanced athletes using insulin, or those dieting for a show, peaking for a competition, and yes, many, many other uses.
How can I figure out what GI foods are?
Google works, or you can simply search the food item here for a very complex breakdown and tool for GI/GL & Carbohydrate consumption planning in your diet: https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/
Anything else I should know?
Plenty more, but for now the only other critical advice I will say here is that - the addition to protein & fats to a carbohydrate source WILL affect the overall GI and digestion of it.
Coupled with the way the food is cooked and what variant. For instance, a white potato which is baked will have a higher GI/GL than one which is boiled.
Also, things like resistant starches effect the flow on effect of this too, with even something as simple as cutting the potato prior to consumption changing the way its absorbed and utilized.
--------------------------------
So guys, I know this is awfully complex for something that sounded simple to begin with, but once we start optimizing things this often tends to be the way. Something to consider in your plans for the future and a topic worth at least know of, even if you never think about it again beyond reading this post.
The Glycemic Index is yet another tool that can enhance or detract from your plans & goals. Use it where best applicable in your day-to-day!
-YeahBuddy
