Customer Reviews

The G.I. Diet Clinic

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This diet has really worked for me and I want to add some of my observations. There are some pretty comprehensive reviews on here already so I will not summarize anything from the book to minimize repetition.

Stats on me:

I started in May of 05 and lost 5 pounds a week for the first four weeks. I only lost so much because I was well over 200lb (as a 5'5'' female). After that it was more gradual with plateaus and minor ups and downs. I have gone periods were I was only following it 50% faithfully and did not gain the weight back. I am moderately active: gym two to three times a week (usually for an hour water aerobics class) and I do not have a car so I walk everywhere.

Diet Pro's:

- Its Healthy. No doctor would be concerned if his/her patient ate veggies and balanced whole grains and lean proteins. Worst-case scenario: you try it and don't loose weight, but you will not have hurt your metabolism or raised your cholesterol in doing so.

- Its Not a Gimmick. This is not based on "eat all the bacon and cheese you want" or some other counter-intuitive nonsense. Its principals are in line with what is known and widely accepted in medical science.

- Cuts Cravings and is designed to keep your belly full. With three meals and three snacks a day of slowly digested food I am not hungry. Additionally, keeping my blood sugar stable stopped the need to binge eat.

- Not dogmatic. Ever read a diet book where you feel like the author is practically trying to convert you to a religion? Gallop certainly believes in this diet and he makes no mention that it might not work for every person (see con below), however he spends most of his time laying out simple science and practical guidelines. He even says your goal should be to follow it 90% of the time. If you have a cookie, big deal, the worst thing that can happen is it will take slightly longer to lose some weight.


Diet Con's:

- Unfortunately, as with all diets, this will work great for some people and not for others. Its more likely to work for you if you:
o Tend to carry your fat in the belly. i.e. "apple," "barrel," or "cone" shaped for women, or a guy with a "beer belly"
o Have major cravings for carbs - perhaps even binge eat on things like pastries, candy, pasta and bread.
o Have been diagnosed with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or even type II diabetes

-The recipes can be bland - more from the author not being a chef, not the principals of the diet, so if you are a practiced cook you can make alterations for flavor and texture that stay true to the diet. The book encourages you to go the author's website where there are recipes submitted by readers available for free and they are quite good.

-You will have to cook. I have been on this diet for over two years and like to cook, so its been great for me. This book in the series is by far my favorite.

***UPDATE June 2008***

Make that 90+ pounds lost in three years. I still cook most of my food from the recipes found in Gallop's books. They have passed the picky boyfriend test, potluck test and the I can stick to this for the rest of my life test. Some points:

-During this time I have gone months and months with no weight loss but I was only *mostly* following the diet. I think I needed these breaks.
-I work out intensely for 60 minutes 4 days a week now.

I have been following Gallop's GI Diet for nearly a year now and I have purchased 7 different cookbooks (5 by authors other than Gallop) containing low GI recipies.

I had to get this one through Amazon Canada because it isn't published in the US yet, but I am glad I did. I have made 5 different dinners out of it so far and all were good. Many of the cookbooks that I have purchased have been hit or miss with a lot of terrible foods, but Gallop's is good and very well rounded. I made low-GI chocolate pudding and cookies, the tortilla chips have been a life saver and the dinners are good too.

PS - this diet is very effective when followed, I have not been very strict but I have lost 20 lbs so far. Also - I cook for myself and my Fiance (who doesn't need to diet) and for the most part he enjoys the low GI foods

I was given this book as a gift after I had started the GI diet. I find myself time and time again going back to my favorite recipes in this book. My favorites include the black bean burritos, strawberry tea bread, carrot muffins, tortilla chips, Mediterranean summer salad, black bean tabbouleh, falafel with yogurt mint sauce, barley risotto, coconut curry beef, bacon and egg muffins, and apple burritos. Can you tell I love this cookbook?

I find a lot of great recipes that fix my cravings for ethnic foods and just as many that fit the bill for your basic American fare. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone, not just those trying to lose weight. It has very sensible and delicious recipes that are easy to follow and turn out great.

Before I bought this book from Amazon, I did a review of many diets and realized that the core of most diets is the glycemic index. I am surprised at the foods you can eat and the restrictions on foods listed I can live with...I've lost 8 lbs. so far and I am not finding it difficult to do. Give this book a look!

I have no problem with the content per se. The diet itself with the red/yellow/green light layout is easy to understand. However, like all of Mr. Gallop's other books, this is very, very recipe-oriented, and with the exception of omelets and salads, nearly all the other recipes are for at least 4 people. That's fine if you're cooking for a family and your evening schedule is somewhat leisurely. For busy singles - or even the rushed family member eating solo - who just want to assemble a quick meal, there's no alternatives offered in any of the menu plans. The author assumes that you're always cooking for 4 people, at least two, and sometimes 6 or 8. His premise is that you have more time to spend cooking each and every night. (Frankly, if that were the case, I wouldn't have needed books like Mr. Gallop's in the first place.)

I like his approach, but it's just not just user-friendly for busy singles, hence the lower stars.

I started following the GI diet because I'd gradually put in weight and my blood pressure was high. It's very easy to follow and isn't faddish, i.e. one eats normal quantities of normal foods, which means that everyone in the family can eat the same things. My blood pressure's gone down, as has my weight.

You can find tons of information about the Low Gi diet online. If you're strictly looking for information, I suggest Google instead of this book. However, if you need someone to walk you through an eating plan to help you get started, this is the book for you! I'd been living a low gi life for about 3 months when I bought this book. I bought it because I was in a rut and needed a little encouragement. I got a lot of decent recipe ideas from this book and learned how to use wheat germ and wheat bran which are great sources of nutrients. It definitely helped me get back on track.

Drawbacks - When I switched to Low Gi, I did my best to eat 5 servings of veggies and 3 servings of fruit every day. I had so much energy that I was practically bursting at the seams! Rick Gallop's 13-week plan doesn't put a lot of focus on fruits and veggies. I followed it pretty strictly for 2 weeks and then decided to combine some of his ideas with my own. Now I'm using his recipes for my meals and sticking with fruits and veggies for my snacks, and I feel better.

Secondly, Rick uses Splenda in all of his dessert recipes. They taste fine but I'm uncomfortable with that amount of artificial sweeteners. It is actually something I've been working to cut out of my diet completely as well as sugar. I don't mind Stevia since it's natural, but all that Splenda cannot be good for you. The problem is that I don't like Stevia very much so that means I need to cut out all desserts if my only options are sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Biggest drawback - Most of Rick's recipes are BLAND and one I tried was downright awful (the White Bean Italian Soup). I doubled the amount of cinnamon in the Carrot Muffins and it still wasn't enough. He's definitely not a chef but his heart is in the right place. I don't recommend this book if you're not a creative cook. You need to know when to add extra garlic cloves, a pinch of crushed red pepper, and even more fresh herbs than what he recommends.

Overall conclusion:
When to buy - If you need a step-by-step eating plan, complete with recipes, to help you get started.

When to avoid this book - If you're not a creative cook, or if you're only looking for info on the diet.

An easy to understand, must read, book that educates the reader. This is stuff everybody needs to know. Ignore it at your own peril.

Note: this was not the hardcover. I would much rather take advice from someone who is the Past President (for 15 years) of the Heart and Stroke Foundation...than someone who doesn't have that same expertise. What I really like best about this book is its simplicity. There are enough things to confuse you about weight loss in the weight loss industry. I have just started this book, but from the remaining reviews that I have seen, I am very excited about the plan. Hey, just from having read the book (and I seldom EVER complete a book--read it in no time flat), I am excited. This is a no nonsense approach to weight loss. The glycemic index isn't new to other countries, but hasn't been embraced by the United States. Could it be perhaps because it actually works and doesn't require you to purchase ANYTHING other than the food that you're eating...and that the food that you are eating is literally the most normal stuff you would have at home anyway, and that it doesn't advocate any specific brands or contribute to a multi-billion dollar industry. I shopped to start this plan, and I was so surprised at how little my grocery bill was. Of course produce can be expensive, but it's healthy and always tastes good. All of the junk that I had been eating or had tried in order to follow other plans was what cost so much. As for the recipes, all of the "green light" foods offer you unlimited amounts of options for recipes. I would suggest if you aren't great with building recipes to look at the Taste of Home website (awesome resource for the recipe challenged) that permits you to enter your ingredients that you want to cook with and select the Low fat or Light eating recipe option for low fat/low cal suggestions--just review the recipe and exchange an items that aren't green light for their green light alternative.

For those people who struggle with behavior obstacles, habits & food addiction that derail your plan, I also suggest the workbook entitled, The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Weight Management A Step-by-Step Program by Michele Laliberte, Ph.D, R. McCabe Ph.D. & V. Taylor M.D., Ph.D. The two together (which aren't sold together--I paired them from my own personal research because I struggle with the behavioral side of things more than what is covered in 1 chapter of the GI Diet book even though it's a good chapter) are awesome. They complement one another and both are backed by research. I love that! While there are some personal experiences shared, the entire programs aren't based on personal experiences of one writer. We all know that we are far too different for that to work for everyone. The two books together on Amazon are less than $25 and totally worth your $ and effort. Hope you can sense my excitement! Can't wait to write my update later to share my success. There is already such success in my mind, so that is always the best first step! I wish you the best success in your journey!

This book is full of useful info and an easy ready. I don't see how you couldn't lose weight doing what he says.