The GL Diet Made Easy: How to Eat, Cheat and Still Lose Weight. Nigel Denby

       Chapter Five THE 10-DAY STARTER PLAN

      We’ve put together a 10-day guide to help you create the perfect plan for you. The GL Diet is flexible and fits in with real life, unlike other ‘eat this on day one or else’ diets, which just don’t work. Use the 10-day guide to fit around your life and know you are doing the right things and making positive changes.

      Having no flexibility in a plan can be a real barrier to ever getting started, and we can’t have that! Remember that you can be very flexible, have a really easy time and still lose weight and start to feel the benefits of the food swaps you are making.

      We suggest that, if possible, you start the plan over a quiet-ish weekend. On Friday, stop off on the way home and pick up something tasty for breakfast, some fresh juice and fresh fruit. Then when you get up on Saturday morning, enjoy your lovely low-GL breakfast, make your plan for the next ten days (remember to factor in any social occasions) and then clear your cupboards of the high-GL ‘baddies’. You can then go shopping for your low-GL ‘goodies’. Do this while you’re not hungry, and feeling strong and full of resolve for the journey ahead!

      Of course if your quietest day is a Tuesday, start then! Don’t let this become another excuse not to start. We have one member who started with a dinner party for eight and has never looked back!

      Remember, this isn’t a ‘diet’ – it’s ‘diet freedom’, your passport to freedom from dieting forever! Enjoy and tell yourself and anyone else that you are not on a diet but have started to make informed judgments about what you eat instead.

      If you’re hungry, eat. Keep small snacks handy – better an apple at 11am than a blowout at 1pm! Focus on the health benefits of low GL as the primary target and the weight loss will follow naturally without you thinking about it too much. We really want you to feel that you’re not dieting or doing anything restrictive, as restriction equals tension, and tension equals rebellion and we all know what follows that, don’t we? So, sit and relax, take a deep breath in, hold for a count of four and breathe out slowly. Repeat three times and then say out loud, ‘I am not on a diet – I am making positive choices for my health and enjoying my life to the full.’ It’s really helpful to repeat this whenever you can – looking in the mirror at the same time reinforces the message to your subconscious mind. Another great time to do it is just before you fall asleep as this is when your brain is most receptive to positive affirmations. In other words, your brain will take it on board and believe it, keeping you on track! Any sceptics out there should try it – it works a treat!

      Remember, if you stick to the plan you should drop a clothes size in the next 10 days. Now you’re ready to get started. Happy food swaps – enjoy!

      Notes on the 10-day Plan

      Where the following are mentioned, the recommended portion sizes are:

      WOMEN: oatcakes/crispbreads – up to two, bread – one slice (so an average day may be either two oatcakes/crispbreads or a slice of bread but not both)

      MEN: oatcakes/crispbreads – up to four, bread – up to two slices (so an average day may be either four oatcakes/crispbreads or two slices of bread but not both)

      • In our experience, some people find it difficult to metabolize grains and to lose weight while eating them. If this applies to you, try cutting them out until you reach your target weight. You’ll need to make sure you get plenty of fibre from vegetables, beans and pulses – psyllium husk is a great alternative fibre provider available from health food stores.