10 Pound Meltdown Part II
The 100% Satisfaction Diet

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Yes, you can eat all these foods-and more-and still lose weight. Just follow our no-deprivation plan.

By Karen Cicero

We'll Give It To You Straight:

Dropping 10 pounds in a month is a challenge, but one you'll have no trouble meeting if you have the right tools. A fat-burning workout routine (like Get Your Leanest Body Ever) is essential. But perhaps even more important is a diet plan that keeps you satiated and energetic enough to get through said workout! The trouble with most diets (besides the boring food lists and the inevitable hunger pangs) is that it's tricky to fi nd one that helps you drop pounds without compromising the nutritional quality of your meals-and ultimately your health and vitality.

That's why we're so keen on a low glycemic index (GI) diet, a plan based on how quickly carbohydrate-rich foods are digested and absorbed into your bloodstream. Eating too many high-GI foods-such as white bread (and other products made with white fl our), potatoes, white rice, sugary drinks, and many processed foods-will lead to excessive hunger because they pass rapidly through your system. As a result, you'll probably take in more than your body needs and still not feel satisfi ed. "In one study I conducted, participants who ate a high-GI breakfast and lunch consumed 700 more calories later in the day than those who had low-GI meals," says Harvard researcher David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., author of Ending the Food Fight. "Foods that break down fast may also trigger hormonal imbalances that cause you to store more of what you eat as fat."

You may have heard of the low-GI diet-the plan has been around in various forms for years. But several new studies suggest it's as close to a weight-loss magic bullet as we may ever hope to fi nd-and that it's as important for protecting your health as it is for shedding pounds. "Low-GI foods also happen to be some of the most nutritious. They're loaded with fi ber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and other disease-fi ghting compounds," says Jennie Brand-Miller, Ph.D., a professor of human nutrition at the University of Sydney in Australia. "Your cholesterol will improve, your diabetes risk will decline, and, if you have acne, your skin may clear up." And because the plan gives you that high-quality energy most low-carb diets lack, you'll actually feel pumped about hitting the gym. Ready to get started? Here's everything you need to know to make this the most successful weight-loss plan you've ever tried.