How to Defeat Cravings with Low GI Options

Getting Cravings to Snack Soon After Meals?

You just had a large meal at lunch, its only been 1 hour-ish and you already have cravings for snacks. As you can’t wait until the next meal, you ate a pack or two of biscuits in your drawer for a quick bite.

I imagine this has happened to most of us quite often. The struggle to resist consuming extra calories from Junk food can be quite the challenge.

Discovering the Glycemic Index (GI) of my food has allow me to see this problem in a new light. And by being more conscious to consuming High GI food, has led to less Cravings.

Why High GI Food Leads to Cravings

When we consume Refined Carbohydrate like White rice, white sugar, white bread, they digest quickly and raises our blood sugar level.

Then the body produces Insulin hormone to regulate these spikes, to return our blood sugar back to normal level.

This ‘roller coaster’ of blood sugar rises and crashes leads to hunger pang. And soon after meals makes us crave for more sugar-rich food.

An example is when we eat a big portion of Steam Chicken Rice.
Despite the big portion of rice, we still get hungry quickly.

A solution would be: Add in more fiber from leafy vegetables to help regulate our blood sugar rise. And if possible opt for lower GI rice like Basmati Rice or Brown Rice.

How Low GI food helps with this.

When we opt for Food with lower GI, such as Brown rice instead of White rice. The sugar spikes are lower and the body doesn’t have to produce more Insulin to quickly lower them down.

Low GI food are usually richer in fibers and nutrients, providing a more sustained release of energy. Its gives us the feeling of fullness for longer stretch of time. As a result, cravings can be reduced soon after the previous meal.

This can help decrease the risk of developing Type-2 Diabetes by decreasing these glucose spike. It can even potentially control those living with Type-2 Diabetes.

Benefits of Low GI food:

• Blood Sugar Regulation – Low GI food takes longer time to digest by the body, providing a gradual increase in Blood sugar.
• Improve Insulin Sensitivity – Over time, consuming more low GI food helps the body produce and utilize insulin more efficiently.
• Rich in Nutrients – Most of the Low GI food are rich in fibers, less processed which retains their nutritional values. Fibers promotes healthier gut.
• Feel more energized – The sustained release of energy means the body are provided with more energy throughout the day. Makes us feel full longer, and less snacking.

So What are Low GI food?

Low GI food are Carbohydrates that are more nutrient dense, rather than just easy-to-digest refined carbs.

While 1 bowl of White rice and Brown rice can have similar calories, yet different GI values.

This is due to Brown rice’s processing method, which retain more of its hull and germ(the other layer of the rice, not the bad germs.).

This outer layer are rich in fibers and other micronutrients.

On the other hand, White rice are refined by removing the hull and germ.
This helps prolong shelf-life and mouthfeel. But leads to it being quicker for our body to digest.

This is same in the case of Refined Wheat Flour when compared to Wholemeal Wheat Flour.

The fibers content helps slow down digestion and decrease the speed of sugar being released into our bloodstream.

Bottom line here is whole, less processed food tend to have lower GI.

Wholemeal and whole grains fits this category. And are better choices comparing to those that has refined, or with high added sugars content.

Take a look at this picture on the lower GI options you can choose to improve blood sugar regulation.

For more Food’s Glycemic Index (GI), you can take a look at this post of 11 Low GI food that keeps you full longer.

Still Getting Food Cravings?

Low GI food can helps us stay full longer, helps create calorie deficit for weigh management.

Although that is the case, food cravings may not be solved with just consuming Low GI food alone.

There are other factors beyond the food we eat that governs our snacking habits, like stress level for instance.
This is why being mindful of our Stress levels is another important factors for Wholesome health.

Alternately, we can never fully avoid snacking, and we won’t have to!

There are always healthier choices which can be made to snack on to get us through.

Smaller portions of snacks, and the occasion sweet treats is what makes life worth living after all.

It is Only when its out of our control is it BAD.

Getting Into Low GI eating

I appreciate you for reaching this part of the post. Now that you found out how to reduces those cravings, check out how I weave into this type of eating.

When I found out about my metabolic challenge (I mean being Prediabetic), the first thing I did was to increase fiber intake.

While I almost completely omit Carbs for a few months to manage my weight, I realized they’re still needed for a complete meal. This is where I start stocking up on Low GI food in my pantry, replacing them one by one.

A bowl of White rice and Brown rice may have the same calories but their GI values is what matters.

I decrease intake of Fruits, as some of them can be High GI. Be aware of portion sizing.

Always consume a balanced meal, rich in lean protein, healthy fats, and fiber from vegetables.

The combination of these Macronutrients helps slows down the speed of food digestion, improving your Glycemic Response.(Murillo S., et al., 2022)

So What About High GI Food?

We’ve talk about the benefits of Low GI food, but what about food with High GI? Are they going to be permanently off the menu?

We can maintain a more stable blood sugar levels with low GI food, but some High GI should can still be eaten for their nutritional benefits.

Take Watermelon for example, it has a High GI of 72+, but they’re rich in vitamins, and high water content.

For Bananas, less ripe means they will have a lower sugar content and slightly lower GI.

For White Rice if you’re still going to consume them, mind your portion, and strive to eat some fiber rich veggies before the rice.

With these tips I hope you can feel better and more energized with less cravings.

What matters more is proper portion sizing. Consume smaller servings of High GI food to minimize the impact.

Or consume them along with a meal consisting fats, protein, and fiber rich food. The combination of provide a more sustained digestion, slowing blood sugar spikes for us.

Conclusion

Low GI food can be one of the thing you can do to help with those food cravings after meals. Providing you with sustained energy throughout the day.

When you’re trying to manage weight, the calories from food cravings easily sway you away from your goals. Understanding the Low GI options will help you make healthier choices in your relationship with food.

If you have more questions on Glycemic Index(GI), I’d recommend you to check out this FAQ section by the University of Sydney.

References

1. Murillo, S., Mallol, A., Adot, A., Juárez, F., Coll, A., Gastaldo, I., & Roura, E. (2022). Culinary strategies to manage glycemic response in people with type 2 diabetes: A narrative review. Frontiers in nutrition, 9, 1025993. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.1025993
2. Glycemic Index. (n.d.). Glycemic Index – Glycemic Index Research and GI News. Retrieved from https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/