Your Success Stories

‘I am blessed with a sense of achievement that I very rarely experienced before I had my strokes thanks to the GI diet.’ – Brenda
‘In March and May 2007 I suffered two strokes. At the time, I was a non-drinker, non-smoker, weighed 82 kg (180 lbs) and suffered from hypertension. A subsequent visit to my GP confirmed what I feared the most, that if I put on any more weight I would put myself in the diabetic risk category.

I immediately made a mammoth effort to read everything in sight regarding GI diets – my latest publication is The Low GI Family Cookbook. When I went shopping, I kept The Low GI Shopper’s Guide 2008 with me constantly. This guide came in handy not only when I purchased my weekly groceries, but was a good reference when I indulged my morning coffee sessions or had an occasional Chinese meal and even got invited out to a party as it gave me the GI values of many food items that I ate at these events not to mention many food items that I use on a daily basis.

Fourteen months later I feel as though I have been reborn. I am now 57 kg (125 lbs), have a lot more energy and I love the fact that I am never hungry because I eat every few hours, don’t have to weigh my food or count calories and I enjoy what I eat. It gave me a lot of pleasure to know that I can eat a wide variety of good food and not put the weight back on.

Briefly, I am eating stacks of fruit, apples, strawberries, mangoes and melons. I love bananas, but always make sure they are small ones. With regard to vegetables, I eat the majority of them with the exception of onions which I am allergic to and I am very fond of chicken, fish, all light cheeses and eggs. I enjoy sweets after each meal and these often contain low-fat custard, yoghurt or ice-cream poured over fresh or tinned fruit – apricots, stewed apples, rhubarb, jelly and fruit salad. Yum yum.

My dining out consists quite often of a three course meal – usually a sour dough bread basket with cheese or herbs or a prawn cocktail for entrée followed by herb-crusted baked fish dish sprinkled with lemon and vegetables or a prawn salad sprinkled with olive oil and lemon dressing or a low-fat mayonnaise for main. For dessert I have either a lemon crepe or a fresh fruit salad with either yoghurt or ice-cream. I don’t feel like a martyr – I dig right in and enjoy my food and if I am not sure of the GI value of a dish I play it safe by only having a small portion. I usually complete a meal out with a low-fat chocolate drink or Milo while my girlfriends tend to have cappuccino. My in between food snacks usually consist of fruit, but if I feel like being ‘naughty’ I eat a sample size chocolate bar or two chocolate squares or two nuts. Throughout the day I mainly drink water but occasionally I have been known to drink non-sweetened apple juice if I am dining out.

I have managed to keep my weight at what it was when I met my hubby 44 years ago. I exercise daily by doing physio as well as 100 sit and stands, some stretch exercises and some walking with my Canadian crutch, so you can see I am limited in what I can do compared to most people. But I feel good – very good – and I am blessed with a sense of achievement that I very rarely experienced before I had my strokes thanks to the GI diet.’