Follow a low-glycemic food plan. These concise rules will make eating very simple and easy to remember.

Whenever possible, eat foods that are in their natural state.
Eat foods that are harder to digest.
Eat foods that are high in fiber.
Do not use artificial sweeteners.
Do not eat fried foods.
Avoid white foods.
Drink sufficient water.
Time your food intake.
Do not mix fad diet principles with low-glycemic eating.
Make the commitment to be healthy.

Read the reasons for these rules, refer to them often and, most importantly, follow them all the time. Before very long, they will become second-nature to you.
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1. Whenever possible, eat foods that are in their natural state.
(Note: This rule does not apply to meats and other foods that are dangerous to eat raw.) In this rule, reference is made to a food like carrots. What is the natural state of a carrot? Raw. When carrots are eaten raw, they are safe and natural-the way they were designed to be eaten. Raw carrots also fit the second rule-to eat foods that are harder to digest. Carrots also fit the third rule since they are high in fiber. Raw carrots have an index number of 35 (low-glycemic), but cooked carrots (not in their natural state) have an index of 65 (moderately glycemic).

2. Eat foods that are harder to digest.
The harder a food is to digest, the lower-glycemic it usually is. The harder it is to digest, the longer it takes to convert to sugars. This longer process minimizes insulin reactions. You can then maximize your conversion of food to energy and minimize the amount of food converting to fat. For example, cooked carrots are very easy to digest, so their index is much higher than raw carrots.

3. Eat foods that are high in fiber.
Fiber ranges from hard to digest to impossible to digest. Impossible to digest is actually good for humans. It not only helps with a feeling of fullness, but also helps to clean our colons-which is essential for good health. The higher the fiber, typically the more absorbent it is for fats. The slower the digestive process is for a specific food, generally the lower the glycemic index will be for that food.

A good example is bread. Highly refined white bread's fiber is so broken down and easy to digest that it is virtually useless for colon health. It is not in its natural state (Rule No.1), and it is white (Rule No. 6). However, whole grain bread with seeds is as close as bread gets to the natural state of grain. Depending on the grain and the seeds, it could be low- or moderately glycemic, but not high-glycemic. So you can have bread, but not highly refined flours and breads that are high-glycemic.

4. Do not use artificial sweeteners.
There is preliminary evidence that artificial sweeteners may in fact slow the fat-burning process by confusing the normal chemical signals to the brain. These signals are normally associated with sweet tastes. There is also an increasing body of evidence that indicates some artificial sweeteners may have harmful effects on the human body.

5. Do not eat fried foods and transfats.
Partially or fully hydrogenated oils, transfats, and deep fried foods stress the pancreas which is never advisable regardless of your weight, health or weight-management goals. Good healthy fats like Olive Oil and Omega-3 are essential and necessary for optimal health and weight loss. One of the many benefits of low-glycemic eating is keeping the pancreas healthy.

6. Avoid white foods.
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule if you look hard enough. In general, however, white foods tend to be high-glycemic. White potatoes are the highest (85-98) on the glycemic index. They are a starchy complex, and those starches convert to glucose rapidly. Additionally, they are very easy to digest (Rule No. 2) and contain very little fiber (Rule No. 3).

7. Drink sufficient water.
Water is the essence of life itself. Most people complain about having to drink water, but you simply cannot maintain proper balance without it. Water is vital for cleansing your body, maintaining proper hormonal balance (extremely important in weight management) and vitally important for fat transport. In fact, the body of the adult male consists of approximately 60% water, while the adult female is approximately 50% water.

Naturally, this water has weight that will be reflected when you step on a scale to weigh yourself. This extra water-weight can be misleading as you monitor your progress -one important reason you should check your progress by how your clothes fit and by using a tape measure, rather than a scale.

Do not expect long-term success on any program without proper hydration-water.

8. Time your food intake.
It is very important to your overall health-but particularly important to achieving a lean body-to keep your blood sugar balanced. Skipping meals may save calories, but will eventually backfire since your body will perceive a state of starvation and reduce the rate at which you convert your stored fats.

Snacking is fine if it is with the right foods. Snacking helps keep your blood sugar balanced, and this in turn helps control appetite and maintain your ability to convert stored fat as energy. It would be ideal if we could get everyone to snack only on fresh fruits or vegetables that are low-glycemic, such as peaches or celery. But this isn't always convenient, so here is one practical (and tasty!) suggestion: A dozen almonds in their natural state eaten every two hours between meals should help the average person maintain a reasonable level of blood sugar.

9. Do not mix fad diet principles with low-glycemic eating.
Some fad diets give quick, temporary results that make for good marketing but result in bad health over the long term. Whatever you see or hear from any media or individual about those other failed diet methods-just ignore them, them out of your mind and focus on only this system. As the old saying goes, if you do not learn from your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat them.

10. Make the commitment to be healthy for life.
Last rule on the list, but certainly not least. In fact, this rule is vitally important. Unless you are prepared to make a commitment to your health, don't start this system. These rules support good health, not just fat loss. It is a system you should adopt for life-not just until you can fit into a particular item of clothing. A person needs to change their behavior in order to have a healthy and fit body.

Three most important changes you'll need to make:

Choose the right food.
Take your supplements as directed.
Commit to staying active, which will be easy once you start feeling healthier!