Your last weight loss program did not work for one main reason. It was not designed to keep the weight off. along with several factors such as your desire to lose weight and your ability to stick with a given plan you must also have a plan that allows you to keep the weight off once you lose it.

Did your last diet really work? I'm betting it wasn't a great success.

Did you know that 95 percent of diets on the market today fail? Remember you are the only one to fail in your last diet attempt. The road to weight loss is filled with broken dreams—and untold pounds gained in futile attempts to lose a few.

By now, you're probably familiar with the problem. Americans are facing an epidemic that threatens the health—and many times, survival—of their population and the generations to follow.

It's called obesity. Unbelievably, 65 percent of the U.S. population is overweight, according to a national survey compiled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's more than 50% of the country!

The glycemic index is a way to rank foods according to the effect they have on blood glucose levels. It is especially useful for classifying carbohydrates. Additionally, learning about the glycemic index may help you discover untold benefits for your health, including reducing your risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome X, Type 2 Diabetes, high triglyceride levels, and heart disease.

All carbohydrates cause a temporary rise in your blood glucose levels and, subsequently, insulin levels. This is called the glycemic response. The intensity of this response is affected by a number of factors, including the amount of food eaten, the type of carbohydrates, the method used to prepare the food, and the degree to which the food was processed.

The glycemic index measures to what degree a 50-gram portion of carbohydrates raises your blood sugar levels. Each food is assigned a number that ranges from 1 to 100. 100 is the highest rating and is a reference score for pure glucose.

Carbohydrates have recently received a "bum rap" in the nutrition world. Carbs are not the only evils of our health and weight problems.

Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Some carbohydrates can actually work with your system, not only to help make weight loss easier, but to help you keep the pounds off.

Carbohydrates are the body's primary source of energy. While foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes are higher in carbohydrates, all most all the foods you eat contains at least some of this energy-rich nutrient.

The low-carbohydrate diet was all the rage a few years back, as you probably remember. Popularized by Doctor Robert Atkins, this diet seemed to have the entire nation swearing off bread, pasta and potatoes.When restricting carbohydrate intake, the body enters into a completely different metabolic state known as ketosis. In this state, your body burns its own fat for fuel instead of the carbohydrates it normally burns.

Now it's time to explore the workings of the glycemic index. No, you don't need that knife and fork just yet. But don't worry, we'll get to the eating part of this diet eventually! The glycemic index separates food into three categories, based on how quickly they raise insulin levels. These three categories are Low GI Foods, Moderate GI Foods, and High GI Foods.

Once you begin to study the glycemic index, you'll notice some rather surprising findings. I'm guessing you currently have at least one food in your diet that you consider healthy—but that in reality, is causing a surge of unwanted insulin.

Look at the example below to give you a reason to follow the Glycemic Foods Index for your weight loss.

Do you eat those rice cakes that became wildly popular about a decade ago? They're now available in countless flavors from several brands. Dieters ate them like candy because they're sweet, yet low in fat—the perfect guilt-free snack, right?

Wrong! As mention above you want to eat foods that are slow to raise the blood sugar levels in your body and on the GI scale of 1 to 100 with 1 being slowest and 100 being the fastest, rice cakes come in at 71 out of a 100. Little on the high side.

How many times in this decade have you chosen rice cakes over the ice cream the rest of your family ate for dessert? Do you even want to know the GI score of ice cream? In case you're curious, ice cream—regular, full-fat ice cream—has a GI of 61, and fat-free versions average about 50.

This article shows just how important it is to know and understand the GI ( Glycemic Index ) so you can use it to your advantage.