Food List (Glycemic Index)

Food List	Rating	Food Glycemic Index
Bakery Products
*Pound cake	Low	54
Danish pastry	Medium	59
Muffin (unsweetened)	Medium	62
Cake , tart	Medium	65
Cake, angel	Medium	67
Croissant	Medium	67
Waffles	High	76
Doughnut	High	76
Beverages
Soya milk	Low	30
Apple juice	Low	41
Carrot juice	Low	45
Pineapple juice	Low	46
Grapefruit juice	Low	48
Orange juice	Low	52
Biscuits
Digestives	Medium	58
Shortbread	Medium	64
Water biscuits	Medium	65
Ryvita	Medium	67
Wafer biscuits	High	77
**Rice cakes	High	77
Breads
Multi grain bread	Low	48
Whole grain	Low	50
Pita bread, white	Medium	57
Pizza, cheese	Medium	60
Hamburger bun	Medium	61
Rye-flour bread	Medium	64
Whole meal bread	Medium	69
White bread	High	71
White rolls	High	73
Baguette	High	95
Breakfast Cereals
All-Bran	Low	42
Porridge, non instant	Low	49
Oat bran	Medium	55
Muesli	Medium	56
Mini Wheats (wholemeal)	Medium	57
Shredded  Wheat	Medium	69
Golden Grahams	High	71
Puffed wheat	High	74
Weetabix	High	77
Rice Krispies	High	82
Cornflakes	High	83
Cereal Grains
Pearl barley	Low	25
Rye	Low	34
Wheat kernels	Low	41
Rice, instant	Low	46
Rice, parboiled	Low	48
Barley, cracked	Low	50
Rice, brown	Medium	55
Rice, wild	Medium	57
Rice, white	Medium	58
Barley, flakes	Medium	66
Taco Shell	Medium	68
Millet	High	71
Dairy Foods
Yogurt low- fat (sweetened)	Low	14
Milk, chocolate	Low	24
Milk, whole	Low	27
Milk, Fat-free	Low	32
Milk ,skimmed	Low	32
Milk, semi-skimmed	Low	34
*Ice-cream (low- fat)	Low	50
*Ice-cream	Medium	61
Fruits
Cherries	Low	22
Grapefruit	Low	25
Apricots  (dried)	Low	31
Apples	Low	38
Pears	Low	38
Plums	Low	39
Peaches	Low	42
Oranges	Low	44
Grapes	Low	46
Kiwi fruit	Low	53
Bananas	Low	54
Fruit cocktail	Medium	55
Mangoes	Medium	56
Apricots	Medium	57
Apricots  (tinned in syrup)	Medium	64
Raisins	Medium	64
Pineapple	Medium	66
**Watermelon	High	72
Pasta
Spaghetti, protein enriched	Low	27
Fettuccine	Low	32
Vermicelli	Low	35
Spaghetti, whole wheat	Low	37
Ravioli, meat filled	Low	39
Spaghetti, white	Low	41
Macaroni	Low	45
Spaghetti, durum wheat	Medium	55
Macaroni cheese	Medium	64
Rice pasta, brown	High	92
Root Crop
Carrots, cooked	Low	39
Yam	Low	51
Sweet potato	Low	54
Potato, boiled	Medium	56
Potato, new	Medium	57
Potato, tinned	Medium	61
Beetroot	Medium	64
Potato, steamed	Medium	65
Potato, mashed	Medium	70
Chips	High	75
Potato, micro waved	High	82
Potato, instant	High	83
**Potato, baked	High	85
Parsnips	High	97
Snack Food and Sweets
Peanuts	Low	15
*M&Ms (peanut)	Low	32
*Snickers bar	Low	40
*Chocolate bar; 30g	Low	49
Jams and marmalades	Low	49
*Crisps	Low	54
Popcorn	Medium	55
Mars bar	Medium	64
*Table sugar (sucrose)	Medium	65
Corn chips	High	74
Jelly beans	High	80
Pretzels	High	81
Dates	High	103
Soups
Tomato soup, tinned	Low	38
Lentil soup, tinned	Low	44
Black bean soup, tinned	Medium	64
Green pea soup, tinned	Medium	66
Vegetables and Beans
Artichoke	Low	15
Asparagus	Low	15
Broccoli	Low	15
Cauliflower	Low	15
Celery	Low	15
Cucumber	Low	15
Eggplant	Low	15
Green beans	Low	15
Lettuce, all varieties	Low	15
Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened	Low	15
Peppers, all varieties	Low	15
Snow peas	Low	15
Spinach	Low	15
Young summer squash	Low	15
Tomatoes	Low	15
Zucchini	Low	15
Soya beans, boiled	Low	16
Peas, dried	Low	22
Kidney beans, boiled	Low	29
Lentils green, boiled	Low	29
Chickpeas	Low	33
Haricot beans, boiled	Low	38
Black-eyed beans	Low	41
Chickpeas, tinned	Low	42
Baked beans, tinned	Low	48
Kidney beans, tinned	Low	52
Lentils green, tinned	Low	52
Broad beans	High	79

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7 Tips for Sharp Abs

Training abs is easy. Training them right, and supporting their development... not so much.

We've given you more than a few solid ab routines to help get your midsection looking sharp over the years. Now, here are seven tips to make sure you don’t inadvertently become your abs worst enemy:

1) Don’t eat fast-digesting carbohydrates. Fast carbs spike insulin, which halts fat-burning and boosts fat storage, particularly on top of your abs. Carbs to avoid are white bread, white potatoes, regular sodas, sports drinks, table sugar, etc. Instead, choose whole-wheat, rye or sourdough breads, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruits, vegetables, quinoa, legumes and brown rice. One exception here: You can eat fast-digesting carbs right after workouts when they’ll be put to work boosting muscle recovery and growth. 

2) Don’t neglect isometrics. More formally known as the Weider Iso-Tension Principle, this means flexing a bodypart, such as the abs, and holding that position (much like bodybuilders do when posing). To do this, tense each muscle for 6–10 seconds, then relax for 6–10 seconds. Repeat for 10–20 sets. This is a great way to hit your abs while sitting in your car, on your couch or at your desk.

3) Don’t forget about your breathing. When you perform an ab exercise such as the crunch, exhale when you reach the finish or top position. This is important because it helps you better contract your abs. Holding the position for a second or two will maximize muscle-fiber involvement.

4) Don’t stop. You typically train in specific rep ranges, such as 8–10 or 12–15 reps per set. Yet when doing bodyweight ab exercises, you can’t alter the weight to match a predetermined number of reps. Therefore, rather than doing crunches or hanging leg raises for a set number of reps, do as many reps as possible until you come close to failure.

5) Don’t forget to weight. Many guys worry that if they do weighted ab exercises, their abs will become thick and blocky. Yet abs are muscles just like biceps, so they need definition 
and separation to stand out. Do some weighted movements in the 8–10-rep range for optimal ab development.

6) Don’t do abs first. Some trainers recommend that you begin your workout with ab training to make sure you don’t skip it. We disagree. 


A recent study by the Weider Research Group found that when trained lifters did abs before legs in a squat workout, they completed fewer reps of squats than when they trained abs after the squat workout. This is because the abs, obliques and transverse abdominis work together to stabilize the core, which allows you to produce greater force. Training abs first fatigues them, which lessens your core stability and weakens your base, as well as your ability to generate force.

7) Don’t train abs always at the same speed. Regular readers are well aware that m&f recommends changing up your rep speed from slow and controlled to fast and explosive, allowing you to utilize more fast-twitch muscle fibers to build more power, strength and size. 

According to new research from Spain, scientists tested the muscle activity of subjects’ rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques, and spinal erectors while they did crunches at rep speeds of four seconds, two seconds, 1.5 seconds, one second or as fast as possible. They reported in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research that as the rep speed increased, so did the activity of all four muscles. The greatest boost occurred in subjects’ external obliques, which were hardly involved in the crunch at slower speeds but increased by more than six times at the fastest speed. 

So don’t fail to vary your rep speed. The fast reps will help recruit more muscle fibers in the midsection and turn the crunch, which targets the rectus abdominis, into an effective oblique exercise.

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