Starting the glycemic index diet is a lot easier with some structured help to get going on the right track.  Interactive (online) plans are the cheapest way to get started – and the provider that consistently ranks #1 from our readers is eDiets – preferred by 55% of readers of GlycemicEdge.com.

We get a lot of emails from those wondering how the eDiets program works.  They offer a free profile analysis featuring their Glycemic Impact diet plan – but what can you expect when you sign up?  We tested it last week…

Part 1: Signing up for their Free GI Diet Profile Analysis

Pretty easy and clean process.  Includes realistic goal setting and timeframes for when you want to hit your weight loss goal.  Also includes BMI (body mass index) calculations.

Part 2: Inside eDiets: Progress Charts (your Diet Dashboard)

We love this.  It puts all your key data into one place – including starting health points, goals, daily calorie guides, BMI levels (original, current, and goal BMI).  Visual display of your weight loss by date.  eDiets also provides a sliding bar and customized interactive health plans for exercise to accelerate your daily/weekly weight loss goals.

Part 3: Shopping Lists and Glycemic Index Specifics

This is where the real planning and help begins.  Plans and guides specific to the Glycemic Index plan – our favorite is their interactive shopping list.  It’s printable (makes it easy to hit the grocery store with low GI approved foods), plus eDiets has pre-planned low GI Meal Plans that are pre-approved to be GI friendly.

The shopping list includes categories for meat, frozen foods, produce, canned, dry goods, fruits/juices, and more (like candy – yes, candy….)

Part 4: Glycemic Index Interactive Plans and ‘jumpstart’ guides to get started

Overall, we continue to be really impressed by eDiets interactive plans.  They’re cheap (about $4/week – a real bargain compared to most of their competitors) and make a huge difference — especially if you’re just getting started or thinking about getting started on a low GI diet but need help to see how it works and pick the right foods on an ongoing basis. We would like to see even more recipes and videos is one of our few gripes.

Also – eDiets (like NutriSystem, MediFast, and others) now offers a delivery plan that includes the Glycemic Index.  So whether you go the online plan (do it yourself shopping) or delivery (autopilot – everything is done for you) it’s a great choice to get started.  Click here to get a free GI diet profile to test it out yourself.

Glycemic Impact Diet Meal Plan

This plan is a GOOD Match if:

• You crave sugar and sweets
• You have low energy

Might NOT be a good fit if:

• You prefer to only eat 1-2x/day
• Want fast food choices

The program manager for NutriSystem contacted us today and made a coupon available for 1-Free week of Glycemic Index compliant meals.

NutriSystem is back promoting a ton of specials and have really been focused on the glycemic advantage programs.  In case you haven’t tried them, NutriSystem offers packaged (translation – frozen / prepared) meals that are of surprisingly good quality.  Most of our readers have expressed extremely good reviews for their quality and taste.

Worth a shot if you’re looking to go the convenience approach – it really is comparable in price to buying and preparing your own food (especially if you’re struggling to diet and bring food to work, etc.)