Tesco throws its weight behind new wonder diet

The GI diet is set to take over from Atkins. Nicholas Pyke and Jini Reddy report

First Kylie Minogue, one of the world's most accomplished weight-watchers, declared herself a devotee. Then Bill and Hillary Clinton joined the growing band of followers. Now the GI diet has made what could well prove to be its most influential conquest of all.

Tesco, the dominant force on the British high street, has thrown its corporate weight behind the "brown bread and pasta" diet said to be a favourite with top athletes, including Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave.

This weekend the supermarket chain will cash in on the annual post-Christmas fitness boom by launching its own GI diet book - taking a swipe at the controversial Atkins diet in the process. With Tesco expecting to shift 67,000 copies in the next four weeks alone, the guide is heading for instant best-seller status and virtually guarantees that GI will supplant Atkins as the latest must-follow regime.

Named after the "glycemic index", GI diets are based on foods such as wholegrain bread and brown rice which the body digests slowly. This helps to avoid the sudden rises and falls in energy levels and the weight gain associated with white bread and other processed food. The index, developed in the 1980s, assigns each food type a score according to how quickly it releases sugar into the bloodstream - the lower the better. Armed with this, dieters can pick the most suitable products.

Tesco's endorsement is more bad news for the carbohydrate-free Atkins diet, the sensation of the past two years. At one stage Atkins was followed by 2 per cent of the British population, but its success has been waning recently amid concern from health professionals that the regime does not encourage balanced eating. There have also been complaints that the meat-rich diet causes bad breath and headaches. (In reply, Atkins Nutritionals says that its programme, when followed properly, includes the recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals.)

The Tesco Gi Guide, endorsed by Sir Steve Redgrave and Michel Montignac, the "father" of the approach, means the supermarket has become an overnight player in the multi-million-pound diet industry - a further extension of its already extraordinary influence.

Tesco is taking the GI phenomenon so seriously that the company has already started relabelling 1,000 product lines to include GI scores.

The guide is jointly written by Rick Gallop, author of best-seller The Gi Diet, and Hamish Renton, a Tesco employee who claims to have lost three stone by using the approach.

"The GI diet originated from Australia and it is a more sensible, simple and easy-to-follow diet than Atkins, which originated in America," said Mr Renton. "Eating low GI foods means you don't have to cut out all carbohydrates. You can simply substitute certain carbohydrates with others."

The GI diet also has approval from qualified dieticians - in contrast with the Atkins regime, which has attracted some criticism for promoting meat- and fat-rich diets. Frankie Phillips, from the British Dietetic Association, said: "A lot of the principles of GI are consistent with the principles of healthy eating - having foods rich in whole grain, for example. The bottom line is that it is along the right lines for encouraging people to have a well-balanced diet."

Food writers seem to agree, too. Yesterday Terry Durack, The Independent on Sunday food critic, paid a visit to the Montignac Café and Wine Bar, west London, the country's leading GI restaurant, and was impressed.

"There is Bollinger champagne in the fridge, pasta and sourdough bread on the shelves, chocolate cake and cheesecake in the display cabinet, and signs practically begging you to smoke in the downstairs café. Not only that, there are fry-ups on the tables. Huge fry-ups.

"And it does taste good. Scrambled eggs are generously piled on good, dense, deeply flavoured sourdough toast, and eggs benedict is a dream of finely shaved ham, poached eggs and finely nuanced lemony hollandaise. It was the best breakfast I have had in this country out of my own bed. On the downside the kitchen is slow and the service is scatty. But the prices are reasonable - £4.50 for soup and £8.75 for moussaka, making a full-on meal about £40 for two without wine."

While the café does not strictly enforce the methods devised by Montignac, famous for the Eat Yourself Slim diet books, it provides all the fixings of a Montignac lifestyle: cook books, fructose as a sugar replacement, organic ketchup and even skincare products. "The food is good enough to prove the point that good food is good food, no matter what diet regime, fad or fashion may currently be played out in the media," said Mr Durack.

Not that it has been plain sailing, for the GI diet or the restaurant. According to Ernest Hilton, the Montignac disciple behind the café on Brompton Road, the past decade has been tough.

Now, though, GI's prospects look rosy: it had already been widely tipped as the hit diet of 2005, even before Tesco signed up. Certainly it is unlikely to be bested by the other New Year offerings, which include the coconut diet, the abs diet, the sugar addicts' diet and Carol Vorderman's 30-day cellulite plan.

EAT YOURSELF THIN? The hot new diets for 2005

THE GI DIET

What is it? Health-food programme with a trendy name. Wholewheat pasta and fruit diet based on foods that do not cause swings in energy levels - a known cause of weight gain. Devised by Michel Montignac, now adopted by Tesco.

What do you eat? Breakfast: bowl of porridge with blueberries and skimmed milk.

Lunch: wholemeal pitta filled with tuna and salad, plus an apple or a handful of cherries.

Dinner: basmati rice and lentil dhal. A low-fat yoghurt or a few squares of dark chocolate to finish.

Will it work? Yes, although patience is needed to work out which foods are good or bad on the glycemic index.

THE COCONUT DIET

What is it? As it sounds. Claims that coconut fat does not - as most people think - raise blood cholesterol. Instead it speeds up the metabolism and promotes weight loss.

What do you eat? Breakfast: banana coconut milk smoothie.

Lunch: chicken à la king (made with coconut milk).

Dinner: coconut wild rice with curried vegetables.

Will it work? Doubtful, unless you like oily, high-protein, low-carb meals. Sounds like a desert island survival tactic.

THE SUGAR ADDICT'S DIET

What is it? Therapy for sweet lovers. Aims to wean us off sugar by explaining its impact on emotions and health. Cravings are kept at bay with increased fat consumption. Devised by GMTV fitness expert Nicki Waterman.

What do you eat? Breakfast: home-made muesli with berries and a boiled egg.

Lunch: avocado and tuna on wholegrain bread.

Dinner: wholewheat pasta with prawns.

Will it work? Possibly, if you have willpower in spades. Will also cure mood swings.

NO CARBS AFTER 5PM

What is it? No more late-night binges. Carbs are allowed at breakfast and lunch, and an exercise regime is thrown in. Devised by exercise guru and author Joanna Hall.

What do you eat? Breakfast: wholemeal toast with peanut butter, and tea with semi-skimmed milk.

Lunch: jacket potato with tuna and side salad.

Dinner: Grilled chicken with vegetables.

Will it work? Probably. As you can eat carbs in the daytime, you won't feel deprived, and you won't go to bed feeling bloated.