Conquering A Diabetic Diet

Are you afraid to eat? Overwhelmed by what to eat?

It is not uncommon for people with diabetes to be confused about their diet. It is important for you to conquer your fear and face the challenges of eating with diabetes.

Diabetes, although challenging, can be controlled. Two of the best tools for managing diabetes are the dreaded words: diet & exercise. Although, medications continue to play an important role in diabetes management, taking steps to utilize your diet and exercise plan are essential for success.

The first essential step is to accept your diet will play a factor in your blood sugar control. The type and amount of food you eat will impact your blood sugars. I encourage you to honestly and carefully review your eating habits: How many meals do you eat a day? How many servings of each food group do you typically eat? Do you eat at the same time each day? Are you aware of standard portion sizes? Once you can accept your current diet you are ready to learn how and what to eat to manage your diabetes.

Our diet consists of three major nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Of the three nutrients carbohydrates produce the largest effect on our blood sugar, while protein and fat have a smaller impact on our blood sugars. Does this mean you should not eat any foods with carbohydrates? Absolutely not! Carbohydrates account for our largest energy source making them essential to our diet. It is important to include carbohydrates in your diet on a daily basis. The key is portion sizes.

Controlling portion sizes is imperative for diabetes management. By learning standard portion sizes you will be able to enjoy your favorite foods and control your blood sugars. Quite often while working with clients, I find it is not the foods they are eating which are causing their blood sugars to be too high, it is the amount of food they are eating.

A portion/serving of fruit, starches or milk/yogurt will provide approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate. Vegetables, although a source of carbohydrate, provide only 5 grams of carbohydrate per serving. Since vegetables are lower in carbohydrates per serving you are allowed more flexibility in this food group. How many carbohydrates a person needs per day will vary with individuals. Establish a appropriate calorie level with your dietitian and physician to determine the number of grams of carbohydrates you can eat per day. As an example, a person requiring 1800 calories per day will require approximately 225-247 grams of carbohydrate per day. Although that sounds like a lot-you may be surprised how quickly those grams add up.

In order to account for the number of grams of carbohydrates you are eating, I encourage you to take a week and measure all of the food you eat. Although a tedious task, it has been a eye opener for some of my clients. It is very helpful at giving you an eyeball estimate of what a serving looks like on your plate at home. It will also give you the ability to estimate portion sizes when you are eating out in order to avoid overeating.

Diabetes and diet can be a struggle. With careful planning and education things will get easier with time. Invest the time now: You control your diet; don’t let your diabetes control you.

Tips For Successful Meal Planning

• Portion size, portion size, portion size.
• Try and fill 1/2 of your plate with vegetables, 1/4 of your plate with a starch, 1/2 cup with a protein and have fruit for dessert.
• Read food labels
• When getting started, measure your food for a one-week period.
• Increase your vegetable intake.

Get in the habit of reading food labels.

By law food labels must contain certain nutrient information and carbohydrate content is one of them. It is important to remember with label reading to always check the portion size and number of portions per serving. Remember portions are the key.

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