There are some key points to think about with the Diabetic Diet Meal Plan. As what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it will all affect your blood sugar level, one thing to remember is to eat basically the same amount of food every day. It is also important to eat around the same times every day. Set certain times aside to take your medication each day.
Since you should be on an exercise program of some sort, it will help if you exercise at approximately the same time every day. Your diet should include daily amounts of starches, fruit, vegetables, meat and/or meat substitutes, milk, and yogurt. The amount of these foods you consume will depend on the number of calories you are supposed to take in each day.
People who are put on a Diabetic Diet Meal Plan of 1,200 – 1.600 calories normally fall into 3 groups. These are small women who exercise regularly, small to medium women who want to lose weight, and medium women who don’t exercise very much.
To follow a 1,200 – 1,600 meal plan, you will need to choose 6 servings of starches, 2 servings of milk and yogurt, 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of meat or meat substitute, 2 servings of fruit, and up to 3 servings of fat daily.
These are the very basics of what you will need. It’s a good idea to speak with a professional nutritionist when making a meal plan that will fit in with your lifestyle. The ideal plan will be built around how you conduct your life.
The next tier of the Diabetic Diet Meal Plan is the 1,600 – 2,000 calorie plan. Typically, the groups of people who follow this plan are large women who want to lose weight, small men who are at a healthy weight, medium men who don’t exercise often, and medium to large men who want to lose weight.
For a 1,600 – 2,000 calorie diet, you will need daily 8 servings of starches, 2 servings of milk and yogurt, 4 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of meat or meat substitutes, 3 servings of fruit, and up to 4 servings of fats.
The last tier of the Diabetic Diet Meal Plan is the 2,000 – 2,400 calorie plan. People who follow this plan are medium to large men who exercise frequently or have a physically demanding job, large men who are at a healthy weight, or large women who exercise regularly or have a physically active job.
To follow this Diabetic Diet Meal Plan, you will need daily 11 servings of starches, 2 servings of milk and yogurt, 4 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of meat or meat substitutes, 3 servings of fruit, and up to 5 servings of fats.
As for sugar, while it does not cause your blood sugar to rise any higher than other carbohydrates, other healthy foods should be eaten with it. Since foods high in sugar are more carbohydrate concentrated, the allowed amount of these foods is going to be smaller than food low in sugar. If you are prone to the temptation of just wanting to eat more foods high in sugar, you should probably stay away from them.
A better choice for you would be something low in sugar that you can eat more of. For example, instead of having just 1 regular chocolate chip cookie, it might be more satisfying to have 4 low sugar chocolate chip cookies. Consider the differences in the portion size.
Tip for a diabetic:
- Wake up early and do exercise regularly to maintain your blood pressure and glucose levels.
- Don’t eat too much food together.
- Eat four to five small meals a day to maintain your body weight and also help you to control your blood glucose levels.
- Do not eat foods high in sugar such as ice creams, pasta, cakes, burgers, and pizzas.
- Eat foods that have very low glycemic index value such as whole grains, whole-wheat slices of bread, whole-wheat pasta, cereals, chickpeas, oats bran, oats.
- Avoid high-fat meat products, like red meat and other meat products.
- Do some cardio activities such as cycling, jogging, brisk walk, swimming, and whichever exercise you love most.
- Add some fresh vegetables such as Leafy green – lettuce, spinach, and silverweed, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli in your diet, because the vegetable is rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
- Eat some fresh fruits daily like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwifruit and passionfruit oranges, grapefruits, mandarins, and limes.
- Eat four to five small low gi foods meals a day rather than eat 3 big meals a day, because small meals digest well help to control your blood glucose.
- Don’t think you are diabetic, think is an active person whose goal is to make his lifestyle health.
It really is a lifestyle change to find out that you are diabetic, but it doesn’t have to be quite as horrible as you may be imagining. In spite of what some may say, being diabetic does NOT condemn you to a life of eating lettuce.
