Diabetes Meal Planning

It is very important for anyone with diabetes to recognize that food choices can make a difference when regulating blood glucose levels. To keep your blood glucose levels near normal, you need to balance the food you eat with the insulin your body makes or gets by injection, and with your physical activity. With your caloric needs established by a recent visit to a dietitian, there are two types of meal planning options for you. Menu Planning with Exchange Lists and Carbohydrate Counting are the two most common meal plans to follow in order to manage your diabetes.

Menu Planning with Exchange Lists

When planning your meals using the exchange lists, foods are divided into six lists, based on their nutritive composition of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Each serving of food has the same amount of carbohydrate, protein, fat and calories as the other foods on that list. That is why any food on the list can be “exchanged” or traded for any other food on the exchange list.

Examples:

½ cup orange juice = 1 small apple. Each is equal to one fruit exchange.
1 slice of bread = ½ cup cooked cereal. Each is equal to one starch exchange.
1 slice of bread DOES NOT = 1 small apple. They are NOT from the same exchange list.

Tips When Menu Planning with Exchange Lists:

• Do not skip meals
• Eat your meals at the same time each day
• Measure your food to assure correct portion sizes
• Avoid fried foods and adding fat when cooking
• Avoid eating table sugar, honey, syrup, jam, candy or other sweets.
• Avoid regular soft drinks

Carbohydrate Counting

Carbohydrate, protein and fats are all important to include in your meal plan each day. Carbohydrates in foods affects your blood glucose levels the most, therefore it is very important to know how much carbohydrate you are eating each day.

When focusing on carbohydrate counting, it is necessary to keep food records at each meal and to test your blood glucose levels each day, to see if your meal plan is appropriate for you. When you eat carbohydrates they turn into glucose in your bloodstream. Insulin will help the glucose to enter cells, where it can be used for energy or stored for future use. Eating the same amount of carbohydrate daily at meals and snacks can help you to control your glucose levels. Carbohydrate foods need to be spaced out over the day. You should have some carbohydrate in each meal and in any snacks. Even if you do not take insulin or diabetes pills, spacing carbohydrate makes it easier for your body’s insulin to work on the glucose that comes from the food you eat.

The following foods contain carbohydrates:

• Bread, crackers and cereals
• Pasta, rice and grains
• Fruit and juice
• Milk and yogurt
• Snack foods such as chips and pretzels
• Desserts such as cakes, pies and cookies

It is best to speak with a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator in order to obtain a personalized carbohydrate counting meal plan, tailored to you. A registered dietitian will calculate and provide you with a guide of how many grams of carbohydrate you should be eating at each meal and snack.

Contact BRG Dietetics & Nutrition, P.C. at 516-486-4569 or info@brghealth.com and set up an appointment for your own customized Menu Planning with Exchange Lists or Carbohydrate Counting Meal Plan.

Like this post? Share it!