Monday, June 20, 2011
Guidelines For the Diabetes Diet
Diabetes is proving to be among the most scary illnesses I've ever had but simple to manage so far. Over the past 6 years I've performed very well controlling my Type 2 Diabetes using ahealthy diet and physical exercise, the absence of which having been the cause of my problem in the first place. I'm not a physician and don't play one on the net so don't do anything in this article without checking with yours. But, because it seems so tough at first, I would like to share to you some things I've discovered which simplified the whole diet thing for me.
Diabetes Diet programs are everywhere, but many are so serious or so complex we cannot follow them. When my physician diagnosed me, he gave me a duplicate of a typed diet sheet that actually had taken all the delight out of my life...no sugar, bread, rice, cake, ice cream...etc. Fortunately, he sent me to some diabetes diet class which taught me you do not have to quit sugar or other carbohydrates...all you've to do is manage them. That's made all of the difference! In fact, to manage Type 2 Diabetes, all we have to do is eat the balanced diet we should have already been eating all along.
The American Diabetes Diet recommends we get 50-60% of our calories from carbohydrates, 12-20% from proteins, and less than 30% from fats. In my individual diet, I lean toward 50-30-20% in those groups. As you can see, 50-60% carbohydrates is not exactly eating none...is it? We'll get into easy ways to mange this balance later. I found the largest dietary adjustment I had to make was taking 3 big meals a day and turning them into 3 little meals and 2-3 snacks. This really is necessary to keep a balanced level of blood sugar (glucose). The funny thing was, after about a week, I noticed I had much more energy and never felt hungry. Needles to say, I began getting thrilled.
Eat Generally Healthier: The smallest adjustment was to eat healthier...you realize the drill: More fresh vegetables and fruit, much more fresh meat, fish and poultry (lean cuts) and much less fruit drinks and processed meals. Much more crackers and less chips. Much more whole grain breads and pasta and less white, processed flours. More brown rice and much less white. Low or non fat milk, cheese, yogurt, salad dressings. Eat cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream, sodas, etc. much less often and preferably low fat, sugar free varieties if possible. The amazing thing to me was, there was literally nothing I couldn't eat...I just had to control the way I ate. This isn't as hard as people believe. Food Exchanges from the American Diabetes Association make it fairly simple to categorize your foods and know how much of each you must be consuming.
Right here are some common classifications to have you started. Fats include butter, margarine, oils and nuts. Proteins consist of meats, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and cheese (milk and cheese are substantial in fat). Carbohydrates include bread, cereal, beans, grains and potatoes. Sugars are refined carbohydrates and must be taken in extremely little quantities. Almost all fresh veggies are "free" because they are high in fiber and nutrients without being high in fats, carbs, etc. All packaged foods have labels that tell you how big a serving is and the way many carbs, sugars, proteins, fats, calories are in a serving This is more vital to read than the price.
Portion Size is simple to figure for foods. If you learn the exchanges and portion sizes for given foods you by no means need to count carbs, calories, etc. Just look at what you are consuming. Here is a little chart to get you started:
Portions From American Diabetes Association:A serving of... Measures... And it is about as large as... Cheese - 1 ounce - 4 dice. Rice - cup - Half a baseball. Bagel - 4 ounces - A hockey puck. Meat - 3 ounces - A deck of cards. Peanut butter - 2 Tablespoons - A ping-pong ball. Pasta - 1 cup - A tennis ball.
A basic Diabetes Diet Guideline: I handle my diet using exchanges and portion control without measuring anything. I've discovered every day I can balance my diet and maintain my blood glucose regular by managing my portions as follows: 5-6 Carbs, 5-6 Proteins, 5-6 fruits and vegetables (mostly vegetables), less than 3 fats, and 2-3 quarts water.
Make sure to includehigh fiber foods inside your vegetables and fruit to assist preserve good blood fat and sugar levels. I lost about 50 pounds in a yr and maintained it for 5 years since the onset of my illness. I'm now starting to lose the final 40 pounds toward my goal of 180.
That's really about it! Of course, you'll want to study as much as you can and inquire you physician to completely manage your diabetes, but I wish this article has eliminated a few of the mystery and given you a good starting point to consider control of your diet. You can do this!
Diabetes Diet programs are everywhere, but many are so serious or so complex we cannot follow them. When my physician diagnosed me, he gave me a duplicate of a typed diet sheet that actually had taken all the delight out of my life...no sugar, bread, rice, cake, ice cream...etc. Fortunately, he sent me to some diabetes diet class which taught me you do not have to quit sugar or other carbohydrates...all you've to do is manage them. That's made all of the difference! In fact, to manage Type 2 Diabetes, all we have to do is eat the balanced diet we should have already been eating all along.
The American Diabetes Diet recommends we get 50-60% of our calories from carbohydrates, 12-20% from proteins, and less than 30% from fats. In my individual diet, I lean toward 50-30-20% in those groups. As you can see, 50-60% carbohydrates is not exactly eating none...is it? We'll get into easy ways to mange this balance later. I found the largest dietary adjustment I had to make was taking 3 big meals a day and turning them into 3 little meals and 2-3 snacks. This really is necessary to keep a balanced level of blood sugar (glucose). The funny thing was, after about a week, I noticed I had much more energy and never felt hungry. Needles to say, I began getting thrilled.
Eat Generally Healthier: The smallest adjustment was to eat healthier...you realize the drill: More fresh vegetables and fruit, much more fresh meat, fish and poultry (lean cuts) and much less fruit drinks and processed meals. Much more crackers and less chips. Much more whole grain breads and pasta and less white, processed flours. More brown rice and much less white. Low or non fat milk, cheese, yogurt, salad dressings. Eat cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream, sodas, etc. much less often and preferably low fat, sugar free varieties if possible. The amazing thing to me was, there was literally nothing I couldn't eat...I just had to control the way I ate. This isn't as hard as people believe. Food Exchanges from the American Diabetes Association make it fairly simple to categorize your foods and know how much of each you must be consuming.
Right here are some common classifications to have you started. Fats include butter, margarine, oils and nuts. Proteins consist of meats, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and cheese (milk and cheese are substantial in fat). Carbohydrates include bread, cereal, beans, grains and potatoes. Sugars are refined carbohydrates and must be taken in extremely little quantities. Almost all fresh veggies are "free" because they are high in fiber and nutrients without being high in fats, carbs, etc. All packaged foods have labels that tell you how big a serving is and the way many carbs, sugars, proteins, fats, calories are in a serving This is more vital to read than the price.
Portion Size is simple to figure for foods. If you learn the exchanges and portion sizes for given foods you by no means need to count carbs, calories, etc. Just look at what you are consuming. Here is a little chart to get you started:
Portions From American Diabetes Association:A serving of... Measures... And it is about as large as... Cheese - 1 ounce - 4 dice. Rice - cup - Half a baseball. Bagel - 4 ounces - A hockey puck. Meat - 3 ounces - A deck of cards. Peanut butter - 2 Tablespoons - A ping-pong ball. Pasta - 1 cup - A tennis ball.
A basic Diabetes Diet Guideline: I handle my diet using exchanges and portion control without measuring anything. I've discovered every day I can balance my diet and maintain my blood glucose regular by managing my portions as follows: 5-6 Carbs, 5-6 Proteins, 5-6 fruits and vegetables (mostly vegetables), less than 3 fats, and 2-3 quarts water.
Make sure to includehigh fiber foods inside your vegetables and fruit to assist preserve good blood fat and sugar levels. I lost about 50 pounds in a yr and maintained it for 5 years since the onset of my illness. I'm now starting to lose the final 40 pounds toward my goal of 180.
That's really about it! Of course, you'll want to study as much as you can and inquire you physician to completely manage your diabetes, but I wish this article has eliminated a few of the mystery and given you a good starting point to consider control of your diet. You can do this!
About the Author:
If you want more information on diabetes diet plan, don't read just rehashed articles online to avoid getting ripped off. Go here: Type ii diabetes diet plan
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