How To Make A Diet Plan For Diabetes

To manage your diabetes, start by learning how to make a diet plan for diabetes. Managing diabetes is all about creating the perfect but delicate balance between diet and exercise. The easiest way to follow a diet plan for diabetes is to be organized and prepared.

1. Choose a diet plan. There are many theories on the perfect diet for managing diabetes, ranging from high protein and low carbohydrates to high fiber and low protein. Currently, the popular method is to follow a high fiber, low protein diet plan, but your doctor will likely give you a plan to follow. Research what foods are acceptable and what are not. When choosing a serving of potato for a meal, it is important to know a sweet yam is a better choice than a white potato.
2. Make a Food List. Once you have educated yourself on which foods you should be eating, make a food list. Your list should be organized by protein, breads and grains, vegetables, fats, dairy, desserts, and staples like spices and condiments. List what proteins are allowed like chicken, fish, turkey, and limited beef. List all vegetables that are allowed and don’t be afraid to try new vegetables. When listing bread, it should be whole wheat only and this rule applies to crackers. Dairy is low fat milk, eggs, and low fat cheese. A good rule to remember is to never eat anything white. This means avoid white rice, sugar, flour, potatoes, and anything made with white ingredients.
3. Make a Weekly Menu. If you know what you are supposed to eat for each meal, there will be no guesswork and fewer opportunities to make a mistake or bad choice. A sample menu might look like this:
   Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit, sweetener, decaf coffee.
   Lunch: Grilled turkey burger on whole wheat bun, sautéed mixed vegetables, green salad chopped vegetables and salad spritzer, small apple, iced decaf tea.
   Dinner: Green Salad, sautéed mixed vegetables, broiled Salmon steak, and fruit.
   Snacks: One ounce of low fat cheese, whole wheat pretzels.
4. Shop From the Food List Only. When you are shopping, do not stray from your list or before you know it you are putting a package of chocolate chip cookies in the shopping cart.

Tips:

• Do not substitute foods. For instance, if your lunch menu reads turkey burger on a whole wheat bun, do not substitute the whole wheat for white. White flour products are known to spike blood sugar.
• The Internet has a wonderful collection of recipes specifically for diabetic diets that will help you to expand and enjoy your vegetable dishes. The more you know what to do with vegetables in the kitchen the more options you have for meals.

Warnings:

• Managing diabetes is a process of discovery and it takes time and patience to master. Like with most things in life trial and error will be part of the learning process. Be diligent about eating properly and test your blood sugar regularly to determine how certain foods affect your blood sugar. This is the best way to learn what you can or can’t eat.