Choosing Diabetic Menus

Why should you follow diabetic menus?

One good reason is that by doing so you can balance what you eat with the ways you are treating your diabetes.

For example, when you take insulin or oral medication, and when you exercise, will impact your blood glucose levels.

So does what you eat.

By creating menus for your diabetes you can plan what you will be eating and when, so you can work it around medications and exercise.

Another good reason for these menus is that it will help you improve your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol, and will also help you lose weight if that is one of your goals.

Creating menus for your diabetes causes you to stop and think about what you are going to be eating, plus since you are planning ahead the items you need will be on hand.

This planning will help you avoid stopping at a fast foods places or eating processed convenience foods, both of which are typically high in calories and fat.

Before planning menus for your diabetes you should meet with your doctor and/or a nutritional counselor.

Learn what your unique diabetic needs are and what considerations you should be making when creating diabetic menus.

The American Diabetes Association suggests a pyramid approach to daily diabetic menus.

This is a good place to start when considering what you’d like to include.

This daily pyramid suggests six to eleven servings of:

• Beans
• Grains and other starches a day
• Three to five servings of vegetables
• Two to four servings of fruit
• Four to six ounces of meat or meat substitutes
• Two to three servings of dairy and
• Fats, oils and sweets only as a special treat.

Beyond diabetic menus, one of the things that trips up many people who are trying to eat healthy is portion size.

When you plan to get a serving of meat, two of vegetables and one of grains during a meal, be sure that your serving sizes are accurate.

Learn what a cup of rice looks like, or three ounces of chicken.

Many people try to eat healthy but don’t realize that they are eating far more than they should because their portions are so large.

Another tip is to check your plate.

Look at it and divide it into fourths.

One fourth should be grains or starches such as:

• Potatoes
• rice or
• Pasta.

Another fourth should be protein such as:

• Chicken or
• Fish.

The remainder of your plate, half of it, should be filled with non-starchy vegetables such as:

• A salad
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower, etc.

When planning diabetic menus, include meals where your plate breakdown will reflect these proportions.

Overall the key to effective diabetic menus is to follow healthy eating guidelines.

Be sure that you are planning your meals around nutritious:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Lean meat and
• Low fat dairy.

Be sure that your meals fit in well with your:

• Medications
• Exercise and
• Lifestyle.

Along with your menu plans you will also need to plan your weight loss journey in order to reach your weight loss goals.

The best way to do that is to follow the steps below that have been proven to work.

• Incorporate a proven, complete nutritional program into your daily life.
• Enhance your nutritional program with a complete mutivitamin supplement because no nutritional program is perfect.
• Use a behavior modification and motivational program that will help you stay on track with your nutritional plan.
• Exercise at home with your own:
  Treadmill

  Stairstepper

  Exercise bike

  Elliptical trainer

  Hand weights or

  An aerobic video.

• See what kinds of weight loss aids your health insurance covers such as:
  Hypnotism

  Gym membership discounts

  Nutritional counseling.

Also, when you first begin planning diabetic menus run a few past your doctor or nutritional counselor to be sure that what you are planning is on track with your needs.

Before you know it you will have your diabetes under control and a healthy lifestyle that will have you losing weight and feeling great.

Remember, you can do this! You really, really can!