Meal Planning Made Simple
DOCTOR'S ORDERS: You need to completely change the way you think about food. Eat healthy. Watch the carbs. Stick to a meal plan.
OK—but what does that mean?
Too often, people newly diagnosed with diabetes are told they need to develop better eating habits without being given specific information about how to do it on a day-to-day—or meal-to-meal—basis. It’s like telling someone who’s never been behind the wheel to drive a car down the interstate. The general idea is easy to understand, but the logistics are insurmountable.
Eating well with diabetes doesn’t have to be as difficult as that. But it’s going to take some work on your part, and perhaps even a new attitude. If you keep dwelling on what you can’t do instead of what you can, you’ll hinder your ability to manage your diabetes. But once you’re willing to learn a little bit about nutrition, carbohydrates, and meal planning, you’re ready. “You have to start here with a commitment and make your diabetes a priority,” says Toby Smithson, RD, LDN, CDE, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and a dietitian with the Lake County (Ill.) Health Department. She and other experts helped us develop the healthy-eating primer that follows.
5 Steps to Meal-Planning Success
Visualize Your Plate
Count Carbs
Watch Those Portion Sizes
Consider Nutrition
Keep Learning
Comments
Comments are subject to review and will not be posted immediately. If you have an urgent medical question, please consult a health care professional. If you have a question for the staff of Diabetes Forecast, please send it to replyall@diabetes.org.diet for type 2
Your suggested diet above has 55 carb for breakfast and 60 for lunch, and I didn't see dinner. I'll assume it's 60 carb like lunch. So 175 carb per day. I'm a type 2 of eight years. Not overweight. I used to take metformin, but it did nothing for my numbers so I don't take it anymore. I eat as low in carbs as I can, with a goal of zero carb per day (obviously impossible). The lower I go on carbs, the better my BG and the better I feel. Your guidelines are great for type one which is a completely different situation. I'm a baby boomer at 60 yrs. old. I just bet there are lots of type2's who have about the same type reaction to diet that I do. Your one size fits all diet is absurd for someone like me. I could do it by simply going on insulin. Then I could eat 175g carbs a day. But extreme low carb is working for me and the closest thing we have to a type 2 cure. I just don't understand why ADA can't embrace it. I can't take ADA seriously when it's guidelines for type 2 diet seem to imply a lack of understanding of the causes of the disease. Your organization and the medical community say that my Type 2 is progressive and that I will get worse and worse no matter what I do. But I'm going to keep dieting as low carb as I can stand and I will maintain BG's that aren't perfect and keep trying supplements, and keep trying to find the most toxic things in our American diet that have caused this epidemic. I know type one's don't want to stop eating carb. I would eat carb too in that case, of course! They have a much worse disease that shouldn't even be in the same textbook with type 2. My first cousin is a type 1 for 50 years who is blind and had a kidney x plant and a foot amputated. Right now low carb is almost a cure, and ADA couldn't care less. ADA wants me on insulin. Why?
diet for type 2
Have you tried the Glycemic Index Diet? The best book for this diet that I have found is the Idiot's Giude to Glycemic Index Weight Loss because it explains the science behind the diet and gives tips on other aids to control blood sugar. Karen
Thank you so much for the
Thank you so much for the information GBY
ADA meal plan TERRIBLE for diabetics
I couldn't agree more with the previous comment "diet for type 2". When will ADA start giving sound advice to diabetics?
I was diagnosed Type 2 18 years ago with an A1C of 18% and plasma glucose 434 mg/dl. I immediately became a member of ADA and received the usual low fat/high carb nutritional advice, which did not seem to jive with what I was told about diabetes and metabolism. Fortunately for me, I soon read Dr. Bernstein's book (now The Diabetes Solution) and quickly found through the use of a glucometer that his very low carb diet (6 gm breakfast, 12 gm each lunch & dinner) worked for me and that the ADA diet was BS. I dropped my ADA subscription as soon as I could.
18 years later, I'm still on a very low carb diet and my diabetes is under excellent control. My most recent A1C was 5.2% (Metformin only, no insulin) and my blood glucose rarely goes over 120. My lipids are good, in spite of the fact that I am on a high fat (and high saturated fat) diet. Lipid problems are caused by high insulin levels exasperated by high carb diets and insulin resistance, not by ingesting fat. I have no diabetes complications.
Type 2 diabetes is fundamentally a problem of carbohydrate metabolism. I view it as a disability - I am carbohydrate-challenged. It should be obvious that the first line of treatment is to minimize carbohydrate in the diet (carbohydrate is NOT required by the human body - protein and fat are).
The ADA's recommendation to "cover" the increase in glucose caused by its high carb diet with insulin creates all kinds of other problems (glucose swings, bad lipid levels leading to fat accumulation, heart disease, etc.). It's great for all the drug companies paying ADA, though (see http://www.diabetes.org/how-to-give/sponsor/banting-circle-supporters.ht...). Maybe that's why ADA continues this nonsense.
Because I'm diabetic, I get a monthly call from an Anthem Blue Cross nurse imploring me to go on a low fat/high carb diet. When I asked her why Blue Cross is pushing this, she said because the ADA blessed it! Last week, Anthem Blue Cross sent me a diabetic newsletter featuring "Healthy Eating: Oven French Fries" with 52 gm carb! I guess this is fine with ADA.
We, as diabetic patients, need to stand up and make it clear we are no longer willing to accept this misdirection. There is NO EXCUSE for ADA to be pushing anything other than a very low carb diet.
BTW, very low carb is also the treatment of choice for Type 1, as Dr. Bernstein explains in his book (http://www.diabetes-book.com/) - he has been Type 1 for over 60 years and is still in great shape.
I agree
I am newly diagnosed and went to the place I thought would give me good sound information, and I find many complaints about ADA, so I will not be paying any attention to what they say or recommend, SAD!! I wish that people that don't have diabetes would talk or teach people that are like themselves, without diabetes. This bad info could cause many problems and possibly death to a person who truly believes because it is ADA telling them what to eat and what to do to control their diabetes, they do it without even thinking it COULD be wrong info, and then they get worse, What is wrong with this picture? Watch out when you read something check and double check IT IS YOUR LIFE so be careful, and I do appreciate those of you that have written what is right and wrong Thanks to all of you
Thank You for Your Post re: ADA
I am recently diagnosed with Type 2. I am very confused. My sister has been eating and feeding her family healthy foods for 8 years now. She's done lots of research and has tried to help me with some suggestions. They made logical sense to me. On the other hand, the ADA has suggestions (or lack thereof) as well as my docor (who, as much as I love the guy, I'm realizing I have to find someone new)that do not make sense.
I have been feeling like I'm on a boat in rough water for 2 days now. Dizzy, light headed, visions poor. I don't know if my sugar is spiking or too low. I don't know how to tell. My stomach is in pain, likely from the drastic change in diet since 3 weeks ago, or from some crap that I'm eating that's not good for me (ie: Sugar Free whatever).
I am going to Amazon to look for Dr Bernsteins book, per your recommendation.
I want to thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts. It just may save me alot of uncomfortable circumstances and could even Save My Life!!
Blessing,
Susan
Susan...doesn't know if she is high or low
Hi Susan,
It sounds to me like you are low (dizzy, light-headed, poor vision, stomach pain...) these were all symptoms of low blood sugar for me when first diagnosed. What you need to do is 1) check your blood sugar with your meter when these symptoms occur 2) see your ophthamologist right away to have your vision evaluated 3) we found that some of this was my body adjusting to the new medicine I am taking for my type 2 diabetes along with the changes in my eating. Your meter is your best way of knowing if you are high or low.
Good luck! It has been almost 2 months for me and I am still getting the hang of things (balancing my meals - carbohydrates with proteins - so I don't have a huge change in my blood sugar, a huge quick jump and/or drop.)
Best to you,
Sue
PS Be sure to stay hydrated...drink plenty of water! Dehydration can cause some of the dizziness, etc.
I myself would not depend on
I myself would not depend on advice from "Dr. Perstein". Are all of you sure you're not just listening because he's telling you what you think you want to hear??
Everyone is different, there is no "one plan fits all" approach.
Thank You
I feel the same way about what you have written. Not specifically about the ADA, but about the idea of putting us all int the same boat, and giving us a bunch of meds to take and telling us all to do the same thing. I think it is a basic pharmaceutical world and we should try alternatives.
I do have one question. How are your arteries? I love carbs, but it is the healthy kind. Like vegetables and fruits. I eat to much I realized, that is my problem, and don't exercise enough due to other physical problems of aches and pains. But what do you eat to stay full?
My doctor told me to stay at 15 carbs per meal, but then I am hungry all day.
How are you today? Loved your writing.
no carb
the only food that is not a "carb" is either a protein or a fat. Therefore your suggestion that we just stop eating carbs means we go on an all protein and fat diet. That is not going to help our diabetes, our lives or anything else. An apple is a carb, a serving of vegetables is a carb, we need those foods to stay healthy. Please do some more research and you will see what I mean. I am an almost 60 year old type II, have been since 1990 and the disease is progressive. For 5 years all I needed was diet and exercise, then I had to have steroids for other health issues. I am temporarily on insulin right now due to steroid injections. I am happy to be on it and requested it to try and keep my glucose under control so that I do not develop any complications from the diabetes. I watched my father die slowly from complications. My brother and an aunt and 2 uncles are type I, so it just runs in our family, both types. I have learned as much as I can and I keep up with the changes and have for the past 40 years. My little brother was 8 when he was diagnosed, 40 years ago, and they did not even have glucometers then. The needles that were used then were enormous compared to today's 31 gauge. I have seen first hand the damage uncontrolled glucose levels can wreak, I am doing all I can to prevent it, not just for me, but anyone I meet who has this disease. I share the magazines and articles freely and I consult with my doctor on a regular basis to keep this as controlled as possible. Please don't get discouraged.
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