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Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy

Adjusting your diet for diabetes can be overwhelming. Initially, it may seem that you can't eat any of your favorite foods. However, with three useful tools, you can create nutritious and delicious meal plans. The American Diabetes Association recommends "plate counting," "carb counting" and the "diabetes food pyramid" for planning what you will eat.

  1. Plate Counting

    • Using the simple plate counting, or "rate your plate," visualize a plate of food in segments according to food group. In order to create an ideal plate, draw a picture of a plate on a piece of paper. Draw a line dividing the plate in half. Divide one half again, into two segments. In the full half of the plate, draw pictures of vegetables. Fill one of the quarters with carbohydrate sources and the other with protein sources such as meat or eggs. Use this drawing as a guide for how to structure your meals. Ensure that you do not exceed your carbohydrate limits and that the portions conform to your appropriate recommended serving sizes.

      To easily visualize the proper portion sizes, think of your food as a group of recognizable everyday objects. The American Diabetes Association suggests that you think of an ounce of cheese as four dice, a half-cup of rice as half of a baseball and 3 ounces of meat as a deck of cards. As you get used to portion size, you will find object references that work best for you.

    Carb Counting

    • Carb counting allows you to eat a certain amount of carbohydrates as long as you first give yourself enough insulin to process those carbs. Since people's bodies vary, the ratio of ingested carbs to insulin units varies. Talk to your doctor before you engage in carb counting to help you figure out the ideal ratio. Once you find the ratio and know the amount of insulin you are allowed to administer in a given period of time, construct meals that work with the numbers. For instance, let's say one unit of insulin will allow your body to process 25 grams of carbohydrates. Read nutrition labels or look up the nutritional data on a website such as NutritionData.com. Select a meal that has up to 25 grams of carbohydrates. Remember that nutritional labels give information based on serving size. Stick to the appropriate serving size as you count your carbs.

      Carb counting also works in reverse. Think of the meal you want to eat. Use nutritional labels and online sources to estimate the carbs in that meal. Then apply the carb/insulin unit ratio to determine how many units of insulin you would need to process those carbs. As long as the insulin units are within your doctor's recommended guidelines, you can administer the appropriate amount of insulin and eat the meal you want.

    Diabetes Food Pyramid

    • Use the diabetes food pyramid as a map for your meal planning. This pyramid, a version of the classic nutrition pyramid, differs in that it defines food primarily based on carbohydrate and protein counts. In a diabetes pyramid, the large base section is comprised of foods you should eat the most: breads, grains and starches. The next largest segment is divided evenly between fruits and vegetables. Farther up the pyramid, one-third of the segment is made of milk or cheese and two-thirds includes protein sources like meat and tofu. At the very top of the pyramid is the fats and sweets category that most people with diabetes should eat sparingly if at all. Based on your carbohydrate limits and caloric needs, each segment of the pyramid indicates different serving sizes and quantities.

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