Diabetic 1000 Calorie Diet

A diabetic diet focuses on making healthy choices to maintain a normal blood sugar level. While going on a 1,000-calorie diet can help you lose weight and may reduce the effects of diabetes, consuming only 1,000 calories a day severely restricts how much you can eat. To jump start your weight-loss effort, follow it for a short time only.

Know Your Target Weight

• Before you start any diet, talk to your doctor, who will tell you if you are healthy enough to go on a low-calorie diet. Your doctor will also help you to determine your target weight. Get a copy of a 1,000-calorie diabetic diet from your doctor.

Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate

• Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function--your basal metabolic rate. If you consume more calories than your body can use, it will store the extra calories as fat. To calculate the amount of calories you need to maintain basal metabolic rate, multiply your weight by 10. This will give you the calories your body uses at rest. To determine the calorie intake that you need at your target weight, make the same calculation with your target weight. For example, if your target weight is 180 pounds, multiply 180 by 10. Your body will need 1,800 calories a day to maintain a weight of 180 pounds.

Make Healthy Choices

• To maintain a healthy blood sugar level, 80 to 130mg/dl, make healthy choices in your diet. Avoid high sugar foods and processed foods. Eat as many fresh foods as possible. Boil, broil or bake your meats. Add beans and tofu products in your diet for extra protein. Lean meats, beans and tofu products can help to limit your fat intake. Low-fat dairy products are also a good choice to help limit fat but still receive necessary vitamins and minerals. Use spices and seasonings in place of salt and sugar. This will help you to avoid fluid retention and a rise in your blood sugar.

  A 1,000-calorie diabetic diet contains 4 servings of starch, 2 servings of fruit, 3 or more servings of vegetables, 1 serving of milk, 5 ounces of protein and 2 servings of fat.

  Starches include pasta, bread, corn, peas and rice. A serving of starch is generally 1/2 cup or one slice of bread. A serving of fruit is a small banana, medium apple or 1/2 cup of canned or frozen fruit. Good vegetable choices are non-starchy selections like greens, carrots, green beans, broccoli or cabbage. A serving is usually 1/2 of a cooked vegetable. One serving of milk is 1 cup. A cup of low-fat yogurt, 1/2 cup of regular yogurt or 1/3 cup of cottage cheese can be substituted for milk. A serving of protein is the size of a deck of cards or the size of your palm. Fish, poultry or two tbsp. of peanut butter are good protein choices. For your fat exchange you may have one tbsp. of olive oil, one tsp. of margarine, eight large olives or 1/4 cup of nuts. You may supplement your diet with "free foods" such as lettuce, tomatoes, raw vegetables, diet gelatin or puddings, sugar-free beverages and artificial sweeteners.