How To Determine Exchange Diet Calories

In order to maintain or stabilize your blood pressure, which is especially important for diabetic patients, you must consume the appropriate amount of food and the appropriate kind of foods. Theoretically this sounds simple but can be quite difficult when you are dealing with so many various kinds of foods, serving sizes, and the portions that Americans are accustomed to consuming. It's no secret that American food portions tend to be larger than those in most other countries worldwide. It's important to not to view the diabetic exchange program as a diet, but as a lifestyle change.

Things You'll Need

• Diabetes exchange list

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Instructions

• 1

  Utilize a diabetic food exchange list. These lists can be found on several online websites. For example, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides an extensive list that is viewable to the public on their website (see the link in Resources). This list breaks down food into groups such as very lean protein, fat- free and very low fat milk, and vegetables. The website list suggests that one serving of vegetables contains a mere 25 calories per serving. The serving sizes are the main thing to watch out for as serving sizes vary between foods, even foods within the same food group. For example, a one half cup of cooked vegetables is considered a serving, while one whole cup of raw vegetables is considered a serving even though they are technically located within the same group.

• 2

  Evaluate your body type in correlation with your exercise level. Take into account both your height and your weight. If you are considered a small to medium sized woman, you should consume between 1200-1600 calories per day whether you are trying to lose weight or not. This caloric intake, when used with the Diabetic Caloric Exchange Chart, should help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, if you are trying to lose weight, you will obviously need to consume an amount of calories toward the low end of this spectrum, anywhere between 1200-1400 calories. The experts at DiabetesWellBeing.com advise most male diabetic patients and larger women to consume between 1600-2000 calories per day. Heavy exercisers, male and female, who are medium to large in size, should consume between 2000-2400 calories in order to maintain a healthy weight.

• 3

  Consult your physician or dietician as they can help you construct a meal plan that is ideal for your gender, activity level, height and weight and overall health. Your dietician can also educate you on the proper method of food exchange that makes this diet so useful to diabetic patients. The diet was designed so that you can exchange foods within a group with ease. For example, this diet helps you to accurately trade out a serving of green beans for a serving of spinach without under or overeating. This is important as over or under eating can drastically throw off your diet and affect your blood pressure negatively.