Diabetic Meal Plan

Type 2
1

Can somebody help me?

I have been searching for a diabetic meal plan online with no success.

I have to eat 150 - 195 carbs per day. I am type 2 D.

I am new to this and am waiting on an appt with
my dietician. In the meantime i need to find
some meal plans. The Canadian Diabetes Assoc
is not a good resource :( I tried their site
and they had very little.

Thanks if you can help :) Denise

2

Well, different people will give you different advice on what is a good diet. I actually applaud the advice you were given, 150-195 g of carbs/day is lower than most people are advised by so called dieticians and diabetes educators. Many of us find that we do best eating even lower amounts of carbs.

That being said, I would recommend that you try to eat a low carb diet. The Atkins diet is very popular and many people think it works well. There is a new book called "The New Atkins for You" that is very good. There are many sources for good low carb recipes, you will find many here and many on-line. Personally, I don't do meal plans (I don't really diet either), I just establish the rules of the road for what I eat.

What you will discover is that you are going to get conflicting advice on diet. What you find here is likely to upset a dietician, so just keep that in mind.

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3

The bloodsugar101 website has a good explanation of the "Eat to Your Meter" system where you test to find out what foods are causing you problems and then reduce quantities or eliminate them completely. Using this system you find a custom meal plan that will work with your body and your D. Using this system I was able to get my blood sugar under control very quickly.

Another good resource is the Low Carb Dietician website. The author of this site is a registered dietician and Certified diabetes educator who has blood sugar issues of her own. The blog on the website is packed full of useful information.

And of course spend some time on tuD, using the search bar you can find lots of discussions that will help you understand the issues involved so you can ask intelligent questions when you do talk with professionals. There is a lot of controversy concerning diet and T2 and the only way to make sense of the conflicting advice you will get is to educate yourself so you can make intelligent choices going forward.

4

I would be very weary of the advice given to you by your dietician. After being dx'ed with T1D 2 yrs ago, I was very anxious to see the local 'nutritionist' to see what foods were good for me. all they did was crunch some numbers on their calculator and tell me I should eat 330 carbs/day based on age, weight, activity level, etc. I would be 1/2 dead right now if I was still following their advice.
Just stick mainly to meat, vegetables, eggs, nuts, seeds. Coconut flour is a healthy low-carb substitute for regular flour. I avoid grains at all costs due to the wild swing in blood sugars they create, but this may not be necessary for you-trial and error will tell. If you search for 'paleo recipes' online, you will find a pile of really good meals that are great for all diabetics(no grains, refined foods, simple carbs).

I try to stick to about 100 carbs/day from mainly vegetables and seeds/nuts, and am able to maintain very tight control eating this way.

5

Denipink:
Newly diagnosed is a very hard time in so many ways. I was so stressed in my first month or so as I learned my way around the suggested (ADA) diet, and learned to test my blood sugar, and watched out for lows.
Whether you go with the recommended carbs or lower, you will need to measure & monitor your carbs. Keeping a food log for a few weeks may be helpful. I suggest figuring out ways to eat & enjoy more (non-starchy) vegetables. These will become a mainstay of your healthy eating plan.
Good luck!

6

For me, not all carbs are "bad." I eat measured amounts of whole grains. Beans especially give me good energy (protein, fiber) & don't spike my sugar. I love a salad with 1/2 C beans & cheese.

7

Well I’m a total newbie as well but I’ve a research nut so I have read everything I can in two weeks:). I’ve gone paleo. Ck out diabetic-warrior.net. I don’t know about your situation but I’ve got nothing to lose with my bgs! Good luck:)

Amber

8

Every physiology is distinct and individual. You are fortunate to be able to eat whole grains or beans. For me, those things are deadly. Might just as well eat a bowl of sugar.

9

I actually do eat 150-195 carbs per day but I'm T1 and pretty insulin sensitive. If you're going to eat a medium carb diet you should try to spread the carbs out during the day and make sure that you're eating them with both fat and protein.

My go to breakfast is a couple of egg beaters, sprouted grain toast with peanut butter, an apple and 1% milk (in that order so that I have a full stomach before the fruit hits).

I have also found that quinoa is a much easier grain to deal with than rice. But that may only be me.

Maurie

Whatever you do, test your blood sugar after two hours and if you're spiking too much cut back on the carbs. Eating to your meter and your waistline is the way to go.

Maurie

10

Hi everybody! Thanks so much for all of your thoughtful remarks.

I am doing ok although my bs is testing a bit high. I am eating good i think. They call the way i eat Flexitarian but my goal is to eat gluten free and vegan. I am getting there slow but sure.

I checked out Paleo but decided i did not want to eat meat. I have heard a lot of good stuff about Paleo.

Thanks for the links! I will check them out.

Sure hope i can learn to connect all the dots soon. Diabetes is not something to fool around with.

I bought the book by Dr. Neal Barnard -- How to Reverse Diabetes and i am looking forward to reading it.

Hope you all have a great night! Denise

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11

check diabetic Mediterranean Diet Website of Doctor Parker. I have found his avdice to be helpful.

12

Great site! Great info!

Many thanks :)

13

Hope it"s ok to give outside websites but Sparkpeople.com can taylor a menu just for you. You tell them you want a diabetic menu with 150-195 carbs, xx fat, xx protein etc and they will create menus for you. Very simple.

15

Hi, I am new to the group. I know this is 5 years old, but I wanted to give you my advice.

I encourage your plant-based, flexitarian type diet. The Mediterranean diet has shown some benefits with T2, especially because it centers on a variety of whole foods, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, and good fats. It has limited amounts of processed foods, which is quick to be digested and then spikes blood sugar.

In general, a low glycemic index diet is good to strive for. Have you considered supplements to use as well? Like chromium, bitter melon, vitamin c, cinnamon, or Biotin? These can help level blood sugar.

Also, I am sure you know, but exercise is a great tool as well:)

Likely the dietician that you see has been educated in what the government suggests. I am not a dietician, but I think they can get into trouble if they stray from the recommendations that they learned in school.

However, you may find an educated nutritionist or dietician that thinks in terms of lower carbs. I think you just have to find the one that aligns with your beliefs.

In Wellness:)

16

I was diagnosed with type 2 in the spring of 1998, in other words more than 20 years ago. From day one I was determined to avoid medications and insulin and go the route of lifestyle modifications. I was very fortunate in that I had a doctor who was willing to work with me on that and not just write another prescription and yell Next! to his nurse.
For the most part I was successful, in that I managed without medications for 16 years and since then have been on a low dose Glyberide and metformin combo. The latter was not surprising as diabetes type 2 is a progressive illness which sooner or later catches up with you no matter your efforts.
Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way.

  1. Over time it is not possible to manage type 2 with diet alone, although low carb diets do show some impressive results in the short term. However, both my endocrinologist and my GP say they haven’t had a single patient who has been able to maintain a purely ketogenic or lowcarb/nocarb diet over time. The main reason: It just got too boring. I know there are those who will beg to differ as there are no rules without exception. Keep in mind how popular the Atkins diet was until suddenly all the low carb bars and cereals disappeared from grocery shelves because nobody was buying them any longer. What worked for me for 16 years, maintaining hba1cs in the low to mid fives and occasionally even below 5, was limiting my carbs to those that are very low on the GI scale (like squash, many vegetables, rye bread, porridge made from steelcut oats etc.) and consistently, almost religiously going for a brisk half hour walk after each of my three major meals during the day.
  2. That regime was disrupted abruptly when I had a sudden cardiac arrest that left me with brain injury because of oxygen deprivation and going through a year of rehab. When I recovered (unlike in the old days, when doctors believed that replacing dead brain cells was impossible, we now know that to not be true.) Once again as I slowly came back to life and started managing my diabetes type 2 I discovered that I needed a combination of exercise (brisk walking is perfect!) and diet. However my diabetes had progressed and I am on this low dose medication plan.
  3. My mealplan now includes three meals a day. Some people find that they are most carb-sensitive in the morning and go low carb at breakfast and eat more carbs later in the day. For others the numbers rise faster after dinner so they may go low or no carb at suppertime. Only your blood sugar meter can tell you what you should do,
    4 Portion control is important not only to avoid carb overload but because type 2 diabetics need to be watching their weight, That car tire stuck around the belly reduces insulin sensitivity and most people are happy if they can get rid of it,
  4. As for the Glycemic Index which classifies carbs based on how quickly they are converted to blood sugar, I’ve found it only really works in synergy with a brisk walk after each meal. Otherwise if you plunk yourself down in front of the tv after dinner and stay there until bedtime all the low GI does is delay the blood sugar spike until later. But if you go for that brisk walk, the slower conversion allows your body to burn off carbs from your dinner and prevent those undesirable blood sugar spikes.
  5. Tip: The holy grail of the GI index is barley, which can be used as a substitute for rice and pasta as well as a hot breakfast cereal or a tasty soup ingredient. On a scale of 1 - 100 where potatoes are around 80, bread is 50-60, Uncle Bens converted rice is 40 and Kellogg’s cornflakes are a shocking 120, barley scores a lowly 21 meaning it is one of the slowest converting carbs you can get.
    Anyhow that’s my story and since we are all different I am not suggesting anyone type 2 try to replicate my history but rather take whatever tidbits of information you find useful and combine that with your personal profile and the advice your dietician and doctor may have given you.
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17

I agree with Vancouver Sailor. I have been T2 for about 10 years now and have just had to add Jardiance to my medications. I think my higher blood sugars were caused by some tendon damage to my ankle which caused me to rest my foot a lot. Less exercise equals higher blood sugars for me.

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19

I am quite sure that I would have been less likely to survive the heart attack I had if I hadn’t been eating low carb. My husband agrees. It is so worth doing. And once you figure it out, it is perfectly satisfying. The low carb recipes available are delightfully satisfying! You can do it!

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