No management plan for diabetes could be designed without a clear diet regulations based on reasonable flexibility , proper rules for dieting and being away from the fanatic theories and opinions . the basics of dieting in people with diabetes are :
Dieting should be for life whether the patient is taking drug treatment for diabetes or not , this explains why the dieting plan should be reasonable and flexible since the patient should follow for life .
Never intend to eat much more aiming to compensate for over eating simply by increasing the dose of the drugs .
Diet should include all the essential food stuffs in a balanced way , so it should be a mixed and balanced diet , vitamins and antioxidants should always be considered , however it is preferred to be from natural food sources , try to include many natural colors in your food , for example you may include the red color from potato , the yellow from carrot , the green from lattés….etc
Caloric requirements should be calculated according to the ideal body weight not for the actual weight , also should be calculated according the life style and daily activity of each person .
Count carbohydrates, as far as you can and try always not to be away from your regular eating plan . if you want to eat something out of your plan like a piece of cake or a small chocolate bar, you should do carbohydrate counting and subtract this amount from your total allowance for the coming meal . being a diabetic does not mean that you should throw away all your favorite none healthy food forever , all you have to do is to make some adjustments to minimize the frequency of eating such foods and also to do carbohydrate counting as mentioned above , this means that healthy eating plan actually may include almost any food, as long as the overall plan and total carbohydrate counting is ok . do not rely totally on what is called healthy food , in fact eating too much of this healthy food may raise blood sugar much more than expected .
Multiple small portions meals are the best , a diabetic may eat about six meals a day , three main meals breakfast , lunch and dinner with two snacks in between and a bed time snack .
Try to follow the nutrition pyramid as far as you can , be always aware for avoiding extra fats , the pyramid tells you which food you should limit and which you may eat normally , its principle is very easy : be careful when you are going up to the tip of the pyramid , and be more flexible when going down to its base .
Golden Rule in Dieting remember always this statement : instead of giving me a fish to eat now , teach me how to do fishing so I can eat forever , you should always rely on yourself for designing your meal plans and deciding what to eat , forget about the hundreds of books , tapes and papers with fixed menus for every day , you should only learn by hard how to eat good , you should know the principles of good eating but you should be the one who decide what to eat , learn how to seek an advice on eating or in a certain food , then be your own dietitian .
