The ADA diabetes diet, called the Carb Consistent Diet, was once referred to as the Standard ADA Diet. It is now called the Carb Consistent Diet because it allows you to keep your carb intake evenly distributed throughout your day so your blood sugar does not spike too high or go too low therefore keeping your diabetes under control.
Although there are many variations of the Carb Consistent Diet, the ADA diabetes diet we will be concentrating on is the 1800 calorie diet.
As a diabetic you know that everything you eat affects your blood sugar. Keeping your carb intake steady throughout your day is important. Whether you eat three meals a day or you eat more often you should try to eat the same number of carbs at each meal.
The 1800 calorie diet allows you 180 grams of carbs in a day so if you eat three times a day then you can have 60 grams of carbs at each meal. If you eat five times a day then you need to do the math and divide 180 by 5 and then figure up your meals at only 36 grams of carbs at each meal.
Smaller meals may be the better way to go also if you need to lose a few pounds. Losing weight on the 1800 calorie diet may not be the easiest thing to do and you might consider switching to the 1500 or 1200 calorie diet to lose the weight you want to lose.
Plan on eating 3-5 servings of fruit everyday. What this means is, you should be eating a piece of fruit with every meal. The ADA will tell you that a serving of fruit is a small orange, pear, kiwi, or apple, or two tablespoons of dehydrated fruit like apricots, prunes, cranberries, or cherries.
You should also be sure to add 3-5 servings of vegetables in your meal plan for the day. Once again, this means a vegetable at every meal. Mix it up have a small salad for lunch and eat your broccoli at dinner. Cut up some celery sticks, carrot sticks, and radishes, or a cucumber. Serving sizes of all of these vegetables are not huge, just about a half a cup, so do not think you will be eating mounds of vegetables every day because you won't be.
Whole grains will help you feel fuller longer. Make sure to get a good 5-6 servings each day. Stay away from starchy foods like potatoes, white bread, and white rice, they will make your blood sugars spike unnecessarily. Stick with brown rice and things like lentils and beans to get your whole grain and fiber. Make breads one of the things you eat the least of.
With lean protein sources and low fat or non-fat dairy products rounding out your ADA diabetes diet you should be well on your way to really getting a handle on controlling your blood sugars so you can continue to live a happy, healthy life.
