Start with breakfast. You should not skip morning meals. If you miss breakfast you might incur low blood sugar. Your body falls into a starvation mode. You may be irritable and your energy drops. When you finally eat, you may devour too much. Spread your meals into manageable feedings about every three hours. Tastes can be changed and habits altered by making low sugar choices in several small meals through the day.
Eating frequently is an effective plan for an infant, child, athlete, or diabetic. A study in The New England Journal Of Medicine showed that over a three week period a group of men ate three meals a day totalling about three thousand calories. Several weeks later they again ate three thousand calories each day, but this time they dispersed their meals into seventeen small ones. Their food was absorbed more efficiently, and the nutrients were utilized more effectively when they were grazing throughout the day. In addition, their metabolic rates increased and so did their energy levels. Eat six small meals a day and in three weeks you may lose your rumbling stomach, be less irritable, and have increased energy.
Develop a healthy lifestyle with exercise and eating. Choose foods your body needs, not what some television commercial fools you into believing. It is easy to become addicted to high sugar foods that have little nutritional value. Baked chicken, tuna, brown rice, and potatos may not compare to ice cream, candy bars, and cotton candy until you begin to listen to your body. In one study, subjects were permitted to choose from a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, cakes, and ice cream. At first most chose desserts, but within weeks they craved fruits and vegetables.
Most of us grab something quick on the way out the door such as peanut butter and jelly on processed white bread with a bag of chips. Dinner is often microwaved from the freezer. Snacks are sugar-laden juice boxes and white flour crackers. And we expect to lose weight. Eating wholesome food requires preparation. One solution is to pre-prepare nourishing foods. Fill plastic bags with nutritious sandwiches, dry cereal, graham crackers, and a variety of ready to eat fruits and vegetables. Preparing edibles in advance ensures that food is always on hand so low blood sugar won't trigger visions of candy bars and ice cream.
Nutritionist Keith Klein advises us to make better-bad choices. Instead of storing ice cream in the freezer, purchase individual servings of sugar free frozen yogurt. Rather than squandering carbohydrates on a single cookie, enjoy a hefty bowl of sugar free pudding. If you crave a candy bar increase your dose of regular insulin according to your physicians recommendations. Another trick is to phone in a special-order to your favorite restaurant. If your blood sugar is high, give your injection at home and by the time you arrive your dinner will be ready. You will need to be prepared for a low blood sugar if dinner is late by carrying crackers or juice to tide you over. Ask that your foods be prepared without additional sugar. Dressings and sauces can be ordered on the side to regulate carbohydrates. Your wait person may more readily heed your special order if you explain that you are diabetic.You must individualize your eating to your activity. When you increase the frequency, intensity, or duration of activity, add extra carbohydrates to your pre- and post-workout meals or decrease insulin with your physician's advice.You might try about fifty supplementary carbohydrates for each hour you plan to exercise. Your energy level soars when you preserves your muscle glycogen stores through systematic snacking. If you fail to increase your carbohydrates your blood sugar plummets and you may feel droopy. You may feel weak or uncoordinated when carbohydrate sources are low leading to possible injury. You need fuel for repair and to provide nourishment.
Your thirst mechanism may malfunction during exercise. Bodyweight may drop a few pounds before feeling thirsty. You may dehydrate or experience hypoglycemia during a workout. When you work out, your blood sugar generally decreases. To prevent this sip carbohydrate juices or sports drinks between exercises. Carbohydrate sports drinks and juices are quick energy. Look for a sports drink with between ten and twenty grams of carbohydrates per eight ounce serving. Sometimes they are too sugary, so you may dilute them with water. Make sure your drink has equal amounts of potassium and sodium (about fifty milligrams in an eight ounce serving). A variety of sports drinks are on the market. Be sure you enjoy the taste (you will drink it if you like it.)
Cereals, energy bars, and meal replacement drinks such as MET-Rx are quick, convenient, nutritious, and a delicious way to add carbohydrates to your food plan. Eat fortified cereals that are high in fiber and vitamins. Shredded Wheat contains zero grams of refined sugar and is nutrient dense. Add an artificial sweetener for taste. Sugar Smacks, Cap'n Crunch, and Frosted Flakes contain between thirteen and fifteen grams of empty sugar calories.
Keep track of the total number carbohydrates. Most nutritionists recommend any food less than twenty calories is free.
Here is a sample menu:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, low fat milk, juice and toast. Mini-meal: One half cup of sugar free yogurt and half a bagel.
Lunch: Turkey sandwich on low calorie bread with a serving of fruit and vegetables.
Mini-meal: Fat free cheese and carrots.
Dinner: Baked chicken, rice, green beans, and sugar free jello.
Mini-meal: Graham crackers, milk.
Tips on eating with or without diabetes:
Schedule meals in advance. Become sensitive to your energy needs. Do not skip meals and snacks. Choose wholesome foods. A good late night snack is a low-sugar cereal with low-fat milk. Fuel your body every few hours. Special order at restaurants. Buy large quantities of bulk foods when they are on sale. Make small changes: low sugar jelly on toast instead of regular, mustard on sandwiches instead of ketchup, non-sugar frozen desserts instead of high sugar frozen desserts, and use non-sugar salad dressing.
