Diabetes: Using a food guide
How to use a food guide in your diet for diabetes
Here are some ways to start using a food guide for diabetes.
Eat regular meals
Eat 4 to 6 smaller meals and snacks throughout the day to spread your intake of food throughout the day. Plan several meals at a time. Plan to double some recipes and freeze the leftovers to use for other meals. Reuse menu plans.
Use the food guide
The food guide for diabetes can help you to:
- Become familiar with the different food groups. Post a copy of the groups in a food guide for diabetes in a convenient place, such as on your refrigerator door.
- Plan meals to include food from all the groups. A registered dietitian can help you plan the food groups to include in each meal and snack.
- Breakfast usually includes food from the milk, fruit, and grains food groups. Meat and vegetables also may be eaten at breakfast.
- Lunch and dinner usually include foods from most or all food groups.
- Snacks may include only one or two food groups (usually a fruit or bread).
- Milk and milk products are a separate group. If you don't like or can't drink milk, you will need to find a way to add to your diet more calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients that milk provides. Talk with a registered dietitian about how to get enough calcium and other nutrients. If you are pregnant, you need extra calcium and may need to take supplements.
- Eat standard portions. Sometimes what you may consider a serving is much larger than the recommended serving size. For example, if you eat a plateful of spaghetti (about 2 cups), you have eaten 6 servings from the grain group in a food guide. It's easy to eat more servings from a food group than are recommended for a balanced diet. You don't always need to measure and weigh the food you eat, but it may be helpful when you are first learning what makes a standard portion. It can also be helpful to know what a serving size looks like.
Other suggestions
Other suggestions for helping you be successful in using a food guide include:
- Checking your blood sugar level before and 1 hour after a meal to see how food affects your blood sugar.
- Recording what you eat on a food record form. Review your record with your registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator at each visit and whenever you think your plan needs adjusting. See an example of a food record form
(What is a PDF document?).
- Getting more help. The American Diabetes Association has information and a poster on the food guide for people with diabetes. See the Where to Go From Here section below for the address, phone number, and Web site of the American Diabetes Association. However, you will still need to talk with a registered dietitian to set up a plan that fits your needs.
Test Your Knowledge
How many of the food groups are in a breakfast containing 2 ounces cold cereal, 8 ounces 1% milk, and 4 ounces orange juice? (You may need to review the food groups in a guide for diabetes.)
- The breakfast contains food from the grain and milk group only.
- The breakfast contains food from the grain, milk, and fruit groups.
How many servings from each food group are in a breakfast containing 2 ounces cold cereal, 8 ounces 1% milk, and 4 ounces orange juice? (You may need to review the food groups in a guide for diabetes.)
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| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: February 10, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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