Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: example of 1800 calorie diabetic diet

Question:
Four days ago I was diagnosed with T2 (non insulin dependent) diabetes. My first reaction was anger! I thought I was following healthy eating habits being somewhat vegetarian, eating no red meat and trying the keep to the American Heart Associations less thna 30% calories from fat guide lines. Seems to have been to little or no avail. Anyway, here I am, like it or not. My doctor wants me to see a dietitian for a menu and see if diet alone will offer control control.. I have no problem with seeing the dietitian but from my past experience, after my heart attack five years ago, is that going to a dietitian without at least a basic knowledge of your situation is a waste of time. You get a lot of books and admonitions to eat a healthy well balanced diet and go away still not knowing what to do. So I have collected info from the ADA and have been lurking here over the weekend. I have downloaded the ADA exchange lists and have a book on nutrition for diabetics. I have seen no mention of the exchange lists here. I assume because they are so rudimentary to the diabetic lifestyle after a while you take them for granted. For me they are a new and some what bewildering challenge. Being an engineer by profession I relate to numbers so have begun trying to understand the exchange list's relationships. OK, now for the question, or the first one anyway. I hope I can explain my dilemma. It is clear to me but I find it difficult to explain to others. Is each list in and of itself important or is it the total carbs, protein, fat and calories of all the lists as related to a specific menu that is important? I know the lists represent the holy grail of a balanced diet but in the real world I wonder how many people achieve this. I know I don't. Using as an example a 1,800 calorie/day dinner menu. The book I have says this should consist the following exchanges. The ADA list information defines each exchange in terms of carb, prot, fat, cal. Following is my understanding of these as they relate to the above. (each exchange/total for above menu) 3 lean meat exchanges, carb 0/0; prot 7/21; fat 3/9; cal 55/165 2 bread exchanges, carb 15/30, prot 3/6; fat trace; cal 80/160 2 vegetable exchanges, carb 5/10; prot 2/4; fat 0/0; cal 25/50 2 fruit exchanges, carb 15/30; prot 0/0; fat 0/0; cal 60/120 2 fat exchanges, carb 0/0; prot 0/0, fat 5/10; cal 45/90 Totals - carb 70; prot 31; fat 19; cal 585 My question is if I eat a combination of foods from the example of 1800 calorie diabetic dietlists that as a whole do not exceed the totals, am in compliance? Example, if I do not eat anything from the fruit list can I use the 30 carbs and 120 calories somewhere else, say the fat list?

Answer:
First off, that is just an example. I am on an 1800 calorie diet and that is not the breakdown that I eat. But bear in mind that the diet I am on allows me to lose 1/2 pound per week. At least it did until some other healthy problems cropped up that seem to be impeding the weight loss. :( My diet is as follows: Breakfast: 1 protein 2 bread 1 fat Lunch and dinner: 1-2 protein 3 bread 2 vegetable 1 fat Bedtime snack: 2 bread 1 protein Note that I do not eat any fruit or drink milk. I severely dislike most fruit and it also makes me very sick to my stomach. Ditto for milk. Yeah, I know I could get that Lacto-Free stuff, but I hate it so badly that I won't drink it. I do use a bit now and then in cooking...say for mashed potatoes...and I can tolerate that. But I would never drink it or put it on cereal. Now here's the part you need to know. Bread, milk and fruit are all interchangeable in terms of exchanges because the carbs are similar. I realize that milk has a few less carbs and does have a bit of protein, but not enough to make much of a difference. But... You must also keep in mind that while the carbs are the same, the nutrients might not be. If you forgo milk, you are losing out on calcium. So you need to make that up elsewhere or take a supplement. Some diabetics eat no fruit at all because it spikes their blood sugar. So most dieticians aren't going to put up much of a fuss if you don't want to eat it. Fruit contains not only important vitamins, but phytochemials and antioxidants. So try to eat plenty of assorted vegetables...especially those rich in vitamin C, like peppers and tomatoes.