Top 3 Diabetic Dieting Tips

Diabetic Dieting Tips

Dieting is already a tough road to walk, but being a diabetic can seem like it makes things that much harder. A regular diet is just watching what you eat and making sure you get your exercise, but as a diabetic you need to watch not just your calories, but also have to watch your carbs and manage your blood sugars on top of having to balance your diet which can be a lot to juggle! Whether you’re just starting to decide on a diet plan or are looking for a way to improve one you’re already working on, here are some easy diabetic dieting tips to help you on your way.

1. Don’t just balance one thing.
A dangerous, and surprisingly common, mindset to fall into is to just watch your carbs as a diabetic. Since those have the greatest direct impact on your blood sugar they tend to be what you watch the most carefully, but that can be dangerous. Make sure you’re balancing protein alongside your carb intake to make sure your body is healthy and happy with what you’re putting into it. Did you know that too much protein behaves just like sugar in your body? Yes, if you limit carbs and wonder why the blood sugar levels still rise, it’s most probably protein that is the culprit!

2. When you pick carbs, look at the glycemic index.
It’s a fact of life that you have to eat more than zero grams carbs if you want to go about your day. When you’re deciding what kinds of carbs to have in your meal you should check the glycemic index. Try to pick lower impact carb options that fit well with your meals and snacking. Just because you have to eat them doesn’t mean you have to eat the ones that are going to be bad for you. In every case, find out the level of your individual carb tolerance. Some people can handle only 10 grams carbs per day, when some can consume 50 grams or even more.

3. Don’t skip out on food. Ever.
It’s a traditional “weight loss/diet” tip to eat a little less or eat less often to avoid gaining or help lose weight. As a diabetic, that’s simply not an option. If you want to stay healthy as a diabetic, you need to follow your meal schedule to maintain a safe and healthy level of blood sugar. Skipping meals or planned snacks just to dodge a few calories can send your blood sugar in a dangerous direction without much warning, especially if you are already burning a lot of calories and carbs through exercise. They key to diabetic dieting is to find a balance between food and exercise. Eating three times a day is a good rule of thumb. Eat full meals, real food and unprocessed, clean food. If you need, eat a snack but try to avoid them if you absolutely don’t need to eat. Monitor your blood sugar levels often and learn how they behave and how they react to certain foods.

Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by worrying about your diabetic symptoms on top of trying to lose weight. If you’re worried about finding a plan that works for you, try making an appointment with a nutritionist who can help you develop a meal plan that will help with managing your diabetes and still reaching your weight loss goals. Just remember, if the nutritionist is recommending the mainstream lean-meat-brown-rice-no-saturated-fats-plenty-of-fruits-and-veggies diet for you, run away quickly as she is nothing but a parrot who repeats the false mantra that the Big Food and Big Pharma has taught her. Find a nutritionist or doctor, who understands the importance of low-carbohydrate diet when treating and reversing diabetes. If you don’t believe, try yourself: you can starve your guts out with the first mentioned diet, or live balanced and healthy life with normal (yes! normal!) blood sugar levels with the latter one. Your blood sugar levels don’t react to fat, so why on earth should you be afraid of eating fat? Bloody thing, forget the damn cholesterol, saturated fats lowers your bad cholesterol levels, while vegetable oils and carbs rise them! Yes, the level of the good cholesterol might rise if you eat saturated fats, but it means that you are healthy and for example you won’t suffer from Alzheimer’s! And remember, people with low total cholesterol levels die younger… Do you want to be one of them? Yup, thought so! Say no to statins, if you want to stay healthy and sane!

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