As you go up the periodic table, ionization energies also increase. To continue the example, fluorine lies highest and farthest to the right, so it has the highest ionization energy. Rank the other elements in the group from highest and farthest to the right down to lowest and farthest to the left. This is the order of their ionization energies. To continue the example, fluorine has a higher ionization energy than sulfur, which has a higher ionization energy than lithium. Notice that hydrogen is something of an anomaly -- its ionization energy lies between that of carbon and nitrogen, but it's usually placed in column 1.
Ask your healthcare provider for a referral to a dietitian in your community. In the meantime, you can get started by thinking about how much carb to aim for at each of your meals and any snacks that you may eat. In general, women need about 45 to 60 grams of carb per meal and 15 grams of carb per snack. Men usually need more carb, so a starting goal is 60 to 75 grams of carb per meal and 15 to 30 grams of carb per snack. If you prefer, you can use carb servings instead of grams.
If you decide to use carbohydrate counting as your approach to meal planning, you'll learn how many grams of carbohydrates are in each of the foods you eat and keep track of how much you eat. In the carbohydrate counting method, 15 grams of carbohydrate is equal to one carbohydrate serving. How many grams of carbohydrate you need each day depends on how many calories you need to stay at a healthy weight. A woman who needs about 1,500 calories a day will aim for 180 to 195 grams of carbohydrate or about 12 to 13 carbohydrate servings a day.