If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you may be desperate to find an effective diet plan that will help you lose weight and manage your blood sugar levels over the long term.
Research shows that by reducing inflammation, balancing your blood sugar, and eating a healthy diet, you can reverse diabetes within just seven days! Learn more in this article on diet plans for diabetes.
What is the diabetic diet
The diabetic diet is a balanced diet that helps to control blood sugar levels and weight.
– Breakfast – Oatmeal with almond milk and fresh fruit
– Snack – Pita bread with hummus
– Lunch – Quinoa with tempeh and black beans
– Snack – String cheese or peanuts
– Dinner – Lentil soup and grilled chicken breast
– Dessert – Rice pudding
Diabetic Meal Plans
Day 1- Breakfast: Oatmeal with berries and a tablespoon of honey. Lunch: A spinach salad with grilled chicken or tuna.
Dinner: Grilled salmon or shrimp skewers served over a bed of rice with steamed vegetables on the side.
Snacks: Fruit smoothie made from half a banana, one cup of strawberries, one cup of blueberries and half a cup of almond milk.
Day 2- Breakfast: Egg white omelet with salsa and avocado.
Lunch: Vegetable soup with whole grain crackers.
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast served over a bed of quinoa with sautéed broccoli on the side.
Snacks: A small handful of almonds or walnuts mixed into mixed nuts trail mix to add protein to your snack without adding extra sugar.
Exercise Daily
Exercise is a great way to release some of that pent-up energy that might be causing your problems.
Research has shown the benefits of exercise on overall health and mood are well worth it. Exercise can also help with weight loss which will benefit diabetes management in the long run.
The key is finding an exercise you love and sticking with it! Some people find they need to spend more time exercising than others if they want to lose weight and keep their blood sugar levels balanced.
For instance, if you’re really overweight then cutting back on what you eat for breakfast may not make as much of a difference as changing up how many calories you burn during the day.
Finding something like running or spinning may work better for someone who wants cardio while lifting weights may suit someone who wants strength training or cross-training.
Getting out there and trying different things should help point you in the right direction!
Stress Management
Stress is not only unhealthy for your physical health, but it can also have a negative effect on your mental health.
Stress can cause anxiety and depression in some people and lead to insomnia or nightmares in others.
The effects of stress on the body include high blood pressure, increased heart rate and elevated cholesterol levels.
Increased cortisol levels are linked to weight gain because the hormone suppresses appetite-regulating hormones.
With so many adverse effects of stress on the human body, it is important to find ways to manage stress effectively.
Experts recommend practicing relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing exercises, yoga and guided imagery.
You could try a few minutes each day to focus on nothing but your breath and be mindful of the moment you’re in.
Yoga stretches, such as cat/cow poses (or any pose that opens up the chest) can help release tension from tight muscles.
A cup of tea before bedtime may help relax you enough to sleep well through the night without waking up too early when thoughts start racing about things that need doing tomorrow.
Eat More Often Than Three Times a Day
This is a crucial step to managing your diabetes. Every meal and snack you eat should include protein and carbohydrates with each meal. The best thing to do is to eat five small meals per day. This will reduce the likelihood of developing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
1) Breakfast should be something that includes a protein and carbohydrate food source.
2) Lunch should be hearty and include a protein source as well as a carbohydrate food source such as rice or potatoes.
3) Snacks are important because they help keep blood sugar levels stable throughout the day.
Substituting Starches
Cut out all starches. This includes bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and corn. Starches are broken down into sugar by the body and this is why they cause high blood sugar levels.
The goal of this diet is to reduce inflammation and balance blood sugar levels by eliminating inflammatory foods like starches.
You can still eat fruits as long as they are not too sweet. However, you should avoid fruit juice and dried fruits because they contain a lot of added sugars that can cause high blood sugar levels too.
If you really want something to snack on then try eating nuts or seeds (almonds are great). Oats make a great breakfast cereal but they should be boiled until they’re soft.
Beans can be eaten as long as they’re cooked well. If you’re craving carbs then try having green vegetables like broccoli, kale or spinach instead.
Restrict Alcohol Consumption
If you are going to drink alcohol, be sure to drink smart and consume no more than one or two drinks per day.
Alcohol can raise your blood sugar levels in the short term. That’s not the only bad news for those of us who enjoy an occasional cocktail with dinner.
Alcohol is high in calories and can lead to weight gain if consumed excessively.
If you have diabetes or prediabetes (a condition that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes), alcohol should be limited because it can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels and contribute to weight gain.
It is also important to note that when drinking alcohol, it takes the liver about one hour to process each alcoholic beverage.
In other words, if you drink too many alcoholic beverages on any given day, you may not fully recover before drinking again the next day.
Drink Responsibly: The first rule for responsible drinking is never to have more than three alcoholic beverages on any given day; four at most.
