You shall also have to bring in adjustments in your diabetic meal plan according to the individual needs of the diabetic patient. When your doctor will chart out your dietary plan, he will take into account factors like oral medications, the actions of these medicines, the timing of these medicines, insulin injections, physical activity etc.

Type 1 diabetic meal plan

People who suffer from type 1 diabetes, should consume every day around thirty five calories for each kg of their body weight. Or for each pound of body weight, you should consume 16 calories.

Type 2 diabetic meal plan

You have to consume 1500 to 1800 calories every day if you are suffering from type 2 diabetes because this will trigger weight loss and you will be able to maintain a body weight that is ideal for you.

The main thing in a diabetic meal plan is to strike that balance between proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

Fats

Fats should provide only 30% of your daily calorie count and not more than that. Another reason why you need to consume fats is because they affect the cholesterol levels. However you should avoid Trans fat and highly saturated fat items as they can result in bad cholesterol. Eat fish oils instead or monounsaturated and omega 3, 6, 9 fatty acids.

Carbohydrates

You can consume carbs like barley, oat porridge, bran, tomatoes, pepper spinach, peas, olives, mushrooms, lettuce, onions, cucumber, celery, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, avocados and beans, rubard, plums, pears, peaches, berries, citrus fruits and apples.

Proteins

Proteins should constitute fifteen to twenty percent of your daily requirement of calories. When you consume this much protein every day, it assists in the prevention of blood sugar spikes and retards the absorption of fat when you digest food.

The main reason why a diabetic patient has to stick to a diabetic meal plan is for keeping a control over the blood sugar levels. When you follow a correct nutritional plan, as charted out by a registered dietician, you can easily manage your blood sugar levels, maintain an ideal weight that is healthy, cut out risks of diet related diseases, heart diseases, strokes, cardiac arrests etc, obesity and you will also be able to meet all your cultural, social, lifestyle and nutritional requirements.

An ideal diabetic meal plan combines together proper levels of carbohydrates, protein and fats to give your body the required amount of nutrition every day; provide essential nutrients, give a burst of energy necessary to perform everyday tasks and help in the release of glucose evenly into the bloodstream every day.

A registered dietician will at first calculate how many calories you need every day and how much calorie should come from each food group and on the basis of these calculations; he or she will tell you which food items you should include in your diabetic meal plan. Another thing that a dietician will take into account is the kind of medications prescribed to you, the timing of those medications, their action, your insulin intake, the lifestyle you lead and your basic nutritional requirement.

In a diabetic meal plan, sixty to fifty percent of the calories should come from carbs, only 30 percent from fats and twenty to ten percent from proteins. Only 10 percent of the calories should come from saturated fats. But it is best to avoid the latter and go for a high fiber diet.

Diabetic meal plan that you should follow

You have to cut back on or eliminate from your diet high calorie food items like full fat ice creams, cakes, cookies, chips, oily, buttery, gravy laden food items, deep fried food items, restaurant food and, fast food like pizza and cup noodles and junk food. One of the leading causes of obesity and diabetes among adolescents is this addiction to junk food and eating out.

Even if you consume healthy food items in greater quantities than you need, you will put on weight and increase the risk of diabetes. You must watch your portion sizes when you eat and don’t take more than 2 servings of each food. If you feel hungry still, then consume fruits like acai berry.

Instead of cooking in solid fats like vanaspati and dalda that can be rich in Trans fats and saturated fats, cook your food in healthy medium like olive oil or canola oil or rice bran or soy oil or sesame seed oil etc.

Throw out sweetened aerated drinks and sweetened fruit juices from your diet and instead drink water, herbal green tea and calorie free diet drinks. If you have to drink fruit juices, then go for unsweetened home made fresh fruit juices.
If you have a sweet tooth, then you can consume non fat cheese, non fat yogurt and doubled skimmed milk. You can sparingly eat diabetic sweet meats, but chocolates, pastries and cakes are a big no no.

Among the meat products which will meet your protein requirements are sirloin, pork loin, chicken, poultry and at times turkey. You have to stay away from red meat of all varieties.

In a diabetic meal plan, all kinds of white flour and flour have to be replaced with whole wheat products and whole grain products.

Diabetic meal plan – snacks

Diabetic patients feel very hungry at times in between meals and feel like snacking. So what kind of snacks can diabetic patients eat? You can consume three cups of light popcorn, any kind of citrus fruit or an ounce of string cheese or half a cup of sugar free dessert or artificially sweetened dessert of your choice or 16 fat free tortilla chips along with salsa sauce. These contain 60 calories each and 15 gm of carbs.

Diabetic meal plan – carbohydrate food items that a diabetic patient can consume

You can consume carbs like tomatoes, spinach, pepper, peas, olives, mushrooms, lettuce, onions, cucumber, celery, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, beans, avocados among fruits and veggies. Other fruits that you can consume are rubard, plum, pears, peaches, berries, citrus fruits of all varieties and apple.

Diabetic meal plan

The carbohydrate food items that a diabetic should avoid are Swede, parsnip, potatoes, broad beans, watermelon, prunes, dates, white rice, doughnuts, pan cakes, muffins, buns, bagels, biscuits, cakes, white bread and dinner rolls, sugar coated cereals and cornflakes.

Diabetic meal plan – protein

A diabetic patient can eat protein items like free range chicken, eggs, veal, pork, beef, lamb and other kinds of non intensively reared lean meats, deskinned free range turkey and chicken, pine nuts, pea nuts, brazil nuts, soy beans, millet, lentils and beans.

Diabetic meal plan – fat

Among the fatty items, a diabetic patient can consume spreadable unsaturated margarine, seeds, nuts, herrings, tuna, mackerel, salmon and other such varieties of oily fish, avocados, sunflower, soybean, sesame, pure olive and such vegetable oils.

And you can sparingly consume coconut oil, battery farmed chicken and eggs, turkey, duck, goose, red meat like pork, lamb, beef, ice cream, yoghurt, cheese, cream and butter and skimmed milk.