Diabetic Menu

How One Woman Eats With Diabetes

"How did you lose your weight? That's a question this woman hears a lot these days. She has lost 60 pounds and her truthful answer is always: diet and excercise. But her response lacks one thing. And this might be the most important factor she had: motivation.

Until her blood test in December 2005 she didn't know she had diabetes. And from that day forward she changed her life so her body would be much healthier. As we all know, food and diabetes are so entwined. There isn't another chronic ailment that can be controlled and managed with what you eat, or don't eat. Off course there are medication supplements in tablet and injection forms, but the most important role lies with food.

When she started her diet, she experienced the same food cravings and hunger pangs from the diet as everyone else who changes their eating patterns. The challenge and temptation she endured was just as big as for the next dieter, but she never explained that her motivation came from here diabetes. She wasn't ill and she wanted to give credit to the 1800 calorie diet and exercise pattern she followed. She didn't set a goal, but let her body find it's own ways.

She got help from the Saint Francis Diabetes Care Center's director and certified instructor Julie Burns and the registered dietitian Rich Packard to understand how to manage her condition with a diet and a diabetic menu plan. After hearing that insulin wasn't necessary, her second relief came when she heard that there wasn't anything she couldn't eat. She just had to monitor the times and what she ate. She went the carb choice approach, with also keeping an eye on calories and fat per serving. For her it was the easiest diet to follow. She had her meals and snacks at a set time each day, and although every food group was allowed, she opted to eat larger amounts of vegetables and fresh fruits. Sugar substitutes didn't find their way to her pantry as she experienced an adverse reaction to them.