Diabetes and Diet Posted by Jade Venhaus on August 23, 2019 Your doctor has likely told you to maintain a healthy diet to ensure better diabetes management. But you’re probably thinking, what does a “healthy” diet mean for me? Well after living with diabetes 19 years, I’m here to explain my best practices. Keep in mind, I am not a doctor, but these are my recommendations for maintaining a healthy diet with diabetes: 1. Make a Plan Start by making a list of the healthy foods you already love, and then plan meals around those. I suggest that you plan meals and monitor how your blood sugar responds after consuming them. After some trial and error, I’ve found that my body performs best with a mostly vegan diet that is not necessarily low-carb. Some people say that doesn’t make sense for someone with diabetes (my doctor has told me to aim for a lower carb diet), but I have found my body doesn’t thrive off a low-carb diet. I’ve tried it in the past but ended up feeling a lack of energy. Now this isn’t the same for everyone, so plan your own meals and monitor how your body responds! 2. Get into A Routine Routine? Boring, huh!? Getting into a routine helps in regulating blood glucose levels. I tend to eat 5-6 small meals per day. The number of meals you eat per day is up to you, I simply suggest each of those meals contain a protein, grain and veggie/fruit. This is what I do, and it helps me keep my blood sugar in range. 3. Count Your Carbs I used to have a bad habit of not properly counting my carbs. Which completely bit me in the ass, and I ended up with a higher than normal A1C! So, moving forward I made sure to properly count my carbs. I get the inconvenience of it, but it’s worth it. I’ve found some apps such as, Nutritionix to be useful. 4. Exercise Exercise helps to regulate blood sugar levels. I have found when I go for a walk after I eat a meal, I tend to avoid any blood sugar spikes. Keep in mind the benefits of even a quick walk. For more information on exercising with diabetes click here. You can eat that slice of pizza or have a glass of wine, just be mindful of nutrition facts and what feels right for your body. Jade Venhaus @vibrantlybalanced Living with Diabetes Since 2000 Read More ← Older Post Newer Post → 3 comments Ahh thanks for the Nutritionix suggestion! I just downloaded the app right now. Because usually I’m playing a guessing game with my carb count, and it obviously doesn’t always work out very well LOL Julia on October 01, 2019 Hi Thomas, I totally agree with you! It can be a real challenge sometimes. Typically when I go someplace without any nutrition facts, I try to compare it to someplace similar that does have their nutrition information listed. For example, I went to Hopdoddy Burger Bar and ordered a Veggie Burger that had no nutrition facts available. So, I went on Nutritionix app and searched “Veggie Burger The Habit”. I already knew The Habit had a similar sized Veggie Burger, so I figured it’d be close in carbs. Which it must have been, because I didn’t spike after having the Veggie Burger from Hopdoddy! Keep in mind this won’t be 100% accurate, but it’s still better than completely guessing. With Love, Jade Jade on September 17, 2019 These are great tips, but easier said than done! Haha What do you do when you’re someplace to eat that has absolutely no nutrition facts? Thomas on September 17, 2019 Leave a comment Name Email Message Please note, comments must be approved before they are published