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1200 Calorie Diabetic Diet

1200 calorie diabetic diet provides a guide for planning yourfor food groups meals and snacks. A diabetic diet helps individuals with diabetes keep their blood sugars close to or in the normal range (80-130 mg/dl). This diet plan can be used for anyone who has a desire to eat a healthy diet. The diabetic diet plan can reduce a person's risk of developing diabetes, heart disease or becoming overweight.
There is one question you need to answer before you follow this diet.   Do you know if 1200 calories is the right amount of calories for your body? If you're not sure, go to free diabetic diets to find out.

1200 Calorie Diabetic Diet can be used for:

  • Women who want to lose weight and have high blood sugars.This calorie level is low and may not meet a woman's nutritional needs if followed for a long period of time. Once blood sugars have improved, calorie level should be increased which will then meet the body's needs for vitamins and minerals.
This diet plan may not be appropriate for children, men, women who are diabetic and pregnant or for women under the age of 35.

The Diabetic Diet-Think in 3's - Avoid 1's

3 calories..... carbohydrates, protein and fats, to keep your body living, moving and healthy.  And guess what?  Mother nature provides us with foods that contain the exact 3 calories our body needs. Your diabetic diet will have symbols for these 3 calories.
3 Meals......  to nourish your body when you move the most.  Try to eat every 4 or 5 hours and think in 3's - include foods that contain carbohydrates, proteins and fat at each meal.

Avoid the 1's..... 1 large meal a day and in only 1 food atveggies fruit your meal. one food will not contain the right balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals your body needs.
One large meal at the end of the day when you are inactive will most likely raise your blood sugar too high. And when you move less, insulin is lazy too and fails to move the glucose  (sugar) from the blood to your cells.
Not sure if your meal was too much food? Here's a way to figure it out. 
  • Prepare a meal that you would normally eat for your largest daily meal.
  • Test your blood sugar before you eat.
  • Test your blood sugar two hours after you take the first bite of your meal.
If your blood sugar rises more than 40 points (subtract the before blood sugar reading from the after blood sugar reading), you'll know the meal gave your body too much glucose.

The 1200 calorie diabetic diet meal pattern below will help you include the 3's and avoid the 1's.  Give it a try.
blood sugars graphHow do you know the 1200 calorie diabetic diet is working? If blood sugars are improving and the readings are closer to normal level (80-130 mg/dl) than before you followed this diet,
It's working.....
Congratulations!




Your hard work is paying off!

                                                                                  

  1200 Calorie Diabetic Diet
          Meal Pattern     
 
 
Food
Groups
Total
Servings
for
1 Day
1st
Meal
2nd
Meal
3rd
Meal
Snacks
Foods in each group are listed in the Food exchange list.Number of servings from the food groups for each meal and snack.
Starch  yellow triangle51222
Fruit    yellow triangle3111n/a
Vegetablegreen star3
or more
n/a1
or more
2
or more
1
or more
Milktriangle block21/2 cup1/2 cupn/a1 cup
Proteinblock circle4 oz.
(cooked)
1 oz.1 oz.3 oz.n/a
Fatorange circle2111n/a
Free
Foods  green star
No limitAdd any food from the free food list
yellow trianglesymbol / carbohydrate calorie

blue blocksymbol / protein calorie
orange circlesymbol / fat calorie

green starlow-calorie food
will not change blood sugar

cyclingJoin us in our support for diabetes research. Sponsor one of our riders in the Tour de Cure bicycle ride fundraiser for diabetes on June 22, 2008. To sponsor a rider go to our personal webpage named diabetic-diet-coach.

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