This class we started looking at food…literally! Our instructor had plastic portions of food that she would compile onto a plate to show us what our plates should look like. It was kind of fun, but doesn't translate very well onto the blog format unfortunately.
The main point she was trying to convey is that you don't have to eat special food, you just have to eat balanced portions of carb, fat and protein. She spent a lot of time in the ADA "Choose Your Foods" Exchange list book. She helped us understand how exchanges work.
If you plan you meal with exchanges it is often the easiest way, but you have to pay attention to your serving sizes, as they are not all the same. Especially with the carbs.
Once you have your carb intake number from your dietitian, then you break it down into the servings of what you want to eat.
Example: Let's say you were told to consume 45-60 grams per meal of carbohydrate. A grain, fruit or dairy type of exchange is generally 15 grams per serving. So That would be 3-4 exchanges per meal. While a non-starch veggie is only 5 grams per exchange. Now you see why your mom always told you to eat your vegetables. LOL!
A cup of raw green beans is 5 grams or 1/3 of a grain exchange. Or a 1/2 cup of cooked broccoli is 5 grams. So you can see the advantage of eating vegetables as they will help you feel full and add great fiber and nutrients to your diet.
However a single exchange of white or brown rice is 1/3 of a cup cooked where a single exchange of wild rice is 1/2 cup cooked. Or if you make a sandwich with sliced bread, that would count as two exchanges for two 1oz. slices, so you might want to go easy on the side dish. Another example is your breakfast. If you have an exchange of cereal (carb), milk(carb) and fruit(carb), then you want to make sure you are not adding a glass of juice to your breakfast, but maybe a little protein like a boiled egg.
She did mention that our bodies are less able to process the carbs in the morning as well as we do during the rest of the day, but only testing after your meal will tell you how you are doing in that case.
We were also given a wonderful all inclusive book called "The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Fat Gram Guide" (third edition) By the ADA. This is a great book that includes basic foods, combined foods, ethnic, frozen and restaurant foods. The serving size, calories, cholesterol, fiber, carbs, fats and proteins as well as how many exchanged it would be. This can be your guide to meal planning so you are in a good balance and not exceeding your intake goals.
When I was first working out what works for me, I would write down what I ate, then get all the numbers on it that I could find and at the end of the day, add them up…yikes! It is amazing how many numbers I would eat in a day. Now I am in a carbohydrate cycle, and consuming way too much carb. So I am excited about this book, as it is more complete than the labels I used to use for my calculations. The book should be available from the ADA or in your local book store and it is $14.95 US, $19.95 CAN.
Next week we are going to be doing carb counting more specifically. So it will be some how to information for everyone.
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