When you eat, your body changes food into blood sugar. Your blood sugar goes up. A good diet plan slows this rise. The meal plan for a person with diabetes is the same as anyone else.
- Low in fat.
- Moderate amounts of protein.
- High in carbohydrates like those in beans, vegetables and grains (such as breads, cereals, noodles and rice).
Being active helps your cells take in blood sugar. So exercise plays a major role in your treatment plan. If you currently exercise, it can be incorporated into your new exercise regimen. If you don’t exercise, this would be a good time to start. It would be great if you could exercise daily for a total of 30 minutes, which can be broken down into short sessions. If you're not used to exercising start slow. Even a 5–minute walk can get you moving.
Weight Loss
Losing weight is another big part of your diabetes treatment. It will help your body use insulin better. The best way to lose weight is to exercise and follow a healthy meal plan. With a healthy meal plan, you eat less calories because you fill up on low fat foods, not fatty foods. Decide with your health care provider how much you should lose. Sometimes, just 10 or 20 pounds is enough to bring diabetes under control. Then decide how much you want to lose per week. One pound per week should be the maximum. Slow weight loss is healthier and easier.
Blood Sugar Checks
You now know that eating healthy, losing weight, and keeping fit help keep blood sugar levels normal. You can now check your blood sugar levels at home to keep track of how you’re doing. To check your blood sugar, you need a drop of blood from your finger. You place the drop on a special test strip. A device called a Glucometer (readily available nowadays) tells how much glucose the drop of blood contains. Write down each result, along with the time and date. You will soon learn how well your treatment plan is working, and you will learn how exercise and food affects you.