If you’ve recently been diagnosed with type II diabetes, it’s vital to your health to adjust your habits to meet your new dietary requirements.
As someone living with type II diabetes, your main concern is to maintain regular blood glucose levels, while concurrently maintaining a healthy weight. Fortunately, both can be properly monitored and developed easily by a few simple changes to your current habits.
Follow these suggestions to help you make the adjustments and guide you in the right direction:
1. Pay attention to the pan. The point of using oil or butter when cooking is to lubricate your pan rather than enhancing the taste of your dish. Therefore, consider opting for a non-stick spray rather than fatty butter, or even substitute butter (such as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter) in order to lubricate your pan.
Non-stick cooking spray has very few calories. Plus, you can actually control the amount of calories added to your dish. The calories are controlled by the number of seconds you hold down the nozzle. If you hold the nozzle for the minimum recommended time, you can get as little as just one calorie!
2. Eat frequently. In order to maintain a normal level of blood glucose, it’s important to eat several smaller meals throughout the day in lieu of three large meals. If possible, eat a small meal every three hours.
The secret to successfully implementing this tip is to always keep something on hand. A meal can be anything from a fruit shake or banana to a granola bar. As long as you have something nutritious, somewhat filling, and portable on hand, you’ll be worry-free.
You’ll be able to better maintain your weight if your meals have a sense of consistency in the quality of ingredients. So, keep calories, health, and nutrition in mind when selecting your meals.
Plan your meals ahead of time. Pack yourself a healthy lunch for work before bed each night and then simply grab and go. You may want to keep a bag of unsweetened dried fruit in your car or a granola bar in your desk as well.
3. Be mindful. Being diagnosed with type II diabetes needn’t signify the end of your culinary adventures. Portion and quality control are essential aspects of adapting your diet. You can still have tasty foods; however, you’ll just need to keep a watchful eye on exactly what and how much food you consume.
Step away from the table before you’re “Thanksgiving full.” You know you’ve had enough when you feel satisfied and are no longer hungry. If you find yourself in a nearly comatose state, it’s a sign to eat less next time.
Not only is it important to eat within your capacity at every meal, it’s also important to be mindful of the quality of food you’re eating. Fill 50% of your plate with vegetables, 25% with starch, and the remaining 25% with protein. This formula leads to a balanced meal every time.
If you have diabetes, you have less wiggle room in your diet than someone without diabetes. Maintaining an unhealthy diet can lead to severe health complications, some of which can lead to death or limited mobility, so it’s critical that you make healthy choices with your foods.
Maintaining healthy eating habits to help manage diabetes isn’t difficult, but it does require your complete adherence. Little steps go a long way toward keeping your diet healthy.
Small adjustments, such as planning your meals ahead of time, eating small but frequent meals, eliminating fatty foods, and eating more of the healthy foods make a big difference that can lead you to greater health.
