Since my diagnosis of diabetes at the age of eleven, my own diet has changed dramatically. I maintain my current healthy weight with a good diet / eating plan. If you plan to lose more than one stone of weight, you would visit your doctor for more advice on how to do it safely.
I have had diabetes for seven years, but to tell you that the way I maintain the weight is perfect would be totally wrong of me. However, I can advise you to follow my steps because I know what works and what doesn't. Before I really start, I must also say that I was raised by great parents who taught me to eat everything, and I do! If there's something you don't like, there are plenty of other diabetic recipes and ideas that you will be able to eat and appreciate.
I am a university student and I like to buy fresh and organic produce from where I live. I think this is important because it can be the best for your body and contain more nutrients and vitamins than most supermarket products. I like to get food from my biweekly farmers market in town, which sells amazing meat and dairy and fresh fruits and vegetables in season. This is another important thing to remember, that eating fruits and vegetables when they are in season means that they will taste better and do you good. I have a lot of influence from Western European cuisine (mainly France and Italy) as you will say, but I don't pretend to be a chef and everything is easy to do and very convenient.
I have read countless diet books and diabetic recipe / diet books, and came to the conclusion that I think it really works. I fused all the good things about diets (but not all of them) and somehow put together my own. I call this my Healthy Juvenile Diabetes Diet!
The "rules" it would establish are the following:
1. Cut back on snacking and then change the type of snack you eat.
Hands down my biggest downfall, although it wasn't really apparent to me. When I started college, I had little to no routine, which meant filling my day was difficult and walking into the kitchen for a snack, no matter how healthy it felt, was a regular thing. This is one of the hardest things for some people to do, but establishing a good routine is essential to good diabetes care. The types of snacks to eat are unsalted nuts, unsweetened dried fruits, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables (I love fresh red peppers and cucumbers), dark chocolate (richer and more palatable and you usually only want 2 squares).
2. Cut back on white flour and go whole-grain carbohydrates.
This is the most essential part of your diet and what can show the greatest increase in weight loss. In fact, some diets only focus on this point and are very successful. Whole wheat flour (especially stone ground whole wheat) is so good for you and has so much more flavor that switching is so much easier than you might think. Most people are really amazed at the ranges you can get at your grocery store, again remember that the bread that is best for you is the freshest with the least preservatives or added ingredients. Also, brown or basmati rice is great with a beautiful nutty texture. Whole wheat pasta is great and for your potatoes I would totally recommend the smaller new potatoes.
3. Stop drinking cocktails, start drinking wine.
The cocktails are packed with sugar, food coloring, and preservatives. As a student, I've had a lot of practice going out and not drinking cocktails, so my drink of choice is Malibu and Diet Coke if I feel like I have to drink something and make it last all night. So, I can recharge with Diet Coke (which is almost sugar free) and it looks like I am drinking Malibu, who should know. If you're in a restaurant, red wine is way better than anything else you could ask for (except water, of course!), And the antioxidants in red wine have been shown to be great for maintaining a healthy heart. The recommended amount is one glass a day with dinner.
4. Start cooking more fruits and vegetables.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a great way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need. And there are so many different ways to cook vegetables, but I think raw ones are the best, closely followed by steamed ones. Both forms also retain all their natural benefits. I will follow this post with another diabetes recipe post.
5. Drink more water.
I know you've heard people say this many times before, but the benefits of drinking more water are endless. Some tips on how to get more water in your day are to first place bottles of water everywhere you go at home or at work. So keep one on your desk, on your desk, a glass in the kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc. Try and drink all of these glasses and you are well on your way to 8 glasses a day. The trick is to add a glass every few days, if you try to drink all that water at once, you won't be so inclined to drink 8 glasses again, trust me! Try it.
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