Healthy Meal Planners

So many people with diabetes have trouble knowing how many carbs to eat, which food categories to choose them from and how to keep track of them. Why is this important? Because carbohydrates have the greatest impact on raising or stabilizing our blood sugars. Too much (or too little) sugar in the blood creates huge risks for diabetics. 

I was pretty excited when I found an online guide for a Type 2 Diabetes Meal Planner* (click here). This 2 page* planner shows 1,200 - 2,500 calorie plans with a defined number of exchanges for starches, fruits, milk, vegetables, meat (substitutes), and fats. It also has an extended food list for substitutions. Since I have followed a Weight Watcher plan in the past, food exchanges and substitutions make sense to me. Using the 1500 calorie diet*, I copied the basic guideline into an Excel document and added space for my own choices. (Sorry for the misalignment of the lines - it just won't format correctly in the posting section.)

1500 CALORIE DIABETIC MEAL PLANNER

1200 Calorie                                         1500 Calorie

 Exchanges        SAMPLE MENU      Adjustments          Write Down Your Food Choices

                                                                     (Per Page 1*)                     (Use Page 2* for Food Substitutions)

                                                               

BREAKFAST

1 Starch               1/2 English Muffin     Add 1 Starch     _____________________________

1 Fruit                  1/2 (med) Banana                                _____________________________

1 Milk                  1 pkg Hot Cocoa                                 _____________________________

LUNCH

1 Starch                1 oz Tortilla (6")       Add 1 Starch     _____________________________

2 Meat                  1 oz Chicken                                      _____________________________

                             1 oz Cheese                                        _____________________________

1 Vegetable          1/2 cup Green Beans                          _____________________________

1 Fruit                   2" raw Apple                                     _____________________________

1 Fat                     2 Tbsp Lite Ranch Dressing              _____________________________

SNACK

Nothing                (Unless you save an item from lunch)      

DINNER

2 Starches             1/3 cup Rice            Add 1 Fat          _____________________________

                             1 oz Corn Chips                                _____________________________

2 Meat                  2 oz Ground Chicken                        _____________________________

1 Vegetable          Chopped Onion                                 _____________________________

1 Fruit                   1/2 cup Canned Fruit                        _____________________________

2 Fat                     2 tsp olive oil or butter                      _____________________________

SNACK

1 Starch                 3 cups Lite Popcorn                         _____________________________

1 Milk                   8 oz Low-Fat Rice Milk                   _____________________________

GOAL:          Starches: 7        Fruits: 3      Milk: 2       Meats: 4       Vegetables: 2       Fats: 4

YOUR

DAILY          Starches: ___   Fruits: ___   Milk: ___   Meats: ___   Vegetables: ___   Fats: ___

TOTALS

Nutrition is such a complex science. Carbohydrates are found in grains, nuts, fruits, milks and even vegetables. Simple and complex carbohydrates along with fiber play a key role in the management of diabetes. Understanding how to break down the carb count into the various food categories is one thing. Deciphering endless nutrititional information along with controversial food theories of researchers and physicians is quite another. Diabetics must coordinate their food choices along with their insulin dosage or glucose-lowering medications to best stabilize their blood sugars. It's a confusing mess that can leave one with glucose readings which are either too high or too low, and thereby we end up feeling like a failure for getting results which are less than what we strived for. Sometimes we just want to throw up our hands in defeat and hopelessness.

My online research proved difficult in finding a diabetic meal planner with nutritional exchanges. I found this online guide at the Huntsville Pediatric & Adult Medicine Associates webpage. The reviews for this clinic were favorable to outstanding, so I was hopeful this would become a valued guide and useful tool.  

The American Diabetes Association website offers no meal planners or breakdown of food exchanges for carbohydrates. It does define a carbohydrate exchange as 15 grams. The ADA recommends each meal contain 3-4 carb exchanges in the range of 45-60 grams but also says this varies from person to person. The conversion of grams to calories is 1 gram equals 4 calories*. By this general recommendation we would consume somewhere around 180 to 240 calories of carbohydrate per meal. Snacks are suggested to be 4 exchanges or 60 grams of carbohydrate equaling 240 calories.  Taking  into account the 1500 calorie diet would provide 13-16 carbohydrate exchanges equaling 195-240 grams or 780-960 calories.  The carbohydrate servings would make up 52.0-64.0% of the total diet.

My calculation of the "online planner" shows that the 1500 calorie diet includes 12 exchanges of carbohydrate (at 15 grams per exchange) which totals 180 grams or 720 calories, resulting in a percentage of 40.8% of the overall diet. I will check with my nutritionist to see whether I should increase the number of carb exchanges in this planner, and if so, in which of the food exchange categories would this addition be the most beneficial to my health and well-being.

It took a lot of research to get to this point. I'm tired - and perhaps you are too. But if you are a diabetic, I hope this provides some valuable information to you! Thanks for checking in today. Take good care of yourself and keep track of your eating habits and log them in a journal to share with your healthcare provider. Tracking your exchanges gives insight and opportunity to make educated changes.

Finding the Right Healthcare Professionals For You

                 

I am so fortunate. For the 35 years I've been dealing with complicated health issues, I've had my good share of what I consider to be great medical practitioners. I'm not going to say all of them have been good. But when I come across a physician with whom I do not 'connect', I don't hesitate - I look for another.  I value my health too much to waste time, energy and money on someone who could care less about who I am and all the health issues I deal with on a daily basis.

Over the last 5 years I have been so blessed to receive excellent care from wonderful healthcare professionals. After a devastating 4th hip replacement revision surgery which resulted in paralysis of my right leg from femoral nerve damage, my PCP stepped up to the plate when my orthopedic surgeon denied any assistance. 

My PCP referred me to a neurological physical therapist trained in rehabilitative medicine. We worked together on gaining mobility of my paralyzed leg over a 16 month period. Her devotion, knowledge and willingness to 'think outside the box' in treatment options were invaluable. My PCP offered care for my whole person, including mental, physical and emotional support. She worked with me on diet, supplements, medications, mental health options, and developing a good support system. She taught me how to be proactive in defining my choices in healthcare options. I will be eternally grateful for all of her care and wisdom. I also had excellent alternative care providers, the best of which was the intuitive and trusted hands of my shiatsu masseuse.

I have since switched insurance companies and am currently under the services of a large HMO provider system. I expected to be disappointed in their care and lost in their system. Thankfully I've been proven wrong in my basic assumption. I have one of the best PCP's I've ever had. She is easy to talk to, understands the many complications of my health, and offers me shared decision-making in determining my care. She trusts me to make wise choices about how I care for my body every day, and that's RARE for a healthcare physician in this day and age!  I trust her to advise me in the best treatments available to me. I have not had the same experience with all of the specialists I have been referred to in this system. However the availability of electronic medical records in an HMO system does offer other providers a chance to look into the history and results of a patient's medical record which can be a useful tool for further investigations.

Selfishly I miss the integrated team approach of the physicians and healthcare professionals I had with my previous PPO insurance. I had my PCP, a pharmacist, a physical therapist, multiple specialists (for diabetes, fibromyalgia, neurology, orthopedics, etc.) that comprised my healthcare team. I would meet together with several of them once a year to address options and concerns for integrating my care. I realize this was in a teaching university environment  where they look to teach medical students the effects of integrated medicine.  However it was invaluable to me as a patient knowing that all areas of my health were being looked at and addressed as a complete being.  

Now the decision-making responsibility sits wholly upon the shoulders of my PCP in the HMO system. My care is only as good as my PCP, and as I've said, I have a great doctor that I trust. I choose to be responsible for following up with her and my other specialists, knowing that things do and will fall through the cracks without my proactive approach and education. 

I hope you too take your health seriously enough to be accountable for finding the best physician and healthcare providers to give you the services you need. Another concern for me is to reach out to multiple social network arenas to share information and support with  people who have similar health concerns to mine. This is a time of vast expansion on the internet and discernment is really critical. I value my research skills and the multiple reviews available online to help me question and learn more about health issues.  Especially when patient's don't feel well or are overwhelmed by multiple issues, it can be difficult to think clearly. Sometimes "miracle" cures look pretty tempting. It's good to have a reality check with others who understand the "nature of the beast"(the illness) and can offer another perspective.

Thanks for visiting today. If you have any comments or insights, I'd sure love to hear them. Have the best day you can. Blessings to you and your loved ones.

Images of Beauty - Ideas for you

 I thought it would be nice to give the eye a little refreshment.

Here are some luscious photographs of anti-inflammatory foods.

Maybe it will give you some ideas to make a healthy meal today.

Fresh ingredients are the best!
They taste wonderful and nourish your body.

Depression and How It Effects Your Well-Being

Depression is a very common illness effecting up to 25% of the world's population (roughly 340 million people*). Depression is thought to be a brain disorder, caused by abnormalities in the levels of neurochemicals in the brain.  Chronic depression is a long term disease which can effect a person's basic ability to function on a daily basis.

The cause of depression may include factors such as genetic vulnerability, physical or mental trauma, loss of a close family member or friend, chronic illnesses, multiple surgeries, or high levels of stress. Often there are multiple things which combine over time and effect the chemical composition of the brain. Treatment usually involves medication and psychotherapy. Many symptoms improve with careful monitoring of your health care.

One of the most difficult problems for a person with depression is reaching out and seeking medical assistance. The person tends to withdraw and pull away from others. Feelings of hopelessness, despair, lack of self esteem, the stigma of having a mental illness, the threat to job security or family relationships, changes in sleep patterns, appetite, concentration, loss of interest and irritability are all very real. Untreated depression can lead to personal and marital troubles, financial difficulties, and a terribly high (up to 15%) suicide rate.

I have suffered from depression most of my life but have been on medication over the last 15 years. It's been helpful understanding how my young life experiences contributed to my illness along with a traumatic auto accident, recurring surgeries and the now the resulting diseases I have.

I remember going to a seminar on Fibromyalgia and the guest speaker, a world renown specialist in the field, was asked a question from the audience. The question was, what does a person with Fibromyalgia (all over chronic pain) tend to die from? The specialist hesitated to answer and then very frankly said, suicide.

Chronic pain, whether it is physical or mental, is excruciatingly difficult to live with. When the pain is both physical and mental, it is unbelievably overwhelming and can even be paralyzing. All I can say is be kind to yourself or your loved ones suffering with depression. Your love and hope matter on a daily basis.

Try to eat a healthy diet and exercise every day, as these are equally important to obtaining optimal health. I find when I do these two things, life seems much better. Releasing endorphines through exercise is very healing for the body and mind.

Keep checking back for more tidbits of info and support.


(* figures provided by the World Health Organization, http://www.depressioncenter.org/ Depression as an Illness)