Being diagnosed with diabetes can come as a real shock. It can leave you feel scared, overwhelmed, and even a bit depressed at what it means when it comes to your lifestyle. There’s a good chance that you will need to make a number of lifestyle changes so that you can remain healthy and manage your diabetes.
One of the biggest adjustments for people tends to involve their eating habits. It’s not just about what you can and can’t eat, but also how often you need to eat, how to pick meals when you’re dining out, and even grocery shopping tips. Here, we’ll take a look at some tricks and tips when it comes to eating and all things food-related when you have been diagnosed with diabetes. You may find that with these tricks and tips it doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as you originally thought.
Find a Source for Easy and Simple Recipes
When it comes to recipes that are diabetic-friendly, it’s a good idea to find a source that you can work from, at least at the beginning. Find a website or a book that focuses on diabetic recipes such as easy-diabetic-recipes.com. As you grow more confident in what is allowed and not allowed, you’ll find that you can then take those recipes and add your own twist and flare to them.
These recipes can be especially helpful when you’re in a rush after work and just want a quick and easy meal and you don’t have the energy to come up with your own recipe.
Plan Meals Ahead of Time
Because you need to be very conscious of what you are eating, it’s a good idea to work with a meal-plan each week. You can then build your grocery list based on that meal plan, taking away any questions during the week. You can even go so far as to plan a month’s worth of meals and then just shop on a weekly basis for the ingredients needed.
Be Wary of Portion Sizes
Even when you are eating healthily and covering all the basics, you still want to be wary of portion sizes. If you eat too much or not enough, you’re not going to be helping out your diabetes. If you happen to be carrying a little extra weight and need to slim down, it’s a good idea to cut down the less healthy foods by 5-10%. You won’t feel as though you’re missing out and making a big sacrifice, but it will make a difference in calories, and your overall health too. You will be consuming that much less fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, and sugar.
It Doesn’t Have to Be a Stressful Process
Learning how to eat in a healthy way that will manage your diabetes doesn’t have to be a stressful process, nor should you feel like you’re making huge sacrifices. With proper meal-planning, a bit of prep time, and always having a healthy supply of foods and snacks on-hand such as, fruits and veggies, you’ll find that living with diabetes doesn’t have to be a huge deal.
