To help keep your blood sugar levels within your target range, follow a meal plan. Meal planning helps you maintain a balance between your food and insulin intake. Testing your blood sugar helps you see how foods can raise or lower your blood sugar.
Your meal plan should include:
Eating your meals and snacks at the same time each day can help you manage your blood sugar.
Everyone has individual needs. Work with your provider to develop a meal plan that works for you.
HOW CARBOHYDRATES AFFECT BLOOD SUGAR
Carbohydrates in food give your body energy. The main types of carbohydrates (commonly called “carbohydrates”) are starch, sugar, and fiber. Your body needs all types of carbohydrates to function properly. Your body quickly converts starches and sugars into glucose for energy. This raises your blood sugar level. Fiber does not raise blood sugar. In fact, fiber can help you manage your blood sugar.
Knowing the type and amount of carbohydrates in your food will help you plan your meals.
Your provider will explain how to calculate how much insulin you need to take to control your blood sugar after eating.
COUNTING YOUR CARBOHYDRATES
You can use a technique called “carbohydrate counting” to track how many carbohydrates you should eat in your meals and snacks in a day to keep your blood sugar in the target range. You need to match your insulin dose to the total amount of carbohydrates you consume through food or drink.
If you are taking a fixed dose of insulin, you should eat the same amount of carbohydrates at each meal every day.
Tracking carbohydrates at each meal will help you manage your blood sugar levels. Packaged foods have Nutrition Facts labels that tell you the type and amount of different nutrients in the food. Learn how read food labels to count the carbohydrates you eat. The carb count for a food includes sugar and starch plus fiber.
Carbohydrates are measured in grams. When counting carbohydrates, one serving (sometimes called “a carb”) is an amount of food that contains 15 grams of carbohydrates. Check for the number of “total carbohydrates” and the serving size on the food’s nutrition information to determine the amount of food you can eat.
Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables do not have food labels on them. There are several apps and tools available that will help you calculate the amount of carbohydrates in them. Your provider can also help.
When counting carbohydrates in food you cook, you will need to measure the amount of food after cooking. The total amount of carbohydrates you eat in a day is the sum of the carbohydrates in everything you eat.
