Diabetics - Rate Your Plate

During Dad's 6-month follow-up diabetes class, MJ discussed the "rate your plate" concept. She drew a nifty picture of a plate divided in half, then one of the halves was divided in half again creating a round plate with three sections.

The largest section was for veggies, the second for meat and proteins, and the third for 2 carb choices + one.

Here is further information from the American Diabetes Association website regarding the rate your plate concept:

A quick way to make sure you are eating a variety of healthful foods at each meal is to "Rate Your Plate." Rate Your Plate is a great way to practice portion control if you are trying to lose weight.

When you sit down for a meal, draw an imaginary line through the center of your plate. Draw a line to divide one section into two.

About one-fourth of your plate should be filled with grains or starchy foods such as rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, or peas.

Another fourth should be protein — foods like meat, fish, poultry, or tofu.

For the last half of your plate, you can fill it with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, salad, tomatoes, and cauliflower.

Then, add a glass of non-fat milk and a small roll or piece of fruit and you are ready to eat.

When filling your plate, keep the food about the depth of your hand. If you pile it too high, you definitely won't be practicing portion control.

You still need to think about the types of foods you eat, but Rating Your Plate can get you started with portion control. Find out more about healthful food choices.

Click on the title of this post for an interesting interactive rate your plate from the ADA learning center.

Two more notes from the class:

* Eat protein for breakfast.

* If you cut calories, you must start exercising within 3 weeks for you will not lose weight.

So, that is it for the class notes. A lot of information in a short amount of time.

So, what do you think of the Rate Your Plate concept? Do you think it will help you lose weight?

7 Dietary Tips From Diabetes Class

Here are a few dietary notes I jotted down at last weeks diabetes class Dad and I attended.

1. Cooking oils to use: Olive, Canola, Peanut.

2. Calories per day vary for men and women. Men should stay between 1600 - 2200, and women should stay between 1200 - 1800. Lucky men!

3. Reduce sodium to reduce risk of heart failure. Take the salt shaker off the table and watch sodium content in foods. Click here to read further info and guidelines from the ADA.

4. Okay - remember these are just my notes. Regarding fat content, the best to worst beef to eat is:

Tenderloin is the best.
Lean beef is okay.
Chuck is the worst.

Meat should be approximately 4 oz per meal.

5. When people write down what they eat and how much, they automatically decrease calories. Interesting!

6. Someone asked about peanut butter as a protein, and MJ said peanut butter is a fat (mono). Having peanut butter for a meal should not count as a protein.

7. Breakfast protein suggestions for those tired of eggs and meat: string cheese, cottage cheese, dry curd cheese.

There you go for now. There was one more dietary topic that I want to do a little more research about, and then I will share. It was a fairly new concept for me although I had seen it in regards to other kinds of diets.

How is that for a mystery?

What dietary guidelines have you learned? You are welcome to share your info in the comments.

Notes From Diabetes Class - Know Your ABC's

During the diabetic follow-up class Dad and I attended last week, I took a few notes and thought I would share some of the information in this post.

Only 7% of all U.S. diabetics know their ABC's and have them in order. Here is what you should know to get your ABC's in order.

A = keep the A1C test at or below 7%. There is a test called the A1C, which is short for hemoglobin A-1-C. It is a fasting blood test that measures your average glucose level over the prior three months and is often used to determine whether someone is a diabetic or prediabetic. Dad has this test every three months, prior to his routine visit with his primary physician.

The 7% or below indicates the goal that most diabetics should strive to maintain. As for Dad, MJ told him to not go much lower than the 6.9 that he is presently at due to his age and because he has been a diabetic for twenty-five years. Going much lower would compromise his health. Remember, every individual is different. Work with your primary care physician or diabetic nurse educator for your particular numbers.

B = Blood Pressure. For most diabetics, their systolic blood pressure should be no higher than 130 and their diastolic, no lower than 80, i.e. their perfect blood pressure reading would show 130/80. Obviously, you need to contact your physician for your optimum blood pressure. Every individual is different and these numbers are only guidelines.

C = Cholesterol. Here are the ideal ranges to aim for:

Cholesterol = 200 or below
HDL = 100 for men, 70 for women
LDL = 40 for men, 50 for women
Triglycerides = 150

According to the American Diabetes Association, "Over time, high blood glucose levels can damage vital organs such as your kidneys and your eyes. High blood pressure is a serious disease that makes your heart work too hard. And bad cholesterol, or LDL, builds up and clogs your heart arteries. Managing all three means a longer and healthier life."

Click on the title of this post for an informative two page pdf giving further information about the ABC's.

Wow! That was just the start of the notes I kept in a small memo pad. I will share more in a later post.

The thing is - we can live much healthier lives than we do when we have the proper information. We hear about living a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes it takes numbers to truly wake us up to the fact that we need to make changes in our health regimen.

How about you - are you living a healthy lifestyle? Are there changes you should make? Does having the numbers in front of you help motivate you to make changes?