A portion is the amount of food you choose to eat at one time, while a serving is a specific amount of food, such as one slice of bread or 8 ounces 1 cup of milk. These days, portions at restaurants are quite a bit larger than they were several years ago. One entrée can equal 3 or 4 servings!

At dinnertime, reduce the temptation to go back for seconds by keeping the serving bowls out of reach. Planning meals that fit your health needs, tastes, budget, and schedule can be complicated.

You can also visit the Find a Diabetes Education Program in Your Area locator for DSMES services near you.

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A good meal plan will also: Include more nonstarchy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and green beans. Include fewer added sugars and refined grains, such as white bread, rice, and pasta with less than 2 grams of fiber per serving.

Focus on whole foods instead of highly processed foods as much as possible. Portion Distortion Quiz. To help prevent foot problems, you should wear comfortable, supportive shoes and take care of your feet before, during, and after physical activity.

Most kinds of physical activity can help you take care of your diabetes. Certain activities may be unsafe for some people, such as those with low vision or nerve damage to their feet.

Ask your health care team what physical activities are safe for you. Many people choose walking with friends or family members for their activity. Doing different types of physical activity each week will give you the most health benefits. Mixing it up also helps reduce boredom and lower your chance of getting hurt.

Try these options for physical activity. If you have been inactive or you are trying a new activity, start slowly, with 5 to 10 minutes a day.

Then add a little more time each week. Increase daily activity by spending less time in front of a TV or other screen. Try these simple ways to add physical activities in your life each day:.

If you are sitting for a long time, such as working at a desk or watching TV, do some light activity for 3 minutes or more every half hour. Aerobic exercise is activity that makes your heart beat faster and makes you breathe harder.

You should aim for doing aerobic exercise for 30 minutes a day most days of the week. You do not have to do all the activity at one time.

You can split up these minutes into a few times throughout the day. Talk with your health care team about how to warm up and cool down before and after you exercise.

Strength training is a light or moderate physical activity that builds muscle and helps keep your bones healthy. Strength training is important for both men and women. Burning more calories can help you lose and keep off extra weight. You can do strength training with hand weights, elastic bands, or weight machines.

Try to do strength training two to three times a week. Start with a light weight. Slowly increase the size of your weights as your muscles become stronger. Stretching exercises are light or moderate physical activity. When you stretch, you increase your flexibility, lower your stress, and help prevent sore muscles.

You can choose from many types of stretching exercises. Yoga is a type of stretching that focuses on your breathing and helps you relax. Even if you have problems moving or balancing, certain types of yoga can help. For instance, chair yoga has stretches you can do when sitting in a chair or holding onto a chair while standing.

Your health care team can suggest whether yoga is right for you. This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK , part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public.

Content produced by NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts. English English Español. Diabetes Overview What Is Diabetes? Show child pages. Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Show child pages. Preventing Type 2 Diabetes Show child pages. Managing Diabetes Show child pages.

Preventing Diabetes Problems Show child pages. In this section: What foods can I eat if I have diabetes? What foods and drinks should I limit if I have diabetes?

When should I eat if I have diabetes? How much can I eat if I have diabetes? What is medical nutrition therapy? Will supplements and vitamins help my diabetes? Why should I be physically active if I have diabetes? How can I be physically active safely if I have diabetes?

Grocery Shopping. Food Labels. Eating Out. Carb Counting. Diabetes and CKD. Page last reviewed: September 20, Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. home Diabetes Home. To receive updates about diabetes topics, enter your email address: Email Address.

Regardless of what cuisine you prefer, here's what all healthy eating plans have in common. They include:. This simple guide offers a stress-free way to plan your portions without any counting, calculating, or measuring.

First, grab a nine-inch plate. You want to fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, one quarter of the plate of protein foods, and the last quarter of the plate with carbohydrate foods. This helps take the guess work out of meal planning so you can spend more time doing the things you love.

Check out the types of foods listed below so you can be on your way to eating good to feel great. Using the Diabetes Plate Method as your guide, fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables for a healthy meal. These vegetables keep you feeling full for longer and provide you with the great-tasting nutrients your body needs without as many calories and carbs.

Non-starchy vegetables include broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and more! Learn more about non-starchy vegetables. Protein is an important part of a diabetes meal plan. Are you plant-based? There are plenty of protein-rich plant-based options, such as beans, hummus, lentils, and others.

But so does when you eat it. As you probably already know and have felt before, eating on a pretty consistent meal schedule helps keep your blood sugar stable and energy levels up throughout the day.

While glucose levels often hit their peak within about 90 minutes of eating a meal, the amount of time it takes for levels to return to normal varies from person to person.

When you eat is also a powerful signal to every cell throughout your body, influencing levels of inflammation, how quickly your body can replace old, dying cells with new, stronger ones, the health of your gut microbiome, and even your circadian clock. Or, better said, regular mealtimes might do all of this good stuff for your health because they support your circadian clock, explained Dr.

Anis Rehman , founder of District Endocrine, an endocrine practice in northern Virginia. A vast network of hour cycles that runs in the background of every cell in the human body, circadian rhythms drive constant fluctuations in hormone levels, metabolism, and everything you do and think.

They even affect how your body responds to medications. Even your microbiota, the good bacteria that live in your gut and are proving to be integral to immune health, have strong circadian rhythms they have to follow for optimal function.

Meanwhile, disrupted circadian patterns are believed to add to the development and progression of chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Rehman explained that when you eat may affect the genes involved in setting circadian rhythm and metabolism. Released each time you eat, insulin not only triggers the body to absorb blood glucose, but it also acts as a powerful timing signal throughout the body, the study authors explain.

Eat a big breakfast. Eating a large meal in the morning and smaller meals for lunch and dinner may promote weight loss, lower glucose levels, and decrease daily insulin dose in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, according to a review.

For the best effects, make breakfast a pretty substantial meal rich in blood sugar-controlling protein, fiber, and fats. As a general rule, try to minimize any long gaps during the day without fuel, Sheth said, suggesting that 5—6 hours between meals is the max most people with diabetes should push it.

Some, but not all, people may even need to eat every 3—4 hours for optimal blood sugar management, added Phelps. Keep in mind that how often you need to eat is going to be a determining factor in your ideal snacking strategy.

Sheth said she recommends her clients eat one to two snacks per day, but only if needed, depending on their lifestyle, activity levels, and how they feel. After all, while some people really benefit from the snacks in terms of blood sugar maintenance, energy levels, and overall satiety, she said, others do better, leaving things at three meals per day.

In the end, the most important part of snacking might be the intention behind it. Are you snacking at 3 p. But the one thing most experts can agree on is that fasting at night when your body is meant to be sleeping is beneficial. Try to go 10—12 hours each night without eating, Sheth said.

For instance, if you eat breakfast at a.

Choose fresh, frozen, canned without added sugar or syrup , or unsweetened dried fruits. Try apples, bananas, berries, cherries, fruit cocktail, grapes, melon, oranges, peaches, pears, papaya, pineapple, and raisins. Grains have starch, a type of carbohydrate.

Carbohydrates raise your blood sugar level. For healthy eating, make sure half of the grains you eat each day are whole grains. Whole grains have lots of fiber.

Fiber in the diet keeps your blood sugar level from rising too fast. Protein foods include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, beans and peas, nuts, seeds, and processed soy foods.

Eat fish and poultry more often. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey. Select lean cuts of beef, veal, pork, or wild game.

Trim all visible fat from meat. Bake, roast, broil, grill, or boil instead of frying. When frying proteins, use healthy oils such as olive oil.

Choose low-fat dairy products. Be aware that milk, yogurt, and other dairy foods have natural sugar, even when they do not contain added sugar.

Take this into account when planning meals to stay in your blood sugar target range. Some non-fat dairy products have a lot of added sugar. Be sure to read the label.

Oils are not considered a food group. But they have nutrients that help your body stay healthy. Oils are different from fats in that oils remain liquid at room temperature.

Fats remain solid at room temperature. Limit your intake of fatty foods, especially those high in saturated fat, such as hamburgers, deep-fried foods, bacon, and butter.

Instead, choose foods that are high in polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. These include fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. Oils can raise your blood sugar, but not as fast as starch.

Oils are also high in calories. Try to use no more than the recommended daily limit of 7 teaspoons 35 milliliters. If you choose to drink alcohol, limit the amount and have it with a meal.

Check with your health care provider about how alcohol will affect your blood sugar and to determine a safe amount for you. In the beginning, meal planning may be overwhelming. But it will become easier as your knowledge grows about foods and their effects on your blood sugar.

If you're having problems with meal planning, talk with your diabetes care team. They are there to help you. American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. Facilitating Behavior Change and Well-being to Improve Health Outcomes: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes Diabetes Care.

PMID: pubmed. Prevention or Delay of Type 2 Diabetes and Associated Comorbidities: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes Evert AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al. Nutrition therapy for adults with diabetes or prediabetes: a consensus report. Riddle MC, Ahmann AJ.

Therapeutics of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In: Melmed S, Auchus RJ, Goldfine AB, Koenig RJ, Rosen CJ, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap Updated by: Sandeep K. Dhaliwal, MD, board-certified in Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, Springfield, VA.

Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A. Editorial team. Diabetes type 2 - meal planning.

To help manage your blood sugar , follow a meal plan that has: Food from all the food groups Fewer calories About the same amount of carbohydrates at each meal and snack Healthy fats Along with healthy eating, you can help keep your blood sugar in target range by maintaining a healthy weight.

MEAL PLANNING FOR CHILDREN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES Meal plans should consider the amount of calories children need to grow. The following tips can help your child stay on track: No food is off-limits.

Knowing how different foods affect your child's blood sugar helps you and your child keep blood sugar in target range. Help your child learn how much food is a healthy amount.

This is called portion control. Have your family gradually switch from drinking soda and other sugary drinks, such as sports drinks and juices, to plain water or low-fat milk.

PLANNING MEALS Everyone has individual needs. Rehman explained that when you eat may affect the genes involved in setting circadian rhythm and metabolism. Released each time you eat, insulin not only triggers the body to absorb blood glucose, but it also acts as a powerful timing signal throughout the body, the study authors explain.

Eat a big breakfast. Eating a large meal in the morning and smaller meals for lunch and dinner may promote weight loss, lower glucose levels, and decrease daily insulin dose in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, according to a review.

For the best effects, make breakfast a pretty substantial meal rich in blood sugar-controlling protein, fiber, and fats. As a general rule, try to minimize any long gaps during the day without fuel, Sheth said, suggesting that 5—6 hours between meals is the max most people with diabetes should push it.

Some, but not all, people may even need to eat every 3—4 hours for optimal blood sugar management, added Phelps. Keep in mind that how often you need to eat is going to be a determining factor in your ideal snacking strategy.

Sheth said she recommends her clients eat one to two snacks per day, but only if needed, depending on their lifestyle, activity levels, and how they feel. After all, while some people really benefit from the snacks in terms of blood sugar maintenance, energy levels, and overall satiety, she said, others do better, leaving things at three meals per day.

In the end, the most important part of snacking might be the intention behind it. Are you snacking at 3 p. But the one thing most experts can agree on is that fasting at night when your body is meant to be sleeping is beneficial.

Try to go 10—12 hours each night without eating, Sheth said. For instance, if you eat breakfast at a. every morning, that means capping your nighttime meals and snacks between and p.

each night. Remember to always talk with your endocrinologist before making any big changes to your meal routine. Changing your meal routine may require adjusting your medications and other aspects of your blood sugar management. Have thoughts or suggestions about this article?

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