Although Rob and Leticia Galindo had different reasons to change
their eating habits, their meal plans are actually pretty similar,
following common sense guidelines that anyone at risk for diabetes
or obesity can use.
Healthy eating
Although Rob and Leticia Galindo had different reasons to change their eating habits, their meal plans are actually pretty similar, following common sense guidelines that anyone at risk for diabetes or obesity can use.
Rob’s goal is to drop a total of 150 pounds; since January 2007, he has lost almost 90 pounds. Leticia needs to follow a diet that will help keep her diabetes in check. To that end, Rob has created a diet plan for the pair based on books, magazines and the advice of Paul Percival, Leticia’s personal physician, which should help each of them to reach their goals.
“Leticia saw two different nutritionists and a diabetic counselor here in town, and she did not find them useful,” Rob said. “Dr. Percival has helped us the most, and Leticia tries to follow my lead as far as her diet goes.”
Rob has learned many healthy eating tips reading magazines such as “Prevention and “Diabetic Living.” In the past, he has been a member of weight loss programs such as TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) and he uses tips he picked up from the group. Even though he does not have diabetes, his weight struggles do put him at risk, so Rob has chosen to create a diet plan that incorporates many recommendations for diabetics.
One important aspect to planning meals for diabetics is paying close attention to food labels, something Rob does anyway. The key, he says, is to keep an eye out for heart-healthy ingredients such as whole wheat flour, soy and oats and monounsaturated fats such as olive, canola or peanut oils. Likewise, use food labels to watch out for unhealthy ingredients, such as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils and avoid processed carbohydrates and sugars.
Rather than think of their meals as “diet food,” Rob says he tries to think of it as “healthy eating for a new lifestyle.” When buying the week’s groceries, Rob keeps certain basic principles in mind:
– Eat lots of fruits and veggies, in particular, non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans are great for meals.
– Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products.
– Include dried beans (like kidney or pinto) and lentils into meals. Rob makes a pot of beans a few times a week.
– Include fish in meals two or three times a week.
– Choose lean meats like cuts of beef or pork that end in “loin.”
– Drink lots of water.
– Choose calorie-free “diet” drinks instead of regular soda or other sugar-sweetened drinks.
– Choose liquid oils for cooking instead of solid fats.
– Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts
– Watch portion sizes. Eating too much of even healthy foods can lead to weight gain.
Rob plans his menus ahead of time to avoid relying on convenience foods or eating out. The couple does treat themselves to dinner out about once a month, but when they go, they follow their diet plan as much as possible, because “when you start something and see results, you want to keep going,” Rob said.
Because Rob rides his bike to work (“I like riding my bike; it’s fun”), he starts his day off with some fresh squeezed juice and a granola bar. Once at work, he’ll eat his breakfast, similar to the one Leticia eats at home. For the rest of the day, their diet is almost identical, although Leticia eats smaller portions a bit more frequently to keep her glucose levels in check. The pair tries to utilize the diabetic exchange system, which allows them to plan meals with controlled amounts of nutrients throughout the day and provides both variety and flexibility in meal planning.
The exchange program divides all foods into six groups, based on the amounts of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates in each food. These six food groups are: bread and starches (or exchange) 6-11 servings daily; fruit (or exchange) 2-4 servings daily; vegetable (or exchange) 3-5 servings daily; milk (or exchange) 2-3 servings daily; meat or protein (or exchange) 5-7 servings daily; fats (or exchange) use sparingly. There are three other food categories used for meal planning: free foods, combination foods and occasional use/fast foods.
A serving of food within each group should be as equal as possible in calories, protein, fat and carbohydrate to another serving of food in that group and may be “exchanged.” Exchanging or substituting one food for another within a group is allowed, while exchanging foods from one group to another group is not.
For those not familiar with diabetes, these exchange lists may be somewhat confusing, because starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, beans, etc.) are counted as bread (starch) exchanges rather than vegetable exchanges. Vegetable exchanges have less starch and lots of fiber. Foods are grouped into the various exchange lists according to their similarities in calories, carbohydrate, protein and fat content, which influence how they are utilized by the body.
A typical day’s menu for Rob and Leticia could include the following:
Breakfast: 1/2 c. cooked oatmeal (1 starch), 1 c. skim milk (1 milk), 1 small peach (1 fruit)
Mid-morning snack: 1 slice toast, smear of light tub margarine (1 starch)
Lunch: 1 c. vegetable soup (1 starch), 3 oz. lean turkey (1 meat), 2 slices whole-wheat bread (2 starch), lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onion (1 vegetable), 2 tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise (2 fat)
Mid-afternoon snack: 1 c. light yogurt with 12 fresh cherries (1 milk, 1 fruit).
Dinner: 3 oz. chicken breast grilled or baked (1 meat), glazed with garlic and onion jam (1 starch), large baked potato (2 starches) with 3 tbsp. low-fat sour cream (1 fat), 1 c. green beans (2 vegetables)
Evening snack: ½ c. canned peaches (1 fruit), 8 oz. glass of skim milk (1 milk
Obese:
Very fat or overweight. Doctors today
define obesity as being 30 or more pound over one’s ideal body weight.
Diabetes:
A disorder of carbohydrate metabolism, usually occurring in genetically predisposed individuals, characterized by inadequate production or utilization of insulin and resulting in excessive amounts of glucose in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, weight loss, and in some cases progressive destruction of small blood vessels leading to such complications as infections and gangrene of the limbs or blindness.
Know the risks:
Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk for many diseases and health conditions, including the following: high blood pressure, osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint), high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems and
some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).
Complications from diabetes include: adult blindness, lower-limb amputation,kidney disease, nerve damage, diabetic retinopathy, hearing impairment, stroke and/or congestive heart failure.
