1800 Calorie Diabetic Diet Plan

The 1800 calorie diabetic diet plan is one of several popular diabetes diets. What is it? Who is it for? What is a sample example of the menu? Is it for me? Let's take each question in turn.

1800 Calorie Diet

Initially, please note that before beginning any diet, please check with your doctor and/or dietician. The 1800 calorie diet is simply eating no more than 1800 calories a day. To follow the diet, the American Diabetes Association recommends either using the exchange method of eating or carbohydrate counting. Often times this is referred to as an 1800 calorie ADA diet.

The exchange diet is simply a way of categorizing food into a healthy method of eating. Food that has approximately the same nutritional value (calories, carbohydrates, fats, and protein) is grouped together and can be exchanged for one another. The key to the system is based on specific portion or serving sizes for any given food's nutritional value.

Carbohydrate Counting, on the other hand, is somewhat less restrictive than the exchange diet and focuses primarily on the amount of carbohydrates you eat. Carbs tend to raise blood sugar levels more than other foods, thus controlling their intake is important to controlling your blood sugar.

Both approaches view one serving of carbohydrates as 15 grams, about 1 slice of bread. One serving is approximately 65-80 calories. The 1800 calorie diet recommends that 50% of your calories should be in the form of carbohydrates, or approximately 11 servings of carbohydrates.

More on these approaches are discussed below.

Who is the 1800 Calorie Diabetic Diet Plan For?

The National Institute of Health lists the following approximate guidelines for people who may want to follow an 1800 calorie diet.

• Large woman wanting to lose weight
• Small man at a healthy weight
• Medium sized man, low exercise habits
• Medium to large man who wants to lose weight

Again, each person is different, so consult a doctor to make sure it is right for you.

1800 Calorie Diabetic Diet Plan

Any given menu will depend on your personal tastes in food and whether you are following an exchange plan or carb counting. Regardless of the plan, the diet is typically 50 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and 20 percent protein.

Here is an example of what this would look like if you were following the exchange diet.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks (2)	Total
Starches	2	2	3	2	9
Meats	1	2	3	0	6
Veggie's	0	2	2	0	4
Fruits	1	0	1	1	3
Milk	1	0	0	1	2
Fat	0	2	2	0	4

Now, the next question is how this would translate into an actual meal plan. Let's take a look at an actual 1800 calorie diet menu plan.

Breakfast	Exchange	Lunch	Exchange	Dinner	Exchange
1 Cup Cooked Cereal	2 Starch	1 Cup Romaine Lettuce	Free	3 oz. Baked Haddock (olive oil brush)	3 Meat/1 Fat
1 Cup Skim Milk	1 Milk	1/2 Cup Carrots	1 Veggie	1 Cup Brown Rice	2 Starch
1/4 Cup Cottage Cheese	1 Meat	1/4 Cup tomatoes	1 Veggie	1 Cup Steamed Broccoli	2 Veggie
3/4 Cup Blueberries	1 Fruit	2 Tbs. Pinenuts	2 Fat	1 1/3 Cup Strawberries	1 Fruit
Coffee or Tea	Free	2 oz. 95% Fat Free lunchmeat	2 Meat	2 Walnuts	1 Fat
		2 Slices Red. Calorie Bread	2 Starch	1/2 Cup Frozen Yogurt, nonfat, sugar free	1 Starch
				Water	Free

Snack 1	Exchange	Snack 2	Exchange
15 Grapes	1 Fruit	8 oz. Nonfat Plain Yogurt	1 Milk
2 Rice Cakes	1 Starch	3 Gingersnaps	1 Starch

With this meal plan the exchanges are appropriate, but the calories are approximate.

1800 Calorie Diabetic Diet Plan - Is It Right For You?

If you seem to fit into one of the categories listed above, then the diet probably is right for you. While restrictive in the calorie sense, you certainly have a lot of choices when it comes to which foods you are going to eat.

Also, remember that the diet is not simply a sum of its parts. Meaning, you need to design the meals in such a manner as to spread the various food groups across the day so you do not "spike" your blood sugar. For example, if your diet calls for 11 carb helpings a day, you cannot simply eat all 11 at once. Your blood sugar would spike too much. The servings need to be spread throughout the day.

Hopefully, this article helped you decide if the 1800 calorie diabetic diet plan is right for you.