Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help you manage your blood sugars and prevent diabetes-related complications. The diabetes exchange diet is a guide that can help you create a balanced diet based on your daily calorie needs, such as the 1,800-calorie diabetic exchange diet. Consult your doctor or dietitian to help you get started.
Purpose
Your daily calorie needs vary depending on your age, gender and activity level. Paying close attention to your daily calorie intake is important for weight maintenance and weight loss. An 1,800-calorie diet can help men and active women lose weight, and sedentary women over the age of 30 maintain their weight.
The Exchange Diet
The exchange diet divides foods into groups, including starches, fruits, milk, meat, vegetables and fat, based on similarities in nutrient content. Any serving of food within each group contains the same amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat, and can be exchanged for one another. For example, in the starch group one slice of bread or 1/2 cup of cooked oatmeal each contain 80 calories, 15 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of protein and 0 g of fat. Based on your calorie needs, you are allowed to eat a certain number of servings from each food group.
1800-Calorie Diet Guide
A dietitian can help create a specific diet plan based on your food preferences. A basic 1,800-calorie diet may include 10 servings of starch, seven servings of meat, three servings of vegetables, three servings of fruit, two servings of milk and three servings of fat. Foods should be evenly distributed among three meals. Eating the same amount of food at around the same time each day improves blood sugar control.
Breakfast
Your breakfast meal may include three servings of starch, one serving of meat, one serving of fruit, one serving of milk and one serving of fat. This may translate into two slices of whole wheat toast with 1 tsp. of margarine, a hard-boiled egg, 3/4-cup serving of whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereal with 1 cup of nonfat milk and a 4 oz. banana.
Lunch
A balanced lunch on your 1,800-calorie diet may consist of three servings of starch, three servings of meat, one serving of vegetables, one serving of fruit, one serving of milk and one serving of fat. For lunch, you may have a turkey sandwich with 3 oz. of turkey meat on two slices of whole wheat bread with 1 tsp. of mayonnaise, served with 1 cup of carrot sticks, a small apple, 6-oz. container of sugar-free nonfat yogurt and five whole grain crackers.
Dinner
Your exchanges for dinner may include four servings of starch, three servings of meat, two servings of vegetables, one serving of fruit and one serving of fat. Your dinner may consist of 3 oz. of grilled tuna steak with a 6-oz. baked potato with 1 tsp. of margarine, 1/2 cup of cooked peas, 2 cups of mixed greens with fat-free salad dressing, 1 cup of nonfat milk and 3/4 cup of cubed pineapple.
