By Request: THE CHART!

I'd been asked to post the chart they gave me at my first appointment, the one that dictates what food combinations I had to have at each meal.  Just a warning, every dietician/nurse/white coat may have a different take on what you are supposed to have.  This one certainly wasn't tailored for me--it came pre-printed in the log book--but it may not be exactly the same formulation that another health facility may mandate.  So, insert whatever disclaimer about this not giving out medical advice or diagnosing, treating, or curing any condition.  Think of it as a chart, with words on it, and go from here!

Here goes!   I also added samples of what I ate of the last week in these spots, in case you are wondering what I ate (voyeur much?) or want some suggestions of what to try.

Breakfast:  
1 starch                         1/2 a whole wheat English Muffin
1 vegetable                    V8 juice
2 protein                        Scrambled eggs
1 fat                               Margarine, plus "free" food of sugar free blackberry jam

AM Snack
1 milk                          Banana cream pie yogurt, light
1 fruit                          Strawberries (1 1/4 cup, measured when whole)
1 protein                      Babybel cheese

Lunch
2 starches                     1/2 pita and some hummus
2 vegetables                 Salad with tomato, lebanese pickles
2 protein                      Chicken shwarma
2 fat                             The olive oil pooling on top of the hummus,
                                   whatever garlic sauce is besides garlic
                                    (white and creamy, that's all I know)

PM Snack
1 milk                         1/2 cup sugar free ice cream, plus a little extra milk
1 fruit                          Small banana
1 protein                     2 Tbsp peanut butter
                                  (Blended together into a smoothie in my Rocket Blender!)

Dinner
2-3 starch                  Chow mein noodles (1/3 cup is a serving, I probably had 2 servings)
2 vegetables               Veggie mix including green beans, zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms
2 proteins                  Chicken (mushroom chicken)
                                and beef (black pepper beef)

Night Snack/Dessert
1 milk                       8 oz lowfat milk
1 starch                    Banana nut cheerios (1/2 cup)
1 protein                  1/4 cup of peanuts
                               (No, I didn't put them on the cheerios. I just ate them.)


As you can see, there is good variety here, but some combinations and things you can't have.  So, no berries on my cereal.   Hence, banana nut cheerios, because then I pretend I have a banana.

Another oddity is that you can't have milk in the morning.  So, I could have cereal in the morning, but no milk, and then I ask, WHY BOTHER?   You also may have noticed that hummus is a starch.  I hoped it'd count as a protein, but it doesn't.  Neither do refried beans--even though both are high-protein foods.  Go figure.  I bought a can of kidney beans and a can of garbanzos before I figured that out.  Sure, I like them, but I like them better when I think it's protein, less so when I realize it's that or a potato.

I've put some measurements up there, but generally the rule is, for carbs, which they are most concerned about, is aim for 15 carbs per serving.  You can actually subtract a few carbs if there is a lot of protein in the item.    For the yogurts, they actually didn't want me having the "diabetic friendly" yogurts I'd been eating from the time I got my "bad news" until I had my first appointment, because they wanted the carbs in the zone of the 12-20 carbs per serving range, and that itty bitty cup wasn't at that point.  I guess I could have two of them, if I wanted, but it's good to know you have more choices than that, because that kind only came in two flavors.  Fortunately, Yoplait Light falls right in there.  Just check the label on your favorite (or whatever is on sale). 

And for the record?  I totally got suckered into buying "Black Forest Cake" flavored Yoplait and darn it if it wasn't just dark cherry.  I even had my husband taste it, and there was not a hint of chocolate to be found. (There was a picture of cake on the label.  That's false advertising.  They're going to have to start putting a sticker on it, saying, "Does not contain cake," just like my fave salad dressing, Brianna's Vinaigrette, which has a sticker that says, "Does not contain actual strawberries."  Apparently it is supposed to go ON strawberries, but that big ol' berry is kinda confusing.) 

The other thing I was told was that I don't have to eat EVERYTHING in every meal or snack.  Specifically, I can skip the veggies at breakfast--and really, how often do you have a vegetable at BREAKFAST?  (V-8 is the way I sneak it in there, or, some diced bell pepper in my eggs.)   At any snack, I can opt out of the milk, fruit or starch, but not the protein.  Most of the time, I try to eat what I'm told in the portions I'm told, but sometimes, I'm just not hungry enough to chow down on one more item, especially if I know I am going to be eating dinner in 2 hours, or ready to go to bed soon.

But don't skip the evening snack entirely!  The concern is your blood sugar will dip too low when you sleep.  You test in the morning, your fasting rate, and if you skip your night-snack, you could have a problem.  

Still, I am eating MORE on this plan than I would have before.  For example, I already ate snacks during the day, but, taking the morning snack for example, I just would have had the Babybel, or just a yogurt, but not both, and not fruit in addition to whatever fruit might be in the yogurt.   That to me is nearly a meal.  What I am not having that I would have grabbed before is the Nutty Buddy bars, tasty as they might be as an afternoon snack, what with their waffle-like wafers laced in chocolate and smuggling peanut butter inside, or the regular cookies n cream ice cream, the kind you buy in the giant tub for $4.00, with chocolate syrup for my dessert.  (Hey, the tub is reusable, and is currently holding a bunch of pens and pencils!  It's totally environmental friendly!  That is my excuse for buying it and I'm sticking to it.)

Meanwhile, it's after lunch here, my blood sugar is good, and I get a snack once the dishwasher is done.  The rocket blender top is in there, and I wanna smoothie!