Time Between Meals For Diabetics

Making A Diabetic Meal Plan Work For You

How a Diabetes Meal Plan Can Help You Knowing how to plan heart healthy meals is important for managing all types of diabetes diets. Food can raise blood sugar levels. The type and amount of foods that are eaten will affect how high and how fast blood sugar levels will rise. It is important to make healthy eating choices about when to eat, what to eat and how much to eat. When should a diabetic eat? Eat your meals and snacks at about the same time each day. By doing this, your blood sugar levels may stay under control. Space your meals 4-5 hours apart. Eat in-between snacks as needed. If you take insulin or diabetes pills, keep the right balance between food and these medicines. You should understand how long your pills or insulin take to work to lower blood glucose levels. Find out when they work the best you plan when to eat. Snacks between meals are very important if you go more than five hours from meal to meal. What should a diabetic eat? Eat about the same size meals and snacks every day. Most people eat a small breakfast, a medium sized lunch and a larger dinner. This forces the body to process most of the day's food at the end of the day. A better idea is to eat all meals that are about the same size. You will be eating balanced meals throughout the day. Make healthy food choices rich in vitamins, minerals, lean protein like white chicken and fiber such as brown rice. The fiber takes longer to break down. Blood sugars rise slower. This will keep blood sugar levels better controlled. It will help your body better process the sugar coming from your food. Do not skip meals. If you take insulin or diabetes pills, do not skip meals. This can cause your blood sugars to drop too low. Skipping one meal could cause you to overeat at the next meal. Even if you do not take Continue reading >>

Does Timing Of Food Matter With Diabetes?

Eating certainly affects glucose control. But does the timing of your food intake really matter, as long as you take your medications when you’re supposed to? What about European cultures who favor a larger midday meal? What time of the day should you eat for optimal glycemic control? Glycemic Control Certainly, regularly scheduled meals and snacks are best for glycemic control. This is a long well-known principle. Standard of care recommendations are three meals, 4-5 hours apart, same or similar times of the day every day. Setting your meal times and medication times on a regular schedule will result in improved glucose control throughout the day, and over time, evidenced by improved HbA1c values and improved insulin sensitivity. A sample daily meal schedule would be: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. breakfast + 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. lunch + 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. dinner. Regular recommendations are 60 grams of carbohydrate at each of these meals, but that should be individualized by working with a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). Individuals on long-acting insulin will need a bedtime snack including 15-30 grams of carbohydrate to avoid nighttime hypoglycemia. This can be tricky for people working a night shift, or other lifestyle issues affecting a ‘typical’ schedule. Again, work with an RD or CDE to determine what can work for you. Hunger & Satiety Eating on a regular schedule, with small frequent mini-meals keeps you satisfied. Skipping meals in order to lose weight eventually ends up with overeating at the next meal. Eating the traditional three larger meals each day may lead to hungry spells in between. Hunger scores were significantly improved in human subjects fed a larger morning meal compare to those fed a larger evening meal. A Continue reading >>

Meal Timing

“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper,” is a saying attributed to 20th-century American nutrition activist Adelle Davis. Many people, of course, do not follow this advice to eat a large breakfast, a medium-large lunch, and a small dinner. It is commonplace in the United States for dinner to be the largest meal of the day, and some people see no problem in this. Others, however — including many researchers and people with diabetes — question whether timing meals this way produces the best health effects. This has led to some debate over whether a large dinner, or a late dinner, could be harmful to your health. A recent article at Fox News Latino, written by a registered dietitian, claims that eating dinner later in the evening has not been shown to cause weight gain or to produce ill health effects. The author notes that in many Latin countries, as well as in Europe, it is routine to eat dinner at 9 PM. The problem with late dinners in the United States, he claims, is that they are often the main source of food for the day due to hectic schedules and failure to prioritize meals. Thus, people are often starved at dinnertime and overeat. As a guideline to prevent this, he suggests that people should consume 70% of their day’s calories before dinner, but they may eat the remaining 30% as late as they want, except within 90 minutes before bed. A study published last year, however, somewhat contradicts the claim that meal timing makes no difference. Presented at Obesity 2010: The Obesity Society 28th Annual Scientific Meeting, the study found that eating a later dinner produced several metabolic effects. The participants were 10 healthy Japanese men with an average age of 40 and an average body-mass index (BMI) of 23. They were ea Continue reading >>

Time Between Meals | Diabetic Connect

I eat breakfast at 6:00. My schedule for lunch is at 1:00. Is that to long between meals? Your bg meter can answer that better than I can but for me I try to eat even a little bit every 3-4 hours. Now please don't picture me as Jabba the Hutt I don't overeat at each meal/snack. You are talking of seven hours between breakfast and lunch so why not consider something around 9:45 or so a few low fat cheese sticks, a handful of nuts, a low fat yogurt, or something (NO, you shouldn't lay a finger on your Butterfinger) just to get a little nutrition to your mission. See how it goes in affecting your mind, body and soul and tweak things but seven hours between food is, in MY opinion, too much. It would be for me,I would be sinking into the low #s If I need to go a long time between meals I have some good snaks on hand. Yes. I eat at 7- 730ish and then I eat lunch at 12- 1230ish, and dinner at 5. Check my bedtime glucose at 9 and take my insulin, then if my sugar is low enough I eat a snack. Yes, have a small snack around 9:30. You should find it helps keep your blood sugar more stable. Continue reading >>

How Long To Go Without Eating Between Meals

The time frame between your meals depends on your particular needs. How Long to Go Without Eating Between Meals Melodie Anne Coffman specializes in overall wellness, with particular interests in women's health and personal defense. She holds a master's degree in food science and human nutrition and is a certified instructor through the NRA. Coffman is pursuing her personal trainer certification in 2015. Timing your meals and how often you eat depends on your activity level, time frame and nutritional requirements. Having certain conditions, such as diabetes, may require you to follow a strict diet plan and eat at the same times everyday to stabilize your blood sugar levels. Additionally, if you are an athlete or work out vigorously, you may need to eat more often than someone who is sedentary. Meet with a registered dietitian; she can help you put together a meal plan and frequency that fits your specific needs and lifestyle. Your basal metabolic rate, also called resting metabolic rate, is the number of calories your body uses while at rest for digestion, breathing and other autonomic systems. About 10 percent of the calories you consume go towards digestion and absorption of nutrients. Additionally, age, sex, body size, body composition and activity level affect your BMR. You may have a high activity level, requiring several meals throughout the day or have a slow-paced sedentary lifestyle, in which you eat only a few meals per day. Either way, it is important to space out your meals with similar time intervals, such as every four or five hours, so your body has adequate calories for daily functions. One study conducted by the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland and published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2007 evaluated health Continue reading >>

How Many Times A Day Should A Diabetic Eat?

Controlling blood sugar levels is the most important task in managing diabetes effectively. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause serious complications, including heart disease, organ failure or stroke. Eating the proper foods with the correct frequency is important in improving blood sugar levels. Video of the Day Diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than they should be. This occurs because either your pancreas does not secrete enough insulin to allow blood sugar to enter into cells and tissues or the cells and tissues are resistant to the effects of insulin. To manage this biochemical process, you can control the amount of sugar in your blood, which puts less strain on your pancreas and body to regulate blood sugar levels. How Food Affects Blood Sugar Many variables in your diet affect how high your blood sugar will be after a meal. You must choose foods with a low glycemic index, which is a measurement of how fast your blood sugar will rise after a meal. Furthermore, eating small portions of high-fiber, low-calorie and low-fat foods will help avoid serious complications. Strive to eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean meats and low-fat dairy products to improve your blood sugar control. Frequency of Eating Eat smaller portions up to six times per day to control your blood sugars, states SmallStep.gov. To begin, you can try using a smaller, saucer-sized plate to learn how to reduce your portion sizes. Although the foods you may eat per meal may have a different calorie content, you will take in fewer calories per meal than if you are eating on a full plate. For example, a smaller plate of pasta will have fewer calories than a larger plate. Medline Plus further recommends eating your meals at the same times Continue reading >>

Snacking When You Have Diabetes

Learning how to count the carbohydrates that you eat (carb counting) helps you plan what to eat. It will also keep your blood sugar under control. Your health care provider may tell you to eat a snack at certain times of the day, most often at bedtime. This helps keep your blood sugar from getting too low at night. Other times, you may have a snack before or during exercise for the same reason. Ask your provider about the snacks you can and you can't have. Needing to snack to prevent low blood sugar has become much less common because of new types of insulin that are better at matching the insulin your body needs at specific times. If you have type 2 diabetes and are taking insulin and often need to snack during the day, your doses of insulin may be too high and you should talk to your provider about this. You will also need to ask about what snacks to avoid. Your provider can tell you if you should snack at certain times to keep from having low blood sugar. This will be based on your: Diabetes treatment plan from your provider Expected physical activity Lifestyle Low blood sugar pattern Most often, your snacks will be easy to digest foods that have 15 to 45 grams of carbohydrates. Snack foods that have 15 grams (g) of carbohydrates are: Half cup (107 g) of canned fruit (without the juice or syrup) Half banana One medium apple One cup (173 g) melon balls Two small cookies Ten potato chips (varies with size of chips) Six jelly beans (varies with size of pieces) Having diabetes does not mean that you must stop eating snacks. It does mean that you should know what a snack does to your blood sugar. You also need to know what healthy snacks are so you can choose a snack that will not raise your blood sugar or make you gain weight. Ask your provider about what snacks you can Continue reading >>

How Long Can A Diabetic Go Without Food?

A diabetic cannot go without food for long. If a diabetic doesn't eat regularly, her blood glucose level can plummet. Diabetics should eat snacks and meals on a schedule because a delay of as little as half an hour can lower blood sugar, which can have catastrophic results. Diabetics are especially prone to a condition known as hypoglycemia, a reaction caused by too much insulin in the bloodstream. Once a diabetic takes insulin, it is important to eat something within 30 minutes before blood sugar begins dropping. The dose of insulin you take must also match the amount of carbohydrates you consume in order to keep blood sugar levels under control. When a diabetic does not eat enough food, but still administers insulin, blood glucose levels can drop dangerously low, inducing hypoglycemia. Early signs of hypoglycemia include dizziness, weakness, headache, hunger or shakiness. If blood glucose drops too low, a person can become confused or even lose consciousness. In some cases, insulin shock can lead to coma. Although all diabetics suffer hypoglycemia at times, according to the American Diabetes Association, you should talk to your doctor about what your blood glucose levels should be. If your blood sugar falls below what your doctor recommends, you are likely hypoglycemic. When hypoglycemia occurs, you need to get some sugar into your body quickly. Fruit juice, milk, a few pieces of hard candy, or a tablespoon of sugar or honey can help raise glucose levels in the blood temporarily. Diabetics often need to adjust the doses of insulin they take depending on how many grams of carbohydrates they eat for a meal or snack. While this balance can be different for one person than for another, counting the carbohydrates you consume allows you to maintain a healthful blood glucose Continue reading >>

Altering Meal Times

Knowing how to plan meals is an important part of managing all types of diabetes. Eating meals and snacks at the same time every day helps control blood sugar levels. Sometimes, it is not always possible to do this. Schedules change, special occasions arise or travel plans may make it necessary to change meal times. By using the tips below, you can control your diabetes even when meal times vary. What if your dinner will be later than usual? Usually, you can eat a meal 1 hour before or after your normal mealtime without any effect on your blood sugar levels. If your dinner will be two or more hours later, eat your evening snack close to your usual dinner time. Then, eat your dinner at your usual snack time. This will help avoid low blood sugars at dinner. It will also keep you from getting too hungry. What to do at a brunch? For brunch, it is still best to eat a small "snack-type" meal (fruit and a slice of toast with margarine) at your normal breakfast time. This small meal will keep you from eating too much at the brunch. If you do take insulin or diabetes pills, take your dosage at the normal time. Your doctor can advise you in this matter. After the brunch, eat your afternoon snack at its normal time. What can you do about holidays? Often, the holiday meal is served at noon. Eat your normal breakfast. Have the bigger meal for lunch and a lighter "lunch-sized" meal (sandwich and fruit) for dinner. If you have a bigger lunch, an afternoon snack may not be needed. If the holiday meal is in the middle of the afternoon, eat your breakfast at the normal time. Also, have a late morning snack. An evening snack may or may not be needed. What happens when you have delays at restaurants? If you take insulin or other diabetes pills and your restaurant meal is delayed for one ho Continue reading >>

Meal Times And Diabetes: What’s The Connection?

will have diabetes by 2050. With statistics like these, it’s becoming increasingly important that we understand the best way to eat in order to manage blood sugar levels. For well-planned meals to have the most benefit, we must first look at the timing of our meals and understand the impact it has on an individual’s blood sugar levels. Let’s take a closer look at why regular meal times are helpful: Prevent blood sugar fluctuations For individuals that are taking long-acting insulin or oral medications that assist with decreased blood sugar levels, eating at least every 4-5 hours is necessary to prevent low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia. Promote weight loss When individuals are able to stabilize their blood sugar levels throughout the day, this helps regulate their appetite as well. It is well documented that when people with type 2 diabetes achieve a 5-10 percent weight loss, this will increase insulin sensitivity and help lower blood sugar. Improve overall nutrition The power of planning cannot be ignored when it comes to creating a healthy diabetes meal plan. While sometimes easier said than done, meals planned in advance will likely be more balanced and include better choices. When we arrive to a meal too hungry, we tend to choose whatever food is the closest to us, eat faster and in larger portion sizes. When an individual with diabetes has been encouraged to consume ‘regular’ meals, this can often be confusing if additional guidance is not provided. Generally, it is recommended to eat breakfast within 90 minutes of waking and then eat at least every 4-5 hours during the day after your first meal. Snacks are not necessary, but can be included if hunger is present between meals. In fact, bedtime snacks are very helpful. Since it is recommended to av Continue reading >>

7 Answers - On What Time Intervals Should A Diabetic Patient Take Food?

On what time intervals should a diabetic patient take food? Since most type 2 diabetics are overweight to obese, this study showing that having 2 hypocaloric meals instead of 6 hypocaloric meals a day (containing the same amount of totalcalories per day) caused more weight loss, two larger meals a day (instead of what we for decades have told our patients to do: eat small amounts over the day) seems best, see: This is a difficult question to answer. I am assuming the question for Type 2 Diabetic. I hope you have already consulted your doctor. Most people will suggest 6 meals a day i.e. snacking something every 23 hours, which is actually a wrong approach. A type 2 diabetic is insulin resistant i.e. his/her muscles dont recognize insulin and dont absorb the glucose that is carried by the insulin. The glucose instead of ending up as glycogen in muscle storage, ends up as fat around waist because the same insulin not recognized by the muscles will deposit the glucose as fat around waist. What happens if a T2D eats frequent snacking instead of just 3 meals a day? The insulin spike occurs 3 times a day. 3 meals and 3 snacks a day - insulin spikes 6 times a day. 3 meals, 3 snacks and 3 drinks (coffee or soda with sugar) - insulin spikes 9 times a day. As the body is already resistant to insulin and the excess insulin only adds to fat deposit, it is recommended to reduce the frequency of meals rather than increase. Check Dr Jason Fungs web site intensive dietary management. He has reversed T2D for many patients through Intermittent Fasting. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I went through pre diabetes condition in early 2015 at HbA1c of 5.9. I am keeping the blood sugar in control at HbA1c of 5.5 through Low Carb High Fat diet and Intermittent Fasting. Usually my fasting duratio Continue reading >>

The Art Of Grazing: Diabetes Forecast

By Tracey Neithercott; Recipes by Robyn Webb, MS, LN Some time ago, after an embarrassing night with a block of cheese and a sleeve of Saltines, I decided that for the next week I would eat three meals a day. Nothing more. Well, here's the thing about this kind of strict regimen: There's always cheating involved. For me, it came in the form of ravenous trips to the vending machine, mindless munching between meals, and postdinner snacks when my stomach still wouldn't stop grumbling. Stretching the time between meals, I reasoned, was doing nothing but making me eat more. So I took a different tack: grazing throughout the day. According to Julia Zumpano, RD, a dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic, eating multiple small meals in lieu of three squares could help you lose weight and better control your diabetes. And a 2001 study published in the British Medical Journal found that eating frequent small meals may lower your cholesterol; in the study, people who ate six small meals a day had 5 percent lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels than those who ate only one or two meals even though that first group consumed more calories. "Six small meals is more healthy for someone who is trying to watch their cholesterol and their diabetes," says Zumpano. "You tend to eat less and pay attention to what you're eating." But before you start snacking your way to better health, be warned: You can't just add a few extra meals to your day and hope to lose weight. In order to get the benefits of eating frequent small meals, you must also downsize the breakfast, lunch, and dinner you're already consuming. "Snacking is good but you need to eat less or you're going to go over your calories," says Zumpano, who suggests cutting each of your typical meals in half. Once you've slashed Continue reading >>

5 Ways To Stabilize Blood Sugar With Meal Timing

When it comes to stabilizing your blood sugars, timing can be everything. From the hour of your first meal of the day to how late you eat at night, the timing of your meals can heavily dictate how well your blood sugars are managed on a daily basis. When my clients are in the habit of eating healthy still see peaks and valleys in their numbers, we sit down to re-evaluate when and how often they are eating. Here are five strategies to help you with better meal timing and keeping blood glucose in check: 1. Eat within the first few hours of rising Among the majority of my new clients, breakfast is the most-skipped meal of the day. Many people feel they don’t have time for breakfast, which is unfortunate because it truly is the most important meal – especially if you have diabetes. When you’re sleeping, your body is in a fasting-like state. When you wake up, eating within the first couple of hours can help break that fast (hence the name “breakfast”). And although it may seem like you’re saving yourself from extra calories or spiking your blood sugars, skipping breakfast can end up backfiring. You may find yourself over-eating at your first meal or gravitating more toward starchy or sugary foods. What’s worse, if blood glucose levels indeed drop too low, the body will send out hormones to release stored glucose into the blood stream, spiking your sugars and making it even harder to regulate your numbers throughout the day when you do finally eat. If you’re strapped for time, try to at least grab a small, balanced bite – pair a bit of protein with a high-fiber carbohydrate like peanut butter and whole-wheat toast, or a hard-boiled egg and fresh fruit. 2. Avoid Eating Right Before Bedtime It may be tempting to sneak in that late-night snack right before bedt Continue reading >>

Eating With Diabetes: Smart Snacking

20 Diabetes-Friendly Snack Ideas Whether you want to lose weight or simply eat healthier, enjoying a couple of snacks each day is a smart habit for many people. Eating a planned snack between meals can help curb your hunger (and therefore prevent overeating at mealtime) and also increase your energy levels when you need a boost. Snacks offer an additional benefit for people with type 2 diabetes: They can help optimize your blood glucose control. So if you haven't incorporated snacks into your diabetes meal plan yet, now may be the time to start. Here's what you need to know to snack smart, along with some carbohydrate-controlled snack ideas you can try today! 3 Considerations When Planning Snacks The number of snacks a person with diabetes should eat during the day depends largely on your eating preferences, your weight-management goals, and the timing of your major meals. People with diabetes can eat snacks throughout the day for a number of reasons—simply enjoying a mid-morning snack or planning them into their day for better blood glucose control. Exactly how many snacks you should eat—and when you eat them—is very individualized. Meeting with a registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator is the best way to make sure your diabetes meal plan meets your needs. However, here are a few basic guidelines that can be helpful when planning snacks. How many hours pass between your meals? In general, people with diabetes who want to optimize blood glucose control should not go longer than five hours without eating. If you consistently eat your main meals every 4 to 5 hours, then you may not need any snacks between meals. However, if your main meals are generally spaced out at longer intervals, snacking between meals can help you achieve your best blood glucose co Continue reading >>

How Often Should I Eat?

Q: How often should a person with type 2 diabetes eat? A: Everyone needs to eat about every four to six hours during the day to keep energy levels up. People with type 2 diabetes usually have better blood glucose control if their meals and carbohydrates are spaced evenly throughout the day. Too many carbohydrates at any one time can raise blood glucose too high, even if you take diabetes medicine. Many people tend to skip breakfast, eat a light lunch, and then eat too much in the evening. A person with diabetes should attempt to eat about the same amount of carbohydrates at each meal. Breakfast is especially important if you need to control your weight. It helps to jump-start your metabolism and makes you less likely to overeat later. If you are unusually active or on fixed doses of medication, you may need a snack. Monitoring your blood glucose will help you to decide that with your medical team. Sometimes diabetes medication can be adjusted so you do not need snacks if you are concerned about your weight. Connie Crawley, M.S., R.D., L.D., is a nutrition and health specialist for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service and a registered dietitian Continue reading >>