The Benefits of Meal Planning
The goal of a diabetic meal plan is to maintain or achieve a reasonable weight, keep your blood sugar levels in a good range, maintain or achieve normal cholesterol levels, and improve overall health through optimal nutrition. People with diabetes need to take extra care to make sure that their food intake is balanced with medications and exercise to help manage their blood glucose levels. A diabetes meal plan should be individualized for each person to fit their schedule, eating habits, and health goals. 

Switching to a healthier diet means changing some habits, spending more time in the produce section and keeping balance and nutrition in mind along with your own taste. Four easy steps can be taken and you will be on your way to successful meal planning. 

Step 1:  Discover what you really eat. A food journal is one way to evaluate your food habits. The results of a food journal analysis may be surprising because it helps you see how your eating habits fit into your everyday routine. Entries should include what you ate, how much you ate, where you ate, what your motivation for eating was, and what else you were doing at the time. Once you have kept a journal for a week, put aside some time to analyze the results. 

Step 2:  Design a “blueprint for change." After you’ve looked at your current eating habits and decided on your goals, you are ready to make changes. The key to setting goals is to incorporate the foods you love into your plan. Your goals need to fit your lifestyle too. Approach change positively, line up support, and reinforce success.  

Step 3: Compare the “Real” and “Ideal”. Use the MyPyramid.gov meal planner tool as a guide to making healthy choices, leading to a nutritional diet. This website information is individualized based on the person’s age, gender and activity level. It will give amounts needed from each food group to meet your calorie and nutrional needs.  

Step 4: Put your plan into action. A few tips to remember:

• Remember to eat breakfast. Breakfast provides the necessary energy for productive mornings and also helps control eating throughout the day.
• For lunch, bringing food or snacks from home can save money and help you avoid temptations. Choose a wide range of vegetables for salads and sandwiches.  
• For dinner, experiment with new recipes and adjust old ones for healthier eating. Alternating easy meals with more challenging dishes can keep the workload under control. 

Meal planning ideas for singles

“For meal planning for singles, a person needs to have the same basic meal principles,” explained Rardin. "You can take advantage of the sales on meat and produce at the grocery store, and re-package meat and freeze the meat in individual servings for later. Getting a steamer, or rice cooker, is great for meat and vegetables. One important suggestion is stocking your kitchen full of spices, rice, pasta, and try to stock when they are on sale.” 

Meal planning for a family

People with diabetes can eat the same foods the family enjoys. Everyone in the family benefits from healthy eating. It takes some planning but you can fit your favorite foods into your meal plan and still manage your glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. When cooking for a family, changing your eating habits will change the entire family’s eating habits. Show your children that there are “everyday foods” and “special foods." Fixed meal times are the most reliable way to promote healthy eating habits.