rewards. Taking small steps to change the way you eat and increase your activity can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. Decide how you’ll reduce your calories to lose weight. Think about what you’re willing and able to do to be more active almost every day.
Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease. If you delay or prevent it, you’ll enjoy better health in the long run. Feeling good and having energy are keys to living the good life.
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Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes: What’s the Difference?
There are many types of diabetes, but the two most common are type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes means that your blood glucose is too high.
Everyone’s blood has some sugar in it because your body needs sugar for energy. Our brain can only work if it has blood glucose. But too much glucose in your blood—too much sugar—can mean you have diabetes. Normally, your body breaks food down into glucose and sends it into your bloodstream. Then your pancreas (PAN-kree-us) makes a hormone called insulin (IN-suh-lin). Insulin’s job is to help get the glucose from the blood into your body’s cells, where it can be used for energy. Insulin helps keep blood glucose in a normal range.
In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas makes little or no insulin. People with type 1 diabetes get insulin from a shot or a pump to keep their blood glucose in their target range. Most people with type 1 diabetes take two to four shots a day or use an insulin pump. Old names for type 1 diabetes are juvenile-onset diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is not as common as type 2 diabetes.
People with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes still make insulin. But their pancreas may not be making enough, or their body may not be using it the right way. People with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes can manage their condition by watching what they eat, by being more active, and sometimes by taking diabetes medicines. Old names for type 2 diabetes are “maturity-onset diabetes” or “adult-onset diabetes,” but now kids are getting type 2. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes.
Kids who are overweight and aren’t active are more likely to get prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. So are kids who have a family member with diabetes. Some racial and ethnic groups have a greater risk of getting diabetes: Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans (Latinos), Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
Today everyone knows someone who has diabetes. It may be a family member, like your mother, your aunt, or your child. Or it may be a coworker or good friend. When I worked for the American Diabetes Association, I always carried my American Diabetes Association work bag when I traveled on an airplane. Every single time, someone on the plane would talk to me about diabetes. They talked about their grandchild’s diabetes, about their brother’s diabetes, or about their own diabetes.
Diabetes is serious, and more people are getting it. By taking care of your diabetes and showing others how to do it, you may prevent people you love from getting diabetes. You can be a role model for people around you.
People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes do some of the same things to care for their diabetes. They watch what they eat, they are active, and they check their blood glucose levels using a meter. But we’ll learn more about all of that in later chapters in this book.
Blood Sugar vs. Blood Glucose
You may have heard people talk about their sugar when they talk about diabetes. Your doctor or another member of your diabetes health care team may talk to you about blood sugar or blood glucose. Blood sugar and blood glucose are the same. In this book, I’ll use blood glucose when talking about the amount of sugar or glucose in your blood.
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Eating with Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes
When people find out they have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, the first thing they want to know is what they can eat, when they can eat, and how much they can eat. In fact, studies show that people with diabetes find dealing with food the hardest part of their diabetes care.
Many people think that having diabetes means they can’t eat their favorite foods. But that’s just not true. You can still eat the foods you love. By working with your dietitian and by reading this book, you will know how to include your favorite foods and still keep your blood glucose levels on track. For more information on blood glucose goals, see Chapter 8.
For most of us, food means more than just getting full. Eating meals brings us together with family and friends. It brings comfort and pleasure. That’s why, for most people with diabetes, food is the toughest part. There’s no doubt about it. Changing the way you eat or the times you eat can be really tough. But keep in mind that you’re in charge—you can do it.
When you’re first told you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, you may not be able to meet with a dietitian right away. So what do you do? There are many ways to take on diabetes meal planning, so let’s talk about some of those ways. The first diabetes meal planning method I’ll talk about is called Rate Your Plate.
Rate Your Plate
Life isn’t easy, and having diabetes isn’t easy. But an easy first step in meal planning is to Rate Your Plate. With prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, the amount of food you eat affects your blood glucose. Rate Your Plate is a method that helps you judge your food portions. In fact, Rate Your Plate gives you portion power. For most people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, eating smaller portions makes their blood glucose go down. Here’s how Rate Your Plate works. After you’ve put your food on your plate, take a look:
• Is about one-fourth of your plate filled with starchy foods, such as noodles, rice, corn, peas, or potatoes?
• Is about one-fourth of your plate filled with main dish (protein) foods, like meat, poultry, fish, or meat substitutes, such as cheese, eggs, or tofu?
• Is at least half of your plate filled with cooked or raw vegetables, such as salad, or cooked vegetables like carrots, green beans, spinach, or sliced tomatoes?
• You may also want to add one or two side foods along with your meal, such as a dinner roll and a small piece of fruit.
Check your plate against the picture shown above. How did you do? What changes do you think you need to make?
• Do you need to work on including more vegetables or fruit?
• Do you need to cut back on starches?
Now you know how to Rate Your Plate. Other members of your family who don’t have diabetes but want to lose weight might want to rate their plates along with you. Your family is a key part of your diabetes team when it comes to food and meal planning. Lean on them. Ask them for help and support. You may also become a role model for your family and friends by rating your plate and using portion power. Rate Your Plate also works great when you’re eating out. For more on eating out, see Chapter 5.
Now let’s talk about another diabetes meal planning method you can use before you see a dietitian. It’s called Carbohydrate Counting.
