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Meal Planning with the Plate Model

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is the plate model?

• The plate model is a simple way for people who have diabetes to plan meals. With the plate model, a nine-inch plate serves as a guide for the amounts (serving sizes) and kinds of food that you should choose. Using this model can help you to eat the right amount of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates naturally raise your blood sugar after eating. However, eating too much carbohydrate at one time can raise your blood sugar to a very high level. Carbohydrates are found in starches (bread, cereal, starchy vegetables, and beans), fruit, milk, yogurt, and sweets.
  
  
• Using the plate model may help you keep your blood sugar levels under control. Keeping your blood sugar within a normal range without large increases and decreases lowers your risk for developing certain long-term health problems. These include heart, kidney, eye, or nerve problems. To keep track of your blood sugar levels, test your blood sugar regularly. Ask your caregiver for information about how and when to test your blood sugar.

How does the plate model work? A dietitian or caregiver can help you use this model to plan healthy meals that meet your needs. The amount and type of food that you should eat for each meal may depend on your age, weight, usual food intake, physical activity level, blood sugar levels, and diabetes medicine. General guidelines for using the plate model are the following:

• Use a nine-inch dinner plate for your meals.
  
  
• For breakfast: Including meat or a meat substitute and non-starchy vegetables on your plate is optional for this meal.
  
  
  • Fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables. Fill one-fourth of your plate with a serving of starch. Fill the other one-fourth of your plate with a serving of meat or meat substitute.
    
    
  • On the side of your plate, add a serving of milk and a serving of fruit or starch.
  
  
• For lunch and dinner:
  
  
  • Fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables. Fill one-fourth of your plate with a serving of starch. Fill the other one-fourth of your plate with a serving of meat or meat substitute.
    
    
  • On the side of your plate, add a serving of milk and a serving of fruit or starch.
  
  
• Carbohydrate is an important part of a healthy diet. Do not avoid carbohydrates or skip meals because your blood sugar may fall to a low level.

What are serving sizes of foods? It may be helpful to measure your foods with measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a scale. Measuring foods will help you become familiar with what serving sizes of different foods look like. This may be helpful when eating away from home. The servings sizes of some foods are listed below.

Starches:

• Breads:
  
  
  • One-ounce slice of whole-wheat bread.
    
    
  • One-fourth of a four-ounce bagel (one ounce).
    
    
  • One four-inch pancake (about 1/4 inch thick).
    
    
  • One six-inch flour or corn tortilla.
  
  
• Cereals and grains:
  
  
  • Three-fourths of a cup of dry, unsweetened, ready-to-eat cereal or one-fourth cup of low-fat granola. (Serving sizes of ready-to-eat cereals vary. Look at the serving size and the total carbohydrate amount listed on the food label.)
    
    
  • One-half cup of cooked cereal or oatmeal.
    
    
  • One-third cup of rice or pasta.
  
  
• Starchy vegetables:
  
  
  • One-half cup of corn, green peas, sweet potatoes, or mashed potatoes.
    
    
  • One-fourth of a large baked potato.
    
    
  • One cup of winter squash (acorn, butternut, pumpkin).
  
  
• Beans, peas or lentils:
  
  
  • One-half cup of beans and peas (garbanzo, pinto, kidney, white, split, black-eyed).
    
    
  • Two-third cup of lima beans.
    
    
  • One-half cup of lentils.
  
  
• Crackers and Snacks:
  
  
  • Three graham cracker squares or eight animal crackers.
    
    
  • Six saltine-type crackers.
    
    
  • Three cups of popcorn.
    
    
  • Three-fourths of an ounce of pretzels.

Fruit:

• One small fresh fruit (four ounces). Weigh fresh fruit at grocery store. Large pieces of fruit usually weigh more than four ounces and count as more than one serving.
  
  
• One-half cup of canned or fresh fruit.
  
  
• One-half cup (four ounces) of unsweetened fruit juice.
  
  
• One-fourth cup of dried fruit.

Milk and yogurt:

• One cup of skim or one percent milk.
  
  
• Three-fourths of a cup of plain, nonfat yogurt.
  
  
• One cup of fat-free, flavored, yogurt sweetened with a calorie-free sweetener.

Non-starchy vegetables:

• One-half cup of cooked vegetables or one cup of raw vegetables. Some of these vegetables include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini.
  
  
• One-half cup of vegetable juice.

Meat and meat substitutes: Choose lean meats and poultry. Bake, broil, and grill meat instead of frying it.

• Three to four ounces of any lean meat, fish, or poultry.
  
  
• One-half cup of soy tofu or tempeh.
  
  
• One large egg (limit eggs to three a week).
  
  
• One and one-half ounces (about two tablespoons) of nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter.

What other diet guidelines should I follow?

• Fat: Ask your dietitian or caregiver how much fat you should eat each day. As part of a healthy diet, you should limit the amount of fat you eat each day. Choose low-fat protein foods such as poultry (turkey or chicken) without the skin, fish, lean cuts of meat, and beans. Choose low-fat dairy foods such as one percent low-fat or fat-free milk, cheese and yogurt. People with high blood fat levels (such as high cholesterol) may need to count fat grams in their diet.
  
  
• Sugar: You may occasionally include sugar and sweets as part of your meal plan. Count sugar and sweets as part of the amount of carbohydrate that you can have on your plate. Limit sugar and sweets because they are usually also high in calories, fat and cholesterol. Eat smaller portions of sweets by sharing a dessert or asking for a child-size portion at a restaurant.
  
  
• Sodium: For adults with high blood pressure, limiting sodium (found in table salt) in your diet may help to lower blood pressure. Your dietitian or caregiver may suggest that you limit sodium in your diet if you have high blood pressure. Foods high in sodium include salt, soy sauce, processed meats (bologna, hot dogs), snack foods (potato chips) and soups.
  
  
• Alcohol: Adults who have certain health conditions should not drink alcohol. Talk to your caregiver before you drink alcohol. If you choose to drink alcohol, drink it with meals. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach may cause a drop in your blood sugar. Alcohol is an addition to your meal plan and should not replace food (great point). Limit alcohol to one serving of alcohol per day if you are a woman or two servings of alcohol per day if you are a man. A serving is the same as five ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or one and one-half ounces of hard liquor (like gin or whiskey).

Risks: Not making changes suggested by your dietitian or caregiver may cause your blood sugar levels to raise too high or drop too low. Having near-normal blood sugar levels can decrease your risk for developing certain long-term health problems. These include heart, kidney, eye, or nerve problems.

Call ____ if:

• You have high blood sugar during a certain time of day, or almost all of the time.
  
  
• You often have low blood sugar.

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your diet. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

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The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

References and sources