The amount of food you eat is closely related to blood sugar control. If you eat more food than is recommended on your meal plan, your blood sugar goes up. Although foods containing carbohydrate have the most impact on blood sugars, the calories from all foods will affect blood sugar. The only way you can tell if you are eating the right amount is to measure your foods carefully.
Measuring hints:
- Practice, practice, practice. Don't rely on measuring once and then just "guesstimating." Pull out the scales at least once a week to check yourself and reinforce your skills.
- Use a glass which you know only holds 4 or 8 ounces to better control your portion. You can also place a piece of tape on the outside of a glass to mark a 4 or 8 ounce line so you will be able to measure easily.
- A bread serving is based on a one-ounce slice of bread. Many single bread servings may weigh more than one ounce, and therefore have more impact on blood sugar. Check the weight or the label of such things as light breads, bagels or rolls.
- To be more precise, know the weight of fruit servings for portion control.
- Check your cereal portion using measuring cups. The cereal label will give you a more precise nutrition information such as calories, carbohydrate and fat grams than the food group averages.
Test your memory:
How much of each of these foods can you have for a 15 gram carbohydrates (or 1 fruit or 1 bread) serving?
Cherries ________________ Rice ___________________
Raisins _________________ Vanilla Wafers ___________________
Grapefruit juice _________________ Lentils/dried beans_________________
