so how do you build your meals? i find the myplate design for food choices helpful; and use mfp tracker to check quantity. I use the diabetes myplate design because it includes the fruits/milk/carbs like potatos in 1/4 of the plate, lean meat in 1/4 and non-starchy veggies in 1/2. I don't necessarily lay out the food on the plate that way and arrange it as I would typically. I tend to do large salad beds, broth veggie soups or bento style bowls. I shoot for +/-30g carbs at meals and 10-15g for small snack coming in about 100g carbs per day.



For Keto (changes the way the body uses energy)
-- when i did a jumpstart keto approach, carbs for the day were 50g or less (and, +/-15g at meals) to maintain a state of ketosis. I did not adjust with the 'net' carbs at all; The macro splits for that shifted to much higher fats and about same on proteins.



when I fresh started in Nov, I did 8 weeks of keto; tracked every meal as I plated it up to eat for the whole 8 weeks. I realized how much I wanted more carbs 'emotionally' - appetite reset in the 1st week and the food physically satisfied me except that I felt a bit fatigue and low energy in my muscles when i tried move (think walking shopping, would feel like I was short on energy/felt weak).

For Low Carb (back to way the body uses energy from blood glucose)
-- after 8 weeks, I shifted back to 'low carb' and increased carbs to +/-30g at meals. I am hitting 100 - 125g carb a day - still tracking up on mfp as I choose my foods to check quantities. My energy is better. Still find myself wanting more carbs, lol (think that is a lifetime habit). My appetite has remained in check with the increase in carbs.

Hi @downport4 ~ (hugs) so remember the shock and being overwhelmed!

back in the 80s when my mother was diagnosed, they gave her a food exchange program - which is essentially the myplate guidelines. Within each section - you can swap carbs for carbs, proteins for proteins, fats for fats... I remember wanting to trade all my food for all carbs, lol - so it was a mind shift to also focus on healthy for the heart fats and proteins too.

then along came the easy online trackers - and that is the ultimate flexibility - whatever foods you want can be fit in or modified or substituted...

the question then becomes - what do I like to eat? (clearly I had to focus on nourishing my body and I wanted to feel emotionally satisfied too - I try to focus where those things intersect.

now, if we eat a 240 calorie package of m&ms - we blow our carbs high... but who wants to eat huge stack of lettuce? There is a happy place somewhere in between. For example - used to grab a bag of chips, but instead can enjoy a larger pile of nourishing food... I like that... an illustration.



Where to begin
-- build up some favorite breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Keep a notebook or place where you can 'go to' and eat those the first few weeks.... Add to it over time. You will get to know portion sizes and what you can eat and how to swap pretty easy, but it's a big learning curve. Especially when I am out and about, I use eyeball hand size to estimate:



fruits - small schoolkid apples, 1/2 small banana, a med-lg tangerine or 2 sm cuties are some of my staple grab & go fruits.

healthy fats - 100 cal paks of guacamole, whip cream, Pam spray, sour cream, olive oil, dashes of hot chili sesame oil in stirfrys for a snap.

proteins - lean kinds of chicken, beef, pork, cheeses/cheesesticks, greek yogurts (higher protein than regular yogurts)

breads - small corn tortillas for street tacos with bbq meats, salsa, shredded cheese, grilled onion & bell pepper strips, guacamole or sour cream - the combos are endless.

here's some smothered street tacos i had last spring - at the time, i was eating about 40% carbs, 30% fats, 30% proteins.

It also shows how paper jot my blood sugars before meals when I tested
132 is the bs#
b4b (before breakfast) Ab (after breakfast) etc
F (fasting)
time

and i jot the food items (i recently started noting just the carbs on my paper but not the other macros), and also any other notes, then i can more easily flip back through... [on the Mfp food tracker is where I calculate the total carbs & cals and other macros, and figure out how much of each thing I can eat and fit in my goals; i tend to want to eat more and it helps me find a good amount to actually eat)




i use a chocolate protein powder in my morning coffee instead of a cocoa packet (it is protein instead of carbs; it is an emotional compromise to include chocolate in my eating)

a fav snack - tbsp of natural peanut butter with a square of dark chocolate - microwave a little, swizzle it with 1/2 a small banana. (also a chocolate compromise.)

So, essentially what I am saying is there are a lot of wonderful eating configurations that will satisfy us physically (feel full enough), nourish our body and be emotionally enjoyable - it is just different than we were eating - finding what we can eat is an adventure forward...

with respect to exploring foods as an adventure - we rarely ate much freggies, so i started exploring the "superfoodsrx' book - would read about something, try it (several ways), keep what I like as part of new2me regular eating or set aside to try more later... and slowly added new2me foods and ways to prepare... tucking it into my regular days foods & ideas - it changes by season over the year... right now Asparagus is coming in season and bell peppers soon - oh and cabbage for St. Patricks.... it is fun to work in yummy things for the holidays and seasonal foods.

Green cabbage idea - cut in big wedges or thick slices, spray a large baking dish with Pam, lay the pieces in the baking dish, spoon some spaghetti sauce (or spiced tomato sauce or v-8 juice), cover with foil, bake at 350 until tender.



a lot of diabetes recommendations are for 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. I shifted to 4 +/- equal meals.

some people are doing intermittent fasting or time restricted eating or OMAD (one meal a day) but there can be some issues with respect to diabetes;

diabetes is essentially when our body produces insulin in the pancreas - normally our body matches the amount of insulin to how much we eat to keep our blood sugar in 'normal' ranges. When we are pre-diabetic, our body is not using the insulin as well and the pancreas tends to pump out extra insulin... when the process is not working well,
-- our blood sugar #'s increase above normal - and we become pre-diabetic... they often suggest oral meds during this period
-- if it gets worse over time, age, weight gain, triggerd by meds or whatnot, then it can move into type 2 diabetes. and they usually start with oral meds, but if that does not do the trick, they adjust meds and/or add additional meds and/or insulin.
--If the cells in the pancreas quit working altogether, then it moves to type 1 insulin dependent.

So what is it about diabetes that is important to know? - in the early stages, it can often be controlled pretty easily with our food choices and moving the body and that is the fabulous news! Because - that does not mean eating things we hate - it means finding new2us ways to eat that gives our body an assist... Later, well, that's for later

Hope this helps - happy to talk ideas! cheers

You're welcome @downport4

~you might consider a comprehensive 'what is diabetes' type book. I read one in the 90s that helped me kind of pull information together - there are more current/updated books to choose from, i imagine. There's a bit of a learning curve to get going, so hang in! Lot's of stuff online here/elsewhere. Happy to talk anytime