Count Your Carbs (cont2）

Using Carb Choice to Meal Plan - How This Works

Sample Meal Plan: 1,800 calories 206 gram Carb, 60 grams Fat, 112 gm Protein (45%-30%-25%)

3 meals= 60 grams carbs; one snack 15 grams carbs

1,800 calorie food Exchange Plan

3 Milk, 4 Veg, 2 Fruit, 8 Starches, 8 Meat, 4 Fat - 13 carb choices

Distribute the 13 carb choices evenly throughout the day. A choice can be a milk, a starch or a fruit. So, if you happen to not have enough fruit (15 grams) in a day, you can switch a fruit choice for a starch (15 grams) choice (hopefully it has fiber!).

Using the Food Label to Carb Count

Suppose you are eating a frozen dinner meal, or a combination meal of fish, pasta and vegetables. You can use the food label to find the carbohydrate content. Find the total carbohydrates (in one serving or the entire meal - see sample nutrition label below). Fiber and sugars and sugar alcohols are sub-listed there also. If there is more than 5 grams of fiber, subtract half the fiber from the total carbohydrates. This is your amount of carb grams. Divide this number by 15 grams to find the number of carb choices you are using for this food item.

Articles extract from: http://www.diabetescare.net/management_detail.asp?id=1239