Diabetic smart snacking helps you lose weight. If you are a type 2 diabetic and you plan snacks throughout the day, weight loss becomes easier for you.
Here is how it works. Eating burns calories. From 5% to 15% of your daily energy is spent digesting and storing the food you eat.
The word for this energy burn is thermogenesis, the production of heat. A calorie is a unit of heat.
This is why we say we are burning calories when we are physically active and even while we are sleeping.
Thermogenesis is not magic. Diabetic smart snacking involves planning so that the snacks are low in calories. Snacking without a plan will destroy your weight loss efforts.
An average range of less than 150 calories is very good for diabetic smart snacking. This is perfect for keeping the calorie burn in gear while you are trying to lose weight.
It also helps if the snacks have protein and fat in them to balance out any carbohydrates. Then blood sugar does not spike, giving your beta cells a rest.
Why does that matter? Insulin resistance may have made us type 2 diabetic.
Fiber, fats and protein help to smooth out the highs and lows in blood sugar, reducing the need for insulin.
Because we have diabetes, what we eat and when becomes important.
Beware of "low fat" foods. You may think you can eat more because of the low fat label.
Those foods may not be lower in calories. Processed food labels lower the size of a serving to make food seem to be lower in calories. Compare serving sizes to catch them in the act.
The big exception is low fat substitutes for dressings and oils. Reduced fat dressings are half to one-third the calories of regular ones.
Never eat straight from the bag, unless it is a single serving package.
If you think you are hungry but nothing appeals to you except a candy bar, it is a sugar craving, not hunger.
You may be thirsty. Try a cup of hot coffee, tea or broth in the winter. In the summer some flavored water or ice water with a lemon squeeze may tide you over.
If you are having an attack of hypoglycemia, do not keep eating until you feel better. One cup (8 ounces) of fruit juice or four hard candies or half a can of sugary soda or one small banana should bring your sugar back up.
Wait about 15 minutes and check your blood sugar again. Do not overreact. Eat too much and your blood sugar will go out of control. It will wreck your calorie count too.
Here is a diabetic smart snacking list that contains my favorites.
Diabetic smart snacking is easier when you plan your snacks and add their calories into your overall goal for each day.
If you want to snack at night, plan for it and you can eat without guilt.
If you always get hungry between lunch and suppertime, have a snack ready so you will not graze from a snack machine or the refrigerator.
You are unique. Some things will work for you and others will not.
Some diabetics are happy with three meals a day, and that is fine. But if you love to snack, you need diabetic smart snacking ideas.
I hope you are encouraged to make your own diabetic smart snacking list.
[Go back to the top]
Want to learn more about how the glycemic index helps diabetics?Return to diabetic weight loss from diabetic smart snacking.