How do you use MyPlate when you have diabetes?

I’m sometimes asked, “How do you use MyPlate when you have diabetes?” If you’re familiar with mindful eating and intuitive eating, you understand the challenges of applying these non-restrictive approaches when someone has specific dietary needs or a chronic condition like diabetes that’s impacted by what you eat (as if there are any conditions that aren’t impacted by what you eat!).

In fact, this is one of the most common questions I get from audience members and other health professionals when I present on mindful eating: “But what do you do when you can’t eat what you love because you have diabetes (or other condition)?” they ask.

My answer: People will eat what they love anyway, so you might as well figure out how to balance eating for enjoyment with eating for nourishment – and in the case of diabetes, for optimal blood glucose management.

All foods fit – even with diabetes!

We know, and you’ve probably experienced, rigid food rules just don’t work long term! And by definition, anyone with a chronic condition needs an approach that works for them long term.

We simply aren’t interested in giving people a bunch of unsustainable recommendations to follow, even when they have specific dietary needs. Instead, like many health and wellness professionals these days, we fully embrace the “all foods fit” nutrition philosophy using the principles of balance, variety, and moderation.

Mindful eating is perfect for learning how to eat what you love in moderation while eating a varied and balanced diet. (Our recent series of posts on the debate about butter vs. margarine is a good example of how mindful eating is applied to complex nutrition questions.)

As you can imagine, while we were writing Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes, we had many long conversations about how to balance our non-restrictive approach with the intention of helping you meet target blood glucose levels. We were nearly finished with the first draft of the manuscript when the launch of MyPlate was announced. First it was “Argggghhhh!” then it was “Aha!” We quickly agreed that this simple visual icon of a balanced meal was a practical way to convey complex nutrition information for a healthy diet. So we went back to the drawing board – literally!

Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes Plate

As explained in chapter two of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes, when you have diabetes, your body can’t process glucose efficiently. Glucose is found in carbohydrates (chapter 11).

We designed the Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes Plate to help people with diabetes apply MyPlate tools. The key difference is that we put foods that contain a significant amount of carbohydrate (grains and starchy vegetables, fruit, and dairy, sweets and desserts) in the upper right quadrant of the graphic.

This helps readers visualize where on their plate carbohydrates are found and it makes it easier to adjust the total amount of carbohydrate they eat at each meal or snack so their carbohydrate intake doesn’t exceed their body’s ability to process the glucose.

For example, let’s say a person typically eats about three servings or 45 grams of carbs during their meals (a serving is approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate). Using the Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes Plate, they can easily see where those three servings come from and can select the items that are the best fit for what they are hungry for at that time. (Yes, including sweets and desserts!)

Mindful Meal Planning using our Diabetes Plate

As we say in chapter 7 of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes, Mindful Meal Planning, “Our goal is to teach you what you need to know about nutrition to manage your blood glucose and keep yourself healthy. Simultaneously, we want to give you a flexible approach to eating that is enjoyable and sustainable.”

Since people eat food, not macronutrients, we like the plate planning method. Here’s a brief summary of some of the key concepts for mindful meal planning that we explain in more detail throughout the Nourish chapters in the book.

Please don’t take this out of context! WHAT you eat is only one of the six decision points in the Mindful Eating Cycle!

1. Start by picturing your meal and visually dividing your plate in half.
2. Fill the left half of your plate with salad and other low-carbohydrate vegetables.
3. Divide the other half of your plate in half again and put protein in the bottom section.
4. Your carbohydrate choices – grains, starchy vegetables, fruit, and dairy, sweets/dairy – go in the top right.
5. A carbohydrate choice contains approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate. Adjust the number of servings for your personal carbohydrate goal.
6. Add healthy fats in moderation for flavor, satiety, and more stable blood glucose levels.
7. If you are having dessert, replace one or more of your carbohydrate choices with the desired sweets.

From this foundation, we build a mindful all foods can fit approach. And yes, that does include sweets and desserts! With awareness of nutrition and meal planning techniques, you can design flexible meals and snacks that are nourishing and satisfying and help you keep your blood glucose in the target range.

Download Eat What You Love Love What You Eat with Diabetes Plate with Tips.

This article was updated from a previous version.

If you enjoyed this article, here are three more to help you:

I have diabetes. Can I eat snacks or desserts?

Overcoming a fear of carbs with diabetes

Why I Don’t Tell My Clients What to Eat with Diabetes