Reading Food Labels

Since I have been diagnosed with diabetes, I have been extra-careful about the food I eat. I started reading a lot of materials about meal planning and the food I can eat and not eat. A few days ago I was at the food store trying to locate some food which are good for diabetic people. Strange as it was for me, for the first time, I was reading all the food labels – on how much sugar, carbohydrates, sodium, fats---that contain in each food. I wanted to buy food which are fat or sugar free(as much as possible) , and those which are low in carbohydrates. I spent almost two hours in the food store, just browsing and reading all the food labels- which was not exciting at all. After a while, I just decided to buy some salad vegetables, cauliflower, beans, and other similar vegetables, and chicken breast- which I can easily prepare for my meals. I also bought a fat free milk, rye bread, some spices like onions, peppers, garlic, balsamic vinegar, etc. I also bought some meal bars like Glucerna, Glucerna shakes, sugar free jams like raspberry and apricot preserves, for snacks and emergencies.

For almost three weeks now, I have been preparing almost all my meals by myself. At this time I have not yet met my dietician, so I decided to prepare things on my own –after reading some books and pamphlets about meal planning. My typical breakfast consists of: oatmeal (old fashioned)- half a glass- and a glass of fat free milk. My lunch usually consists of: a grilled chicken and vegetable and a slice of bread. My dinner consists of: a grilled salmon, or tilapia fillet, or chicken too, with vegetable salad. Sometimes I have snack in between – but occasionally.

The change of eating habits is for me one of the most difficult part of this journey. I know I can not tread on the path I used to as far as my eating habits is concerned. There are foods I can eat and foods I choose not to eat. I know it will take for me sometime to adjust on this. But I say to myself, what the heck. Now I have a choice. I can determine for myself what are the healthy foods I need to eat and the foods I need to avoid. For me, this is not a matter of deprivation of foods I used to eat. I think it’s just a matter of choice. And I choose now what is good for me.