Fit With Diabetes Meal Plan #3

Ready for another healthy and tasty menu? This is already our third weekly Fit With Diabetes Meal Plan so I think it’s fair to say that we are on a roll 😀

If you have read Fit With Diabetes Meal Plan #1 and know how to calculate your daily calorie need, you can skip the next section and go straight to the meal plan.

CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE MEAL PLAN

How to find your daily calorie need

We all have different calorie needs. Your daily calorie need depends on your size, fitness level, daily activity, gender, etc. When you are creating a healthy diabetes meal plan, your first step should therefore always be to calculate your “calorie equilibrium”, or how many calories you need each day to maintain your current weight. You can learn exactly how to find you calorie equilibrium with 5 easy steps in this post: “How to Find Your Daily Calorie Need“.

Once you know your calorie equilibrium, you can adjust your daily calories up or down to meet your goals. If your goal is to lose weight, I recommend that you eat up to 500 calories less than your equilibrium each day. That should lead to a steady and healthy weight loss.

If you want to gain muscle, start out with 300-500 calories more than your equilibrium each day and see what happens. If you find that you are also putting on a little too much fat, decrease your calories slightly.

The Fit with Diabetes meal plan

Now that you know how to calculate your daily calorie need, you are ready to create a healthy diabetes meal plan. Well, I say create, but you can really just use the plan in this post as it is. I have already calculated all the macronutrients (calories, carbs, protein, and fat), so you just need to choose the calorie level that is right for you.

The example below is a 1,600 calorie/day plan, but you can download the meal plan as a PDF with many different calorie levels. The download also includes a version with grams instead of ounces for my international friends.

This meal plan has a calorie split of 30% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fat, which is what I generally recommend for weight loss (you can read “How to Lose Weight When You Live with Diabetes” for more details).

If your goal is to build muscle, I would recommend that you increase the carbs to 35-40% of your daily calories and decrease the fat to 20-25%.

I know that healthy nutrition (and especially how many carbs to eat) is a topic that causes a great deal of discussion in the diabetes community. I make no claim that my approach is the only right way to do it, but it’s what works for me and the clients I work with. If you are doing something different that works for you, then definitely keep doing it!

This is a 1,600-calorie example. You can download a PDF with other calorie levels and a shopping list here .

Meal 1 – Egg white omelet with toast and avocado

• 1.5 slices whole wheat toast (I used Nature’s Own – Double Fiber Wheat but if you can’t find that, try to find toast with 50 calories, 11 g carb and 1 g fat per slice)
• 5.3 oz. egg whites
• 2.7 oz. avocado
• Cooking spray
• Salt & pepper
• Ketchup or hot sauce(optional)

Instructions: Coat a pan with cooking spray and pour in egg whites when hot. Bake until golden on each side (about 5 minutes total). Place on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Top off with avocado slices and (optional) condiment

Pro tip: Buy liquid egg whites so you don’t have to crack any eggs.

Nutrients: 279 calories, 23 g protein, 23 g carbs, 12 g fat

Meal 2 – Greek yogurt with almonds and berries

• 6.7 oz. plain low-fat Greek yogurt
• 0.7 oz. almonds
• 2 oz. blueberries
• 1 tbsp. Stevia (optional)

Instructions: Sprinkle stevia on yogurt and finish with washed berries and chopped almonds.

Nutrients: 245 calories, 23 g protein, 20 g carbs, 10 g fat

Meal 3 – Turkey & avocado patty over spaghetti squash

• 4 oz. ground turkey (99%)
• 1.3 oz. avocado
• 1 whole egg
• Salt & pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 4 oz. spaghetti Squash (cooked)
• 4 oz. tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. parsley
• Salt & pepper
• Cooking spray

Instructions: Cut the spaghetti squash in quarts and scoop out the seeds. Bake for 40 minutes at 400 F (200 C), skin side up. Let it cool for minimum 10 minutes before scooping out the flesh with a fork.

Mix turkey and egg together in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic, and chopped avocado and fold it all together (will be a little runny). Coat a pan with cooking spray and add the meat mixture to the hot pan. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side.

Take the patty off the pan and set aside. Add tomatoes to the warm pan and let it cook for a minute before adding spaghetti squash. Season with salt and pepper before folding chopped parsley into the veggies. Let if cook for a minute. Serve the turkey patty on top of the spaghetti squash.

Pro tip #1: You can keep cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.

Pro tip #2: This dish is also great cold or reheated.

Nutrients: 309 calories, 34 g protein, 16 g carbs, 12 g fat

Meal 4 – Shrimp & quinoa pilaf

• 4 oz. cooked and de-veined shrimp
• 2.7 oz. cooked quinoa
• 4 oz. mixed veggies (tomato, cucumber, pepper)
• Salt & pepper

Instructions: Mix quinoa with veggies, salt, and pepper. Fold in shrimp.

Pro tip: Buy the shrimp frozen to save money

Pro tip #2: Always cook quinoa (and rice) in chicken or vegetable broth instead of water. It tastes MUCH better that way.

Nutrients: 210 calories, 27 g protein, 20 g carbs, 3 g fat

Meal 5 – Marinated steak with brown rice and broccoli

• 4.7 oz. lean beef (sirloin, plank steak, etc.)
• 4 oz. brown rice (cooked)
• 4.7 oz. broccoli
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Instructions: Mix soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a zip-lock bag to create the marinade. Slice the steak into strips and add to the bag. Place in the fridge for minimum a few hours.

Cook the rice and set aside. Clean the broccoli and divide it into little “clusters” of broccoli.

Fry the steak and broccoli in the marinade for 2-4 minutes on high heat, depending on how well done you like it. Fold in the rice, mix thoroughly, and serve

Pro tip: Marinate enough meat for several days. Then just pull out what you need each day.

Nutrients: 313 calories, 32 g protein, 33 g carbs, 4 g fat

Meal 6 – Egg white & flaxseed omelet

• 4 oz. Egg white
• 1.3 oz. Flaxseed meal
• 1 tsp. sugar-free strawberry jam
• 1 tsp. Stevia (optional)

Instructions: Whisk egg whites, flaxseed meal, and Stevia together in a mixing bowl. Coat a pan with cooking spray. Bake the egg white omelet until golden (about 4-5 min. total). Serve with the jam on top.

Nutrients: 237 calories, 21 g protein, 15 g carbs, 10 g fat

Daily totals:  1,594 calories, 159 g protein, 127 g carbs, and 51 g fat.

Changing up the plan

I like to eat the same foods several days in a row with only minor changes and then change the plan every week or so. I would suggest that you follow this plan for a week and then start on Fit With Diabetes Meal Plan #4. You can also go back and follow my Fit With Diabetes Meal Plan #2 for another week.

Click here to download the meal plan and shopping list as a PDF.