How to Easily Count Carbs as a Diabetic
Counting carbs offers several health advantages for diabetics. To help you reap these benefits, we show you how to easily count carbs.
Updated February 14, 2023.
Counting carbs helps diabetics manage their blood sugar levels better. It offers several advantages, including facilitating weight loss and improving your quality of life. This in turn can prevent or delay diabetes complications such as nephropathy, eye disease, heart problems, and more.
For type 1 diabetics, carb counting helps regulate their insulin dose more accurately. Here's what you should keep in mind to easily count carbs if you're diabetic.
4 Tips for Carb Counting as a Diabetic
Counting carbs means keeping track of your carb intake for all meals, including your snacks and drinks. Carbs are measured in grams, and you should be aware of the following:
- In a diabetes meal plan, a serving of carbs is about 15 grams. So, for example, a small baked potato with 30 grams of carbs will be counted as 2 carb servings. For packaged foods, check the nutrition label to find out the total carb grams in them.
- If you're diabetic, 50–60% of your daily calories should come from carbs. This is around 130–143 grams of carb in a 2000–2200 calorie meal a day. However, many experts recommend half this amount.
- Since carbs raise blood sugar, reducing them can help manage blood sugar levels. Adults with diabetes can aim for 45–60 grams of carbs per meal and 15–20 grams per snack.
- It's better not to vary the number of carbs per meal. The same amount of carbs at every meal can help keep your blood sugar levels steady.
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Count Carbs Easily With Trim Down Club
How much carbs you can eat while staying within your target blood sugar range depends on various factors such as your age, weight, activity levels, and more.
With Trim Down Club, you can plan and enjoy tasty meals while losing weight and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. To get a customized, flexible meal plan based on your needs and preferences, take the Trim Down Club’s quick diet quiz for diabetics.