Adjusting the Meal Plan

Our one-day meal plan may not exactly fit your individual needs, so we’ve provided some ideas for adjusting the amount of carbohydrate and calories.

For Less Carbohydrate…

Our meal plans provide about 45% of calories from carbohydrate. However, your healthcare provider may ask you to limit carbohydrate more than our meal plan suggests. This means you should cut back on the carbohydrate foods that you eat throughout the day. To keep your calorie intake about the same, substitute sources of lean protein or healthy fats for those higher carbohydrate foods.

To lower carbohydrate intake, make the following adjustments to the original meal plan:

  • At breakfast, skip the whole wheat toast.
  • At lunch, skip the whole grain roll and add more salad greens or shrimp salad.
  • At dinner, skip the potato salad and double your portion of kale or add another nonstarchy vegetable.
  • In the evening, reduce the hummus to 1 tablespoon from 2.
     

For More Carbohydrate…

You may follow a plan that allows more carbohydrate per meal than our meal plan suggests. To increase the carbohydrate content in your plan, replace some of the high protein and high fat foods with healthy sources of carbohydrate.

To increase carbohydrate intake for the day, make the following adjustments to the original meal plan:

  • At lunch, have a large whole grain roll instead of a small one and add a serving of fruit.
  • At dinner, add a whole grain roll.
  • For snack, add 1 cup of milk.
     

To Adjust Calories…

Depending on whether you are trying to lose, gain, or maintain your weight, you may have different calorie needs as well. Here are some ideas for adjusting the calories in our original meal plan.

To cut about 200 calories:

  • Skip the snack! (This saves about 100-200 calories.)
  • In the afternoon, reduce your serving of almonds to ½ ounce. (This saves about 80 calories.)

To add about 200 calories:

  • At lunch, add more nonstarchy vegetables. (This adds about 25 calories.)
  • At snack at 1 glass of milk. (This adds about 100 calories.)
  • At dinner, add a small side of fresh berries (This adds about 20-40 calories) and increase your serving of fish by 2 ounces (This adds about 80 calories).

*Note: Our meal plans are developed based on the American Diabetes Association's general nutrition guidelines. However, nutritional needs can vary from person to person. Your healthcare team can help you set up a meal plan that works for you and will help you meet your health goals.

About Our Meal Plans

Learn about the nutrition guidelines we follow to create our one-day meal plans.

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I don't do any physical activity other than what I need to do for my usual activities, such as going to work or school, grocery shopping, or doing chores around the house.

I do some moderate exercise every day in addition to doing my usual activities. For example, I walk about 1.5 to 3 miles a day at about 3 to 4 miles an hour. Or I do something else that's moderately active.

I am very active every day in addition to doing my usual activities. For example, I walk more than 3 miles a day at about 3 to 4 miles an hour. Or I do something else that's very active.

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This number estimates how many calories you should eat per day to keep your body weight where it is now.

If you want to lose weight, you may need fewer calories. You should talk with your health care team for more personalized recommendations, but this calculator can help to get you started.

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*Estimates are rounded to the nearest 200 calories. An individual's calorie needs may be higher or lower than these average estimates. Developed from the 2010 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

See More Meal Plans

See all of the meal plans that we have published to date.

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