1,800-Calorie ADA Diabetic Diet

The 1,800-calorie ADA (American Diabetes Association) diet is an eating and weight loss plan that has been prescribed for years as a way for patients with diabetes to keep the disease under control. This plan helps patients to slowly and safely lose weight. Losing weight with this diet is not difficult, although it will take some time. Recent amendments by the ADA have changed its recommendations on how this diet should be used.

Calorie & Food Restrictions

The 1,800-calorie ADA diet has undergone a lot of change over the years when it comes to calorie numbers and food restrictions. The 1,800 calories are a standard goal, but it's not necessarily set in stone. The ADA likes the 1,800 mark because this calorie level will cause most overweight individuals to slowly and safely lose weight, although some people have success consuming more or fewer calories.

Previous restrictions for the ADA diabetic diet included fatty foods and sugary sweets. While these are still not recommended, they are considered OK in small portions as long as the calorie level stays below 1,800 and the dieter gets his full share of carbohydrates. Foods heavy in saturated and trans-fats should be avoided, as well as overly salty food.

Recommended Foods

Unlike some other diets that concentrate only on total calories, the 1,800-calorie ADA diabetic diet considers the types of calories the dieter eats. Since this diet is designed to not only help dieters lose weight, but also to keep diabetes under control, it is concerned with specific food intake.

The ADA diabetic diet encourages a minimum of three servings of fruit a day (think 1/3 of a cup as a serving), with the same number of servings for non-starchy vegetables. The diet also calls for two or three servings of protein and non-fat dairy products. Dieters are also encouraged to drink a lot of water, and to include up to six servings of whole grain or vegetable-based carbohydrates a day.

Keeping an evenly balanced diet like this with under 1,800 calories daily will help the most dieters lose weight and keep their diabetes under control.

The Plate Approach

The ADA has often suggested using the "plate approach" to easily estimate portions required for the 1,800 calorie ADA diabetic diet. The idea behind this is to set down a plate for a meal. One full half of the plate should be devoted to vegetables that are not starchy. The other half of the plate should be split evenly between starchy foods (or whole grains) and protein. A glass of skim milk can then be used for dairy, while a small bowl of fruit takes care of the requirements.

This method makes it easy to estimate appropriate portions and will help dieters stay below the 1,800-calorie mark without having to exactly measure every little portion.