How do I fit a meal replacement drink into the food groups?
Asked by mskarenmr on Aug 29, 2009
in Health Conditions
I am pre-diabetic and I am following a diet of portion control and counting the food groups. I was told that I can use a meal replacement in place of one of my meals. I would like to do this to lower my calorie intake, as I have 95 more pounds to lose. My dilemma is that when I replace a meal, I don't know how to count the food groups anymore. Can you let me know how to count this?
Answer
When substituting a meal replacement drink for "food", follow the rules for carbohydrate counting since you have pre-diabetes. Realize that any one serving from these food groups have about this carbohydrate count:
- Grain group, 1 cup = 30 grams; Fruit group, one small piece (or ½ cup) = 15 grams; Vegetable group, 1 cup = 10 grams; Milk group, 1 cup = 12 grams.
- For the Meat group, figure that every ounce = 7 grams of protein, and for the Fat group, every 1 tsp. = 5 grams of fat.
Now look at the carbohydrate, protein and fat in the meal replacement drink. For instance, 10.5 ounces of Slim Fast has 25 grams of carbohydrate, 10 grams of protein and 6 grams of fat. You could roughly swap for one grain or 2 milks (whichever you need) and one protein and one fat for the can of Slim Fast. It is a very inexact process, to say the least.
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