Based loosely on the Michael Thurmond diet plan, and the recommendation for diabetics to eat 5 small meals a day, here is the eating plan I have just started, and I think it is going to help control my blood sugar better, lessen my Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms, and hopefully I will lose some weight. I plan my meals to be about 2-1/2 to 3 hours apart although some days I can’t manage 5 meals, just too much food. I pack a meal with me when out running errands. I will keep you updated as I go along. On this plan, you are never hungry!

I am only using crystalline fructose as my sweetener, no sugar or sugared products, no sugar substitutes. But a little honey here and there. You can find crystalline fructose at health food stores, runs about $1.20 a pound, and can be used just like regular sugar, except that it is sweeter. I choose to eat foods listed as 55 or below on the Glycemic Index. Crystalline fructose lists at 22 on the GI. I am using pure foods, nothing processed. Here is a sample daily menu:

Breakfast: 1 fruit (usually a banana, apple, plum or orange)
1/2 C. V8 juice
1 cup of herbal tea with lemon and a bit of honey
2 oz. protein (turkey sausages,oatmeal or soy yogurt)
Meal #2: 1 fruit (usually a fruit I diid not already eat today)
2 oz. protein (sliced baked chicken, turkey, or fish)
A small piece sourdough bread/half baked potato or 1/2 C. rice/pasta (homemade sugarless sauce)
1 vegetable or dip (hummus, guacamole, salsa, salad, steamed asparagus or broccoli, etc)
Meal #3: Same as Meal # 2 with an extra vegetable but no bread or rice, etc.
Instead I treat myself to a sugarless dessert of some kind, one I have made with crystalline fructose.
Meal #4: Same as Meal #2 with no fruit, but an added veggie
Meal #5: 2 oz. protein
1 fruit
1 veggie

If you must have a bedtime snack, eat a piece of fruit.

Condiments and other sides I use: unlimited greens and green-skinned vegetables, lemon and lime juice, unsweetened juices and sugarless drinks, hot and iced tea, a little Smart Balance margarine, homemade tomato ketchup and spaghetti sauce, mustard, Eggbeaters, Mrs. Dash products, sugarless jam, soy and rice cheeses, soy and rice yogurt for sour cream, organic chicken and vegetable broths (they can be thickened for gravy), homemade soups, and real maple syrup for homemade pancakes. Sugarless is not the same as sugar-free, and the term emcompasses sugar substitutes as well..

Healthy eating,
Marianne