Diabetes Service - Diabetes and Nutrition Support

Ideas to help you maintain or gain weight if you have diabetes

This dietary advice leaflet gives some general information to help you make the recommended changes to your diet. If you need more detailed advice, or if you are following a special diet that makes it difficult to make these changes, please speak to your dietitian.

Why do you need to eat well?

• If you have a poor appetite, you may have lost weight or be at risk of losing weight
• Eating too little may also affect your energy level
• Lack of protein, minerals and vitamins may make you more open to illness or delay the healing process
• It is important that you eat a balanced diet, providing all the necessary nutrients. These can be provided by simple meals and snacks

Meal pattern

• Eating small, frequent meals and snacks during the day will be easier to manage than three larger meals if your appetite is poor
• Aim for three small meals each day (including a carbohydrate source at each i.e. bread or pasta or potatoes or rice) with two to three snacks or nourishing drinks in between
• Meals and drinks should be high in calories and protein to meet your daily requirements
• Drinks, snacks and meals can be fortified to make them more nutritious

Starchy carbohydrates

• Include these at each of your 3 meals over the day i.e. bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, crumpets, muffins, bagels, potatoes, wraps, chapatti or cous cous
• To help keep your blood glucose levels stable aim to eat a similar amount at each meal (i.e aiming for 1/3 plate from these foods)
• Try to include higher fibre choices as these will aid with bowel function

Protein foods - Milk and yoghurt

• Aim for at least 568ml (1 pint) of milk a day
• Use whole (full cream/silver top/blue top from the supermarket) milk if you are at risk of losing weight
• Fortify milk by adding skimmed milk powder to increase the protein and calorie content. Whisk four heaped tablespoons (about 50g/2oz) skimmed milk powder into 568ml (1 pint) milk
• Include a milk-based dessert, such as rice pudding or custard (homemade with sweetener), milk jelly or “pot desserts” such as yogurt, fruit fools and mousses (check there is no more than 10g carbohydrate per 100g)

Use milk or fortified milk in your:

• Tea, coffee or cocoa with sweetener
• Milky puddings and custard (low sugar), milk jellies (with sugar free jelly)
• Cereals and to make porridge
• In savoury sauces, such as parsley or cheese

Meat and fish

• Include at least 75 - 100g (3 - 4oz) meat (hand size), chicken or fish if you have a cooked meal
• “Convenience meals” are a good standby to have in the fridge or freezer: try fish in sauce, shepherd’s pie or lasagne

Cheese and eggs

• Have a cheese or egg meal for a change e.g. cauliflower cheese or quiche, scrambled eggs or omelette with some carbohydrate on the side i.e. potato or bread
• Try making a cheese sauce to put with vegetables, fish or pasta (or use a packet sauce and sprinkle grated cheese on top)
• Grated cheese can be mixed into scrambled eggs, mashed into potatoes with extra butter or margarine, or sprinkled onto a bowl of soup or beans on toast

Nuts

• Snack on plain, unsalted or dry-roasted nuts
• Add peanut butter or almond butter into porridge or on toast

Beans and lentils

• Choose lentil/bean soups or add tinned (ready to eat) beans such as butter beans or kidney beans to soups or casseroles

High calorie foods

• Calories come from the protein foods we have already talked about. They also come from fats and oils, cream, starchy foods e.g. bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and breakfast cereals
• Margarine, butter and oil are all fats and contain similar numbers of calories
• Do not use “light” or low-fat spread if you are trying to increase your weight
• Add lots of butter or margarine: spread thickly on bread and crackers, mash into potatoes or melt on boiled or jacket potatoes, stir into hot pasta or rice and serve with a meat, cheese or vegetable sauce
• Roast potatoes and chips are high in calories and are good to include in your diet
• Add double cream to soups, sauces and puddings or use as a topping for cereals or fruit

Fruit and vegetables

• Fruit and vegetables are important for vitamins. Include small helpings with meals but don’t fill up on these, as they are low in protein and calories. Aim to spread your fruit intake over the day due to carbohydrate content
• Use the ideas mentioned to add extra calories and protein to fruit and vegetables

Super snacks

Here are some ideas for quick and easy snacks to have between meals:

• Cheese, baked beans, peanut butter, almond butter, egg or sardines on toast (x1 slice toast)
• Crackers (x2 crackers) with cheese/peanut butter/hummus/ cream cheese
• Sandwiches (x1 slice bread) of tuna and cucumber, cheese and tomato, ham and pickle
• Bowl of creamy soup
• Yoghurt, fromage frais, mousse or fruit fool with less than 10g carbohydrate per 100g. Stir in 1 - 2 tablespoons of cream
• Nuts, preferably unsalted
• 1 regular sausage roll or 1 regular scotch egg
• Milky drink (with sweetener and fortified milk) i.e. coffee, cocoa or a glass of milk
• Half a small tin of fruit in juice (drained) and added cream/ evaporated milk - 1/3 small tin (50 - 60g)

Please continue to ensure that all drinks you have are diet/low sugar and avoid adding table sugar into foods/drinks.

If you are following all of the above but still losing weight you may require the addition of nutritional supplements.

Please speak to your Dietitian about which options maybe the most suitable to try. It is also important that your Diabetes levels are well managed to prevent further weight loss.