Suffering from type-2 diabetes is a bit of a roller coaster for a patient presenting with the disease. On the one hand it is living proof that the patient's nutritional choices and lifestyle have been so adverse to health and the bodily needs that a systemic problem has finally occurred. Although not exactly an embarrassment, it does leave many a patient with decidedly mixed feelings. Yet on the other side of the equation is the fact that because a change in lifestyle is indicated, there is now hope that the patient can turn around her or his lifestyle because the motivation is as pressing as never before.

Of course, simply handing a meal plan to such a patient undergoing treatment for diabetes acquired because of poor nutritional choices is a recipe for disaster. Since more likely than not this change will require a complete adjustment of the individual's lifestyle, the odds of failure are greater when the changes are not implemented gradually and consistently; a meal plan offers little help with the transition, but when introduced and followed up with the help of a dietician, there success is much more pronounced.

Beginning with breakfast, a treatment for diabetes acquired because of poor nutritional choices requires the application of lessons learned only in theory or through consultation with the dietician. An example of a workable food choice that will keep the glucose levels in the blood from spiking while at the same time levelling out the need for insulin secretion from the pancreas is whole wheat bread topped with lean turkey; sure, this might be different from the fatty bologna or other processed meat a patient may have chosen to put on white bread, but the healthful benefits of this switch cannot be underscored often enough. Accompany this breakfast with a glass of natural orange juice — instead of the orange flavoured sugary drink to which the patient may have been accustomed in the past — and a great change will have been accomplished. Wait half an hour before making another sandwich to give the body a chance to signal whether or not it is full or still hungry.

Changing around a lunch habit is just as simple. A patient enjoying pasta may continue to do so, but instead of opting for the processed flour made pasta, the bowl of whole wheat pasta served with low sodium spaghetti sauce will be a great meal! Accompany this meal with a tall glass of skim milk, and the patient will not feel deprived but instead empowered to make these changes and keep them going! Dinner is changed just as easily. Whenever possible, the lighter the dinner is kept the less the healthier the outcome and the less weight will be piled on. End the day on a light note with a snack of cheese and whole wheat crackers, some nuts or seeds and of course veggie sticks or fresh fruit. This ensures that the stomach is kept busy, the blood glucose level remains stable, and the treatment for diabetes will be kept going since the odds of cheating are lessened due to the palatability of the meals.