Your total carbohydrate intake and the spacing and regularity of intake can impact body weight and blood glucose control.
If your goal is weight loss, portion sizes of carbohydrate-rich foods will need to be controlled.
If you’re consuming a whole-foods, plant-based, weight-loss diet of 1,400–1,800 calories, your upper limit for carbohydrate would be 245–315 g (based on 70 percent of calories from carbohydrates).
This amounts to 80–100 grams of carbohydrate per meal.
To put this into perspective, 1 cup (250 ml) of beans or whole grains has about 40 grams; one large apple, about 30 grams; 1 cup (250 ml) of blueberries, about 20 grams; and 1 cup (250 ml) of broccoli, about 10 grams.
Refer back to tables 2.3 and 2.4 ( page 29 ) for the carbohydrate content of other common foods.
Although carbohydrate counting is not necessary, keeping track of your intake for a week or two can help you become more familiar with the carbohydrate content of specific foods.
The quantity of carbohydrates you consume will affect your blood glucose levels, even when those carbohydrates come from whole plant foods.
You’ll want to space your intake throughout the day to help keep blood glucose levels relatively stable and avoid extreme highs and lows.
To accomplish this, eat regular, balanced meals.
Although distributing carbohydrate intake throughout the day is most important for individuals who take insulin, it can also be helpful for anyone who is trying to improve blood glucose control.
One simple way of doing this is to include one or two servings of carbohydrate-rich foods per meal, depending on your caloric needs (see