What is counting carbohydrates?

Carbohydrate counting is a meal-planning strategy to help manage your blood sugar when you have diabetes. You learn how much carbohydrate is in the foods you eat. Then you can adjust food and portions to meet your carbohydrate goal. This helps prevent high blood sugar after you eat and drink.

For most adults, a guideline for carbohydrates is:

• 45 to 60 grams at each meal. That's about 3 to 4 carbohydrate servings.
• 15 to 20 grams at each snack. That's about 1 carbohydrate serving.

But the right amount of carbs for you depends on several things. These include your weight, how active you are, what diabetes medicines you take, and what your goals are for your blood sugar levels.

A registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator can help you plan how much carbohydrate to include in each meal and snack.

Carbohydrate counting can help you control your blood sugar. Learning how to spread carbohydrates throughout the day can help you prevent high blood sugar. A registered dietitian can help you learn to count carbs and plan your meals and snacks.

Carb counting means you plan meals and snacks based on the amount of carbs in each food. A registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator can help you learn to count carbs.

Here are some tips:

Learn the amount of carbs in different foods.

For example, in a single serving:

• Bread, cereal, pasta, and rice have about 15 grams.
• Fruits have about 15 grams.
• Milk and no-sugar-added yogurt have about 15 grams.
• Starchy vegetables have about 15 grams.

Learn how many carbs to eat in each meal.

For most adults, a guideline is:

• 45 to 60 grams at each meal. That's about 3 to 4 carbohydrate servings.
• 15 to 20 grams at each snack. That's about 1 carbohydrate serving.

Follow your meal plan.

Try to eat about the same amount of carbs at each meal.