Hi, I have had Type I diabetes for 38 years.  It used to be that the Dr. would put you on a certain calorie diet, when you were diagnosed with diabetes.  The diet was divided into exchanges.  There were bread exchanges, which were starchy foods.  ie. bread, cereal, rice, corn, peas etc.  There were meat exchanges, which were meat and other protein, ie. eggs, peanuts, cheeses. There were vegetable , fruit and milk exchanges.  They would put you on a specific calorie diet and for each meal and snack you were required to eat a certain amount of exchanges per meal.  It used to be you were supposed to eat the same amount at the same time every day.  Talk about a hassle.  Now they typically have you count carbs, and you give insulin according to your carb to insulin ratio.  This way is much more flexible than the old way.  There are books that help to convert carbs to exchanges etc. Hope this helps

Susan