Final answer:
The first action a nurse should take when teaching a diabetes patient about diet is to ask about food preferences, to ensure the dietary plan is tailored to the patient's lifestyle and is therefore more likely to be followed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The nurse's first action when reinforcing dietary teaching with a client who has diabetes mellitus should be to ask the client to identify the types of food she prefers. This is an essential step in patient-centered care, which involves understanding the patient's preferences, cultural considerations, and lifestyle to tailor dietary recommendations that are more likely to be adhered to.
After determining the client's preferences, the nurse can proceed with obtaining sample menus, identifying the recommended blood glucose levels, and discussing potential long-term complications of nonadherence to the dietary plan. Registered dietitians and certified diabetes educators are instrumental in designing nutrition plans that help manage blood sugar levels through controlled consumption of carbohydrates and provide education on suitable non-carbohydrate sweeteners to satisfy cravings.