Gestational Diabetes Diet

With my last twin pregnancy I had GD. This twin pregnancy I am most likely going to get it again. I can't find my paper from the last time that explaines what to eat. My OB said it would be a good idea to do the GD diet but could not give out information as insurance would not cover. He said to google 2200 k cal ada diet. I am not finding what to eat. It is driving me crazy because I remember this 1 piece of paper that told me exactly what to do and it was so easy! I remember eating several small meals a day, eating animal crackers, mac and cheese, fruit ect... but I can't remember exactly. I know as of right now I don't HAVE to do the diet but I would like to. Does anyone have any info or know where to get it?
Thanks!

 

I was just diagnosed with GD last week. I am meeting with a nutritionist on Wed. I will let you know if I get the diet and what he/she tells me. Did you have to take insulin shots? I have to check my blood 4 times a day. Just wondering what the cutoff was to determine whether or not you have to take shots. This is my 4th pregnancy and I didn't have it with the others.

 

QUOTE(Cynthia502 @ Feb 4 2008, 09:23 PM) [snapback]605149[/snapback]
I was just diagnosed with GD last week. I am meeting with a nutritionist on Wed. I will let you know if I get the diet and what he/she tells me. Did you have to take insulin shots? I have to check my blood 4 times a day. Just wondering what the cutoff was to determine whether or not you have to take shots. This is my 4th pregnancy and I didn't have it with the others.

no shots. I just had to do the diet, check my blood and take glyburide.

 

I think depending upon the severity of your GD, the diets are typically counseled by a nutritionist or dietician? I had GD last time, and I just went for an early screen today myself. . . I actually found the diet very helpful for me: had more energy and didn't gain more than needed weight. It also helped me loose the weight postpartum when I stuck to the diet.

The diet I was on didn't really permit me having macaroni and cheese. . . I stayed far away from pasta, rice and potatoes. Those carbs were considered "empty" for me. I even had to limit my intake of milk. Here's what a day's menu would look like for me:

Breakfast (immediately when I woke @ 6:30 am):
One scrambled egg
one slice of whole wheat toast with butter
glass of water or unsweetened hot tea

Morning Snack (@ 10 am):
One small piece of fruit (like a plum)
1 oz. cheese (I liked those Laughing Cow wedges)
about 6 crackers
water

Lunch (@ Noon):
green salad with minimal ranch dressing (stay away from vinegar dressings because they = sugar!, no croutons unless they were whole grain)
lots of raw veggies in my salad
3 to 4 oz. grilled chicken on my salad
water, maybe 1 cup milk

Afternoon snack (@ 2:30 pm):
More fruit (which I still had to limit)
Cheese & crackers again
water

Supper (@ 5:30 pm):
4 oz. lean meat (like grilled chicken, roast beef, fish that had been broiled or steamed, etc.)
Lots of veggies (not in cheese sauce or gooey sauces)
Whole wheat roll or bread with butter
water, maybe one cup of milk if I watched my veggie intake

Bedtime Snack (@ 8:00 pm - this was required to help keep my blood sugars stabilized through the night):
a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter on whole grain bread
1 cup milk or water

****
It doesn't seem like much, does it? But as long as I stuck to the schedule, it actually felt pretty good. I had to learn to count proteins and carbs. That was very important. It seemed like I could have 55g of carbs for dinner, and the other meals were all less than that. . . 35 to 45 mostly. It was important to eat non-empty carbs like whole grain breads, vegetables instead of eating white, processed, refined flours and sugars like yeast rolls, sandwich bread, etc.

Sometimes, I would buy sugar-free products for a treat like sugar-free oreos, but even then, I would only be able to eat two or three oreos in one sitting. I avoided sugar-substitutes because I think some of them are unhealthy for developing babies in utero. I tried to think of alternate ways to get calcium instead of drinking milk since it was somewhat of a no-no to indulge in. . . I'd eat veggies that were high in calcium instead, and I do love cheese. So that helped. Fruits were also suspect for throwing off my blood sugars, so I had to avoid eating too much fruit and also avoided eating it before 10 in the morning!

I will try to find my old info and post some more of what my carb limits were per each meal/snack if that would help too. I hope this helps some.

 

wow - thanks for the info Emily. It's nice to hear what others have gone through. I go to my nutritionist on Thursday for my first meeting. I have always been a pretty healthy eater, but I do love my pasta and bread (I am half Italian!!) Thanks again!