Gestational diabetes

Does anyone else have this?

I got a call my the nurse at my doctor's office yesterday that 2 out of 3 of my numbers were just over so they want me to follow the diet.

I don't have an appt booked with the diabetes clinic yet so I am kind of wondering what I am supposed to be eating and what I am supposed to avoid. I have tried google but I know the regular diabetic will be different for me when I am carrying twins.

So, if you have it...can you tell me what you are allowed each day and what you are eating for snacks etc. I don't think I'll have too much of a problem following the diet for actual meals but I think snacks are going to be tough for me since I have such a sweet tooth.

Thanks!!

 

I have it and have had it with previous pg..

You basically need to lower your carbs and sugar. When you eat fruit you need to combine it with a protein, such as peanut butter, its a free food. Also cheese is protein. Anytime you eat something with high carbs you need to equal it out with protein.

Milk is high in sugar, juice, fruit, breads, potatoes, pasta, etc.

You can change to whole wheat bread, pastas and low sugar drinks. For bread I get the low carb bread which is pretty good. If you ahve potatoes you need to be sure to have protein..

I eat eggs and low carb toast with peanut butter for breakfast, every day..

Since your numbers were barely over Im sure you can control it with diet alone, your dietician will give you papers on what to eat and not to eat..

The do have no sugar added and low carb ice cream, its not too bad especially to hit the sweet spot. Fruit hits my spot, i like to have an apple with peanut butter, or nectarines.

 

My sister had this and her suggestion is cut out sugar and high carb foods.

I had to do the 3 hr test myself. Found out I passed it yesterday, but before I found out I passed it, I started eating a lot better because I was scared. I cut out the milkshakes and high carb foods and honestly I feel much better for doing it.

 

hi there,

i don't have it, but my dad has diabetes, and i'm older, so i've been reading about it a bit. i know it's scary to be told that anything is out of the ordinary, but the gd diet is really very healthy for you and, as the pp said, you can probably control everything w/diet alone. just try to keep everything in balance. and, remember that all foods are made up of carbs, protein or fat, so you'll find carbs in lots of things that you maybe never realzed had them (like dairy products).

if they give you a "carb allowance" then you can worry about that later on. but, for now, i agree that simply limiting sugars and carbs is your best bet (btw, i would avoid all sugar in drinks, even low sugar ones--and of course, no sugar substitutes!. stick w/water and milk.)

good luck!

~~jl

 

I had it and it went away the day I delivered (the good news).

What the dietician/diabetic educator will probably suggest is something like this (this is what I normally ate):

30-45 carbs for breakfast (2 eggs, 1 whole wheat toast, 2 slices turkey bacon; water)
15-30 carbs snack (kashi bar or a banana)
45-60 carbs for lunch (chicken with whole wheat pasta and broccoli; iced tea - non-sweetened or water)
15-30 carbs snack (4 sugar cookies or an apple)
45-60 carbs for dinner (some kind of meat, with vegetable, and a salad; water)
15-30 carbs snack (no sugar added ice cream bar)

Your goal is like a minimum of 180 carbs a day. I found it difficult to even reach that because I was always eating all day.

In essence, you're eating 6 smaller meals. You just need to read labels and they will probably give you a booklet that says a cup of raw carrots is about 5 carbs, etc., so you can plan your meals. I also downloaded menus from restaurants online to check carb info before going out.

I also ate 2 eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast every morning. Protein, like eggs with Omega 3, is great for the twins and you! I also had to inject insulin over time. Hopefully you won't have to do that and can just control it with diet alone.

Eating a salad before something like pizza, which can be carb heavy, really helped for some reason too.

I also indulged in no sugar added/sugar free cookies and ice cream, which I have to say was pretty good. I still eat them...I liked them so much. Just be careful with breads (finding low carb whole wheat can be tough), juices, and pastas. But, even some items with sugar were lower in carbs than no-sugar ones and I still had some of the good stuff every once in awhile. Even had McDonald's (no fries; hamburgers and chicken nuggets -- no sauce -- were low in carbs) because the babies still needed the fat.

Hope this helps! Don't worry...you diabetes educator and/or dietician will provide you with all the information you need. And it should go away when you deliver.

 

Thank you!!

Lisa, thanks for the info!

Jeri lynn, I don't drink sugary drinks so that one will be easy for me.

Juniper, your meal suggestions really helped...that is great!

Jen, congrats on passing.

 

I think it will depend on how conservative your doctor is. I'm on week 3 of my diet now and I have:

Breakfast: 15 g carbs, 1 meat substitute (usually have peanut butter toast)...no fruit allowed at all for breakfast.
AM Snack: 15 g carbs, 1 meat or meat substitute
Lunch: 45 carbs (15 from fruit), 1 meat, 1 veg
PM Snack: Same as a.m.
Dinner: Same as lunch
Bedtime Snack: Same as other snacks.

Included in all these are a certain number of fats (I just can't remember how many).

 

I had gestational diabetes with my Nov 2005 son and now I have it again with my twin pregnancy. The diet isn't that hard to follow, I find it is basically following healthy eating. Here are the diet suggestions I have been given Sorry that it's a little long but I find the guidelines so helpful:

Breakfast (up to 21g carb)
-1 slice whole wheat toast
or ½ cup of cereal or ½ cup cooked rice
or ½ English muffin or 1 small muffin
-Generous portion of protein rich foods: Eggs, cheese, peanut butter (sugar free), lean turkey sausages, ham, cottage cheese, nuts & seeds added to cereal
-½ cup milk or yogurt or unflavoured soy milk

Mid-morning Snack (choose 1 of the following)
-1 slice whole grain bread with cheese (low fat) or peanut butter (sugar free)
-2-3 plain cookies like Arrowroot or Digestive or 2 homemade cookies that are sugar reduced i.e. if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, use ½ cup sugar or honey or cereal/protein bar serving to provide 15 gm carbohydrate
-½ English muffin or ½ multigrain bagel with light cream cheese and a slice of tomato or other raw vegetables
-cut up raw vegetables e.g. carrot, cucumber, tomato, broccoli, etc. served with a low fat dip made with plain yogurt blended with cottage cheese and spices of your choice
-1 piece of fresh fruit with cheese (low fat) and whole grain crackers (# of crackers chosen should = 15 gm carbohydrate; check package label
-handful mixed nuts, seeds combined with ½ cup low sugar cereal like plain Cheerios or Shreddies or 3 cups popcorn
-diet fruit yogurt 1 small container or ½ cup of sweetened fruit yogurt mixed with 1.2 cup plain yogurt
-cottage cheese and fruit

Lunch (up to 52g carbs)
-Sandwich (with a protein source) or ½ sandwich plus soup or 1 roti (1 cup whole wheat flour = 6 servings) plus ½ cup daal or see supper ideas
-Green salad or cut up veggies (low fat salad dressing sparingly)
-Small piece of fruit
-1 cup milk or yogurt or soy milk

Mid-afternoon snack
-see snack ideas

Dinner (up to 52g carbs)
-Generous portion of meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs or tofu
-Choice of 1 medium potato / 1 cup mashed
Or 1 cup cooked pasta / noodles, whole wheat preferred
Or 1 cup cooked rice brown or basmati preferred
Or 1 cup baked beans or lentils (daal)
-Generous portion of vegetables
-Small portion of margarine, salad dressing or oil for cooking
-1 cup milk or yogurt or soy milk
* no dessert, no fruit at supper

Evening snack (choose 1 of the following)
-½ to 1 sandwich plus 1 cup milk
-1 cup low sugar cereal + 1 banana + handful chopped nuts and 1 cup milk
-1-2 slices of toast with unsweetened peanut butter + 1 small fruit
-½ whole wheat pita stuffed with meat like roast beef or chicken breast, a variety of raw vegetables and a light dressing
-homemade muffin that is sugar reduced and high in fibre – consider adding wheat germ. Oat bran, chopped nuts, and mashed fruit like banana or applesauce to ingredients
-½ pita and hummus