Pregnancy Musing #4 Nutrition and Gestational Diabetes

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes after the first glucose intolerance test.  Doctor immediately referred me to to diabetes counseling.  

Nothing to do with weight or eating sweets.  Just an over active placenta getting too much glucose to the baby, and physiological factors that increased my chances of having GD.

I was bummed finding this out and nervous about the consequences of not controlling GD.  As long as I follow doc's orders, baby and I will be fine.

Having GD made sense as to why I was extremely tired in the morning and early afternoons.  Taking medicine to control glucose and some changes in diet made a huge improvement with my crashes.

I thought I was doing great with shunning sweets, sodas, and not pigging out.....  

Taken today.  31 wks and 5 days

The change in diet was to monitor my carb intake.  That meant no more cereal!!  I would eat so many bowls because it tastes great and involves little effort to prepare.

Dave's been very supportive with my diet and taking an interest with how much carbs a particular meal contains.

I do have to monitor my blood sugar and prick my finger.  Didn't like it at first, but I'm more adjusted to it now.  It feels like a quick bee sting without my fingers getting swollen.  I record in a booklet of my levels and what I ate.  I can see trends of what certain foods affect my blood sugar, and have to keep it at normal levels, all in effort not to get a jumbo size baby and avoid a c-section.

At my last check up, my doctor looked at my booklet and said I was doing a great job monitoring my levels, taking the medicine, and watching what I eat.  Even my weight gain was great.  

I've gained 7 lbs total since becoming pregnant  ^_^


If you need food ideas for weight loss this are some things I'm doing:

Eat carbs, but LIMIT them, especially in the mornings, and watch portions with carbs the rest of the day along with minimal sweets.

The more carbs I consume, the higher my blood sugar levels become, which can put more weight on myself and the baby.  Don't want that!

Carb goals:
30-45 gms of carbs with breakfast
45-60 gms of carbs with lunch and dinner

• More protein.  Mostly eggs and chicken.
• More veggies.
• Less pasta and rice.
• Less bread.
• NO SOFT DRINKS
• No fruit juice.
• Lots of water.
• No fried food
• Salads: no croutons or dressing other than olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Frozen yogurt instead of ice cream
• Less or no fruit in mornings.  Less fruit throughout day.
• Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt (more protein).
• 3 glasses of milk a day. I've been drinking either 1% or skim the entire pregnancy. Since it counts as a carb, I have to count that as part of my meals.
• No sugar or sugar substitutes like Splenda.  You eventually get used to not adding sugar!
• Continue to take a multi vitamin/prenatal

That's pretty much it.  This helps with not getting fat, especially on days when I don't exercise and just want to lie in bed and feel the baby's kicks.

Watching what I eat is preventing stretch marks, swollen feet, and new cavities.

I do miss cereal though.  Especially Fruity Pebbles and Corn Pops. But I don't miss it that much to go against doctor's orders.