If you had gestational diabetes, what did you eat? [Archive]

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mommylamb

11-21-2011, 04:54 PM

I feel like a pin cushion. I had my 3 hour glucose test today, and given my score on my 1 hour, it's pretty likely that I will fail the 3 hour. I'm very depressed about it.

Assuming I failed today's test, I'll have to go to a class on how to eat at the hospital. But, I assume that won't happen until after Thanksgiving. I'm at a loss as to what to eat. I know, meat and veggies. But I'm just interested to know specifically what people at for meals, and especially for snacks, since you're supposed to snack.

I really hate that this is happening to me at this time of year. Besides for the fact that it's the holidays-- and there are all those yummy TJ holiday foods that I won't be able to eat-- winter veggies are pretty high carb AFAIK. I love roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash, etc. Sadly, I hate yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese (most white foods). Breakfast is going to be hard. I just don't think I can stomach eggs every day, and I'm usually just not capable of doing meat so early in the morning. And honestly-- and I apologize for being such a self pitying whiner-- I have sweet tooth. At least when you're dieting you can eat fruit and sugar free pudding, etc.

To top it off, the lab tech messed up once and didn't get a vein, so I was stuck not 4 times, but 5 times!

Anyway, I'm sorry for sounding like such a PITA. I know there are lots of people out there who have far worse problems than GD. I'm just worried about what happens if diet doesn't work. I'm terrified of giving myself shots (and I know there's oral meds too, but if that weren't to work). I'm terrified of something bad happening to DS2. I'm terrified of getting diabetes later in life and having to deal with this in the long term. For 11.5 weeks, I'll suck it up, but the idea of having this after pregnancy is really frightening to me.

mctlaw

11-21-2011, 05:04 PM

Hey mommylamb, I was thinking of you this am. I wound up getting stuck 5 times too because the tech couldn't get any more blood out of one of my veins. I look like a heroin addict!

Anyways, I can't answer your question but I am interested in the answer as this will pose a quandry for me if I fail ( I don't eat meat). I anything to be hopeful about it & should get my result tomorrow. PT for passing the test coming your way!

mommylamb

11-21-2011, 05:10 PM

larig

11-21-2011, 05:20 PM

I'm sorry you guys. That stinks. :hug:

pb&j

11-21-2011, 05:22 PM

I was diagnosed with GD right before Halloween when pregnant w/DS - so I got Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Year's, and my bday on the GD diet. Not that I'm bitter. Anyway.

1. Every time you eat a carb (fruit, bread, etc), eat some protein (cheese, peanut butter, meat)
2. NO juice, NO soda
3. Think high fiber - whole grains, whole fruits, veggies
4. EXERCISE - a brisk walk right after a meal can help metabolize sugar, plus being in generally good shape will help overall
5. Insulin resistance is highest in the morning and lowest at night. So if you *must* indulge, do it after dinner.
6. Portion control - make sure you know what a serving really is and stick to that
7. Drink lots of water
8. Really read labels. Did you know that a serving of Bran Chex (which taste like cardboard) has TEN grams of sugar? Life cereal only has 6g!

Typical breakfast:
Bare Naked granola (this has very little sugar) or Kashi puffs, hardboiled egg or cheese
AM snack - PB with an apple
Lunch - Turkey and cheese on whole wheat, cheese, veggies and hummus
PM snack - WW crackers and cheese
Dinner - My GD was mild and I found I could eat just about anything for dinner, within reason (ie not a bowl of fruity pebbles). But I could do a salad and spaghetti with meat sauce no problem. And I could even have a small dessert, hooray.

Thanksgiving was actually awesome - I focused on turkey, had small sides, took a long walk, and had beautiful numbers that day.

Once you start testing regularly you will find out what foods work/don't work for you - I could NOT eat more than a bite or two of pineapple at breakfast or lunch without my sugars going up, but I could eat 1/2 cup of ice cream at night with no ill effect.

ETA: I also ate a lot of nuts and trail mix - yes, the kind with M&M's in it. A very few M&M's, when combined with the protein and fiber of nuts, didn't bother my glucose numbers. Also, whole fruit (other than pineapple) was fine for me in moderation as long as it wasn't first thing in the morning.

Good luck!!

smiles33

11-21-2011, 05:28 PM

It's been almost 3 years, so forgive me for the lack of more details. I probably still have my food logs somewhere, as that was the most tedious part of GD--writing down every thing I ate and noting my blood sugar levels. I was able to control my GD through diet and exercise.

Anyhow, for background, I normally LOVE carbs. Bread, pasta, crackers, potatoes, rice--you name it and I LOVE it. So, I was petrified when I was diagnosed with GD.

Fortunately, I found that I could have a reasonable amount of carbs as long as I exercised after eating. If I had a scoop of rice, I'd walk for 30-45 minutes afterward and would have normal blood sugar testing. I don't know if everyone with GD is able to do that, though. It really is a trial-and-error process, and better to err on the side of tiny portions and lots of walking just to be safe.

Just wanted to say that having GD is not the tortuous experience you might be anticipating!

larig

11-21-2011, 05:29 PM

I would add that sweet potatoes (non-candied) themselves are excellent diabetic food, as are nuts...

I'll second the walking rec. My dad has type 2 and he has not had to take medication or insulin in the 10 years he's had it. He controls it all with exercise. He walks after every meal.

sste

11-21-2011, 06:13 PM

Mommylamb, I am upset for you over this! But, as you are thinking, it can be managed to avoid any issues so the important thing is that you caught it. I don't have diet advice per se but I would personally see if my insurance covered meeting with a nutritionist. In general, there are two things that I would be interested in learning about: 1) diet during pregnancy; and 2) what can you do to decrease your risk for developing non-gestational diabetes later. I have debated whether or not to mention this and I finally came out on knowledge is power - - my understanding is that GD is a significant predictor of developing diabetes later in life, often much later in life. So, while that is not good what is positive is that in a way you have been given an early warning so you can take steps whereas other people at risk don't nec. have that. There is good literature on what you can do to prevent ever getting (non-gest) diabetes. I know I read something a few years ago looking at exercising 4-5 per week - - walking like larig mentioned not that you need to be engaging in boot camp or triathalons. I am sure there are other things. I would be trying to find out about this aspect too though obviously less time-sensitive than managing the pregnancy.

Lots of hugs to you!

brittone2

11-21-2011, 06:15 PM

I do a lot of low carb baking with almond and coconut flour and I use erythritol to sweeten. If you want any links (especially w/ the holidays coming up...it may be easier if you find yourself with alternatives!) let me know. I made some yummy almond flour pumpkin muffins over the weekend, and almond flour biscotti. (eta: I never had GD,and got the pleasure of testing for GD early and in the more typical timeframe because of my PCOS. I eat LC all of the time because I'm at risk of developing type 2 as the result of insulin resistance and PCOS). I've been doing this forever and have a lower carb alternative to almost everything I ever miss.

AngB

11-21-2011, 06:15 PM

I had gd the 2nd time but still managed to eat a lot of carbs and have good numbers-the only number I struggled with was my morning fasting, and that was off with no rhyme or reason to it, I could eat olive garden (skipped breadsticks but a pasta meal) for dinner and have perfect numbers while following the diet closely my fasting number would be high..it didn't make sense but i did end up on a oral med at bedtime for my fasting number except it would make me go too low...it was a pain.

For breakfast I ate 2 fruit cups or a banana or sometimes oatmeal (my blood sugar was always ok)

for lunch a lot of days I had a bk jr whopper with side salad and ranch instead of fries

dinner varied, lots of steak.

Snacks were pudding cups, fruit cups, bananas, etc.

I pretty much sucked at following the diet but my numbers after meals were usually good (lowish even) and I ended up losing weight most wks. DS always measured big even at 10 wks and on the outside he's consistently been in the 90ish% for growth so I don't think his size was GD related (his blood sugar is/was fine.) I was already high risk due to my first pregnancy and not allowed to exercise. So anyway, try not to stress over it too much, you will figure out something you can live with.

val01

11-21-2011, 06:27 PM

mommylamb

11-21-2011, 07:29 PM

joules

11-21-2011, 07:52 PM

I had GD with DS #1 (he was born in March so I tested + for GD around this time of the year too!). I just passed the 1 hour test with DS#2.

A big "yeah that" to all rprav8r said. The GD diet is not a no carb diet...it's about balancing the carbs with proteins. For me, it felt like I was eating a lot more carbs than usual. Each portion of carbs (in my limited one time experience) worked out to be a multiple of 15. In the mornings, it's the smallest portion with each meal/snack - 15g. Then for lunch 45g, etc. A 15g portion turns out to be like a slice of bread. So for breakfast, I would have a slice of toast, eggs, cheese, and broccolli. And then something similar for the mid-morning snack. For lunch I could have a hamburger (forgot if it was just half the bun or not). ...or something similar to 3 slices of bread.

If I was lazy about measuring my carbs, I would just eat everything with slices of bread...by the end of the day it seemed like I had eaten a half a loaf of bread or more!

For my snack before bedtime, I would sometimes eat a TJ peppermint joe joe (21g carbs) and a meatball or something.

For convenience, I kept a stash of frozen meatballs, costco mickey mouse chicken nuggets (I think 3 nuggets = 15grams carbs), peanut butter, and cheese. Honestly some days I was just SO sick of eating! But I hardly gained any weight after I started the GD diet.

Once you start measuring yourself, you can kind of get a feel for how much your body can handle. I was able to control my GD through diet alone - almost. I had the most trouble with the morning fasting measurement - I was always off by a few points. I just took 1/2 a pill at night to help with that. And I also sort of "cheated" the system. When I met with the nutritionist, she gave me a spreadsheet so I can keep track of what I eat and my glucose levels. Well it says that you can't get over some certain level x times a week for your lunch reading, or some other level x times a week for another reading. So I took it to mean that it's ok to have a "high" glucose reading sometimes. So if I was "good" for a week, then like the last day of the week, I would let myself indulge in something "bad".

I think I managed it pretty well. DS was only 6 pounds when he was born. Sugar levels returned to normal afterwards.

oh yah, last pregnancy it seemed like NO one could find my veins. Everytime I went in for blood draws, I was poked several times. One person would try my left arm numerous times and then had to do my right arm. They would make a comment about how the veins in my left arm are funny so I should do the right one next time. I would relate that to the next person the next time and guess what? Couldn't find the right one, but they could do the left one!

Seitvonzu

11-21-2011, 08:25 PM

i am not going to lie to you about this-- it is HARD. i was diagnosed 4 years ago right before halloween with GD. i told my husband "it's like half my personality just died." i'm seriously obsessed with food-- i love to cook. i love to bake. i love to talk about food. i love to eat out at restaurants. i love the science of food, the aethestics of food. how food connects people. i'm just seriously into food.

all food. bad white food? yes please! desserts? yes please! did you know doritos have SUGAR in them? they seriously do. alot ..... i could make myself sick on doritos and eat them again the next day. i love fine dining. i love donuts when i visit my parents.

i failed the 1hr so miserably i wasn't allowed to take the 3 hr. i was giving a WEEKEND to get my numbers normalized after a dr. handed me a box of tissues when he delivered the news (and sent me for every test imaginable and told me my baby might have "heart issues"). they didn't believe i wasn't diabetic pre-pregnancy. it was a bad situation. i took brisk walks after EVERY meal, measured my food and counted EVERY carb and couldn't get things under control. i ate EXTREMELY healthily when pregant, was NOT overweight and didn't have typical warning signs for GD. i was completely demoralized.

once they figured out the baby's heart was fine, and i didn't have long term diabetic effects, they were optimistic about my post-partum recovery. unfortunately, i am STILL DIABETIC and completely insulin dependent. i can't say i'm used to it-- and it's been 4 years. this time of year is really hard.

okay-- so all that isn't helpful. i don't remember exactly what i ate-- it's hard because they want you to be PERFECT with your levels when your pregnant-- like a "regular" person. i agree with the protein thing-- that will keep you full and feeling better. once i got used to having protein in the morning, i haven't gone back. i MUST have peanut butter or an egg or yogurt or something, or i'm starving very quickly. the other great thing about being a preg. diabetic vs. a regular one is that you don't have to be so mindful of fat.( at least my dr. wasn't worried about this as long as i wasn't gaining too much weight) i was able to have bacon/sausage/fullfat nut butter/nuts,etc. that was helpful!

oh and full fat dairy-- half and half in coffee is actually better than milk in terms of sugar. i LOVE avacados so i ate tons while pregnant-- they are a good fat, filling, and actually have something or other that's been linked to better blood sugar regulation. grapefruit is another food that's been linked...it's still fruit, but one my favorites, so it was a good splurge for me. you'll find things like that. some people can have 2 clementines, i couldn't have one-- SPIKE-ity spike for me. i could have pasta though! who knows?

i'm not someone who was going to use things like splenda, etc. artificial sweeteners taste weird to me.... i baked a couple things with splenda and found them to not be worth the hassle/disappointment. when i splurged (at the very end of my third trimester) i woudl do what the previous poster did -- have some ice cream at night. chocolate is usually lower carb than vanilla-- just a tip ;)

i think you will feel much better after you go to your class. having "go to " snacks and breakfasts/lunchs is very helpful. it's hard to suggest certain foods because everyone reacts to carbs differently. if you're able to talk to a diabetic educator i HIGHLY recommend it-- mine was super helpful. i also have a great endocronologist whose able to be a little harsh with me without making me feel like a failure or "bad" patient. she's upfront, but also realistic. i think that's really important.

there are some upsides (i think) to the GD-- lots of seeing baby (weekly ultrasounds). the diet is a very healthy way for anyone to eat. i felt extremely GOOD while pregnant.

you'll do fine! it is a terrible time of year for it, but after you have your beautiful baby, hopefully it will become a distant memory and minor annoyance!

Seitvonzu

11-21-2011, 08:39 PM

you didn't mention this , but i also wanted to say that you shouldn't feel guilty at all (if that crossed your mind). i felt TERRIBLE and was sure that the apple pie i'd been eating for breakfast (honestly, i was VERY healthy before that pie... i swear) somehow "caused" the diabetes.

the truth is-- pregnancy is stressful and everyone's body is different. apparently my body doesn't actually make enough insulin (even when i'm not pregnant and needing 3x more than usual), even if i choose to live on plain oatmeal, spinach and homemade yogurt.

ok.. i'm really shutting up now :) i just wanted to give you full permission to feel sorry for yourself, but NO GUILT!!!!

mommylamb

11-21-2011, 09:06 PM

so today, I fasted this morning for the test. When I came home, I ate a salad with brie on it and some pistachios. Was starving by 4 pm and had a snack of eggs with some monteray jack cheese. Had dinner around 7:30 and ate trout and kale. Then had a low fat pudding cup (14 grams of carbs) for dessert.

Sietvonzu, I'm so sorry you're still having to deal with this. That's what scares me. My number on my 1 hour test was so high that the nurse was surprised the doctor had ordered the 3 hour for me, which is why I expect I will fail the test from today.

And yes, I have been feeling guilty. I know it's not something I can control, but I'm a control freak about certain things, and it's hard for me to accept that this is outside my ability to control. It's like cholesterol. I have high cholesterol, though obviously taking a break from my statins now. My cholesterol seems to be totally unrelated to my weight. My parents both have high cholesterol too, and it's a hereditary thing. My mother, who had been overweight, had lap band surgery last year and has lost a ton of weight, but her cholesterol is still very high, so it just shows how out of our control it is. And yet, I feel guilty about that too... It makes me feel that I'm likely to not breastfeed as long as I did with DS because I'll need to get back on statins, and that makes me feel bad.

Ok, I need to suck it up and stop being all :gloomy:

Seitvonzu

11-21-2011, 09:24 PM

mommylamb-- my endo has been on me a bit about the statins...she "gets" that i don't want to do that because i'm still open to expanding on family. my mother recently lost 60 pounds (in my opinion she is underweight now) and is off ALL MEDS but her cholesterol meds. it really is like those weird commercials-- it's just heredity for some people.

*hug* it's realistic to feel down :( i'm holding out hope for you with your second test. you're menus sound very reasonable to me-- you might be surprised that they want a little more carb in there.

do you like cauliflower? that's another GREAT sub for carbs if you do-- mashed cauliflower-- i make mine totally vegan with olive oil and actually prefer it to mashed potatos with butter and milk. i also really enjoy the whole wheat couscous at trader joes-- you can beef it up a bit with tomatos/cucs/onions and even chicken-- YUM

mommylamb

11-21-2011, 09:28 PM

do you like cauliflower? that's another GREAT sub for carbs if you do-- mashed cauliflower-- i make mine totally vegan with olive oil and actually prefer it to mashed potatos with butter and milk. i also really enjoy the whole wheat couscous at trader joes-- you can beef it up a bit with tomatos/cucs/onions and even chicken-- YUM

I love cauliflower, and I'm glad you mentioned it because I can make this at thanksgiving and not feel as bad about missing out on mashed potatoes. I'd love your recipe.

Fortunately for me, I like pretty much all vegetables. Unfortunately, I hate peanut butter and yogurt. And love a lot of things that are high carb.

Is quinoia an ok carb? I like that, and it has so much protein in it, so it's a nice thing to eat.

Seitvonzu

11-21-2011, 10:57 PM

i think quinoa is a whole grain? if so, it's an "ok" carb-- they want you to load up on more "brown" carb-- make it count! another issue of what is an "ok" carb is what works with your body.

i make whole foods mashed cauliflower-- when i made it for my mother she was pretty impressed, because her recipe took milk.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1222

enjoy guilt free :)

brittone2

11-21-2011, 11:22 PM

IMO different grains affect people differently. Oatmeal, quinoa, etc. tend to affect different diabetics very differently so it can be hard to generalize whether any one thing is okay until you check your own blood sugars. I don't have experience w/ that aspect since I'm not diabetic and didn't have GD, but I can often feel which foods trigger blood sugar issues for me (I get an insulin dump into my bloodstream afterward and I can just *feel* it).

Here are some blogs I tend to hit for inspiration:

http://www.healthyindulgences.net/ (I particularly like the black bean and white bean cupcakes on this site. I use erythritol and stevia like most of these bloggers)

http://www.alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ (she has a few non LC recipes but I just did a trial run of her boston cream pie for Thanksgiving, make with almond flour, erythritol and stevia and it was great. I didn't like her version of ganache/glaze and will tweak to a different recipe next time)

http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/

I like mashed cauli as a potato sub. You can also cook it, then send it through shred on the food processor to "rice" it into little pieces. That can be quickly added into the end of a stir fry or similar as a rice sub. Hearts of palm (costco carries in big glass jars near the shelf stable olives, artichokes, antipasto type items) can be shredded and added to things like chicken soup in lieu of rice. If you can still find delicata squash-they are awesome and one of the lower carb squashes. They are divine if you peel, cube, cook til tender in some boiling water. Drain and mash with a little cream cheese and garlic powder. Soooooo good.

With the cholesterol thing, I don't want to be debbie downer but have you looked into the connection between things like insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome and issues like high cholesterol? I know I talk about him all of the time but Gary Taubes is awesome (I think you read his Is Sugar Toxic article in the NYT? I think I remember you posting it or talking about it on the thread that was up). I hate both of the following book titles because they are not really books about weight loss at all, more about the connection between insulin levels and heart disease, etc. Very interesting stuff. Good Calories, Bad Calories (ick, hate title) is very science-dense. His newer book Why We Get Fat is a supposedly a bit easier to navigate for those who don't like reading the more intense science stuff. Anyway, you might find it fascinating given your family history and what you are going through http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Science/dp/1400033462/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1321931798&sr=8-3

Lots of LC comfort food type recipes here. Her desserts are usually sweetened with Splenda, etc. and that's not my thing. But her main dishes give me lots of ideas when I'm stumped.
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html

eta: if you decide to try almond flour, Honeyville Grain is hands-down the best. Bob's Red Mill is okay, but Honeyville is waaaaay better IMO. Available on amazon and prime eligible to boot ;) If you search the archives the one minute muffin recipe might be helpful for you. You can use almond flour or ground (golden) flax in it.

stinkyfeet

11-22-2011, 12:26 PM

I was diagnosed GD with DS2 right before Christmas, so I feel ur pain.

It was hard at first. For the first two weeks, I felt hungry all of the time bc my body was used to having some carbs to feel full. My body adjusted to the new diet, and I felt SO much better. I didn't feel so tired after my meals anymore and generally had more energy throughout the day.

On the positive side, you are forced to eat things that are good for you. My diet was mainly some sort of meat and fresh veggies. I snacked on a lot of hard boiled/deviled eggs and cottage cheese. When I ate small portions of fruits or whole grain carbs, I would always pair it with a protein to slow absorption on the sugars into my bloodstream.

When I did find myself cheating a little, my body felt horrible afterwards...I would feel so tired, sort of like food coma. I didn't ain as much weight with my second pregnancy, so it makes it easier to shed the extra pounds after.

My diet counselor told me that there is a 50% chance that women diagnosed with GD will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime, so I try to watch my carb/sugar intake now.

HTH!:wavey: