Gestational Diabetes

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JessH0204
JessH0204 Posts: 47
in Food and Nutrition
I am between 28 and 29 weeks pregnant and found out last week I have gestational diabetes. I am having a hard time finding anything that does not have alot of sugar in it! Even food that is supposed to be good for you (yogurt and fruit especially) is packed with sugar. Any tips?

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  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
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    My niece had GD. Turned into type 2 later. She is now no longer clinically diabetic due to doctor prescribed low carb diet. 100g or less per day.
    It is easy to cut out extra sugar by cutting out most processed foods.
    Green veggies instead of starchy veggies. Stay away from potatoes.
    Going gluten free doesn't hurt either.
    If you live in an area where Neese's Sausage is available, add that to your breakfast. It actually has substantially less fat than all the other breakfast sausage out there that is not crap turkey or fake veggie sausage.
    Fat is your friend. It is not the enemy in food.
    Pork Rinds are a great low carb snack too.
    A nice aged extra sharp cheddar. Yum.
    Lots of choices.
    Cackalacky sauce to spice up food is great.
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
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    I had GD with both of my pregnancies. My OB sent me to a nutritionist. I had to watch my carb intake & eat periodically throughout the day. The nutritionist told me that 15g of carbs = 1 serving. I could have 1 for breakfast; 1 for a snack; 3 for lunch; 1 for a snack; 3 for dinner & 1 for a snack. I could pretty much indulge on proteins (in fact, with my son, she told me I could have a massive omelet for breakfast as long I only had 1 serving of carbs). As yes, fat is not the enemy in this case…I was told to eat more fat & less carbs, actually. When I was pregnant with my son on this diet, I ended up losing 20lbs from when I weighed in at my first prenatal appt to my first postnatal appt weigh in (170+ prenatal down to 150+ postnatal).
  • tracygolden
    tracygolden Posts: 94 Member
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    I had it with my last two preg. I was able to somewhat control with diet the first time but wasn't able to the second time. I had to take insulin.

    I ate lots of meat....its low in carbs
    no breads...no rices.....no pastas
    wait, you can eat the very thin bread called toasties. its round and thin.

    Please feel free to ask any and all questions..............
  • JessH0204
    JessH0204 Posts: 47
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    With my first 2 pregnancies I didn't have any problems - so I should watch carbs more than actual sugar?
  • tracygolden
    tracygolden Posts: 94 Member
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    I watched both. And this sounds bad, but fruits always sent me over......but I don't know if the good outweighs the bad or not with fruit.

    I didn't have problems with my first preg as far as gd was concerned but was worst with each later pregn.
  • raqufern
    raqufern Posts: 794 Member
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    I had GD with both of my pregnancies. My OB sent me to a nutritionist. I had to watch my carb intake & eat periodically throughout the day. The nutritionist told me that 15g of carbs = 1 serving. I could have 1 for breakfast; 1 for a snack; 3 for lunch; 1 for a snack; 3 for dinner & 1 for a snack. I could pretty much indulge on proteins (in fact, with my son, she told me I could have a massive omelet for breakfast as long I only had 1 serving of carbs). As yes, fat is not the enemy in this case…I was told to eat more fat & less carbs, actually. When I was pregnant with my son on this diet, I ended up losing 20lbs from when I weighed in at my first prenatal appt to my first postnatal appt weigh in (170+ prenatal down to 150+ postnatal).

    Agree with this!
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
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    my roommate had GD and is still borderline type 2. She knew I was going semi-low carb (gluten intolerance) so I showed her a bunch of stuff on the *gasp* paleo diet. Don't follow the hype, but there are a TON of really tasty low carb recipes and food/snack ideas if you search for that.
  • UneJolieFemme
    UneJolieFemme Posts: 86 Member
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    Ditto to what previous posters said. Easier said than done but try to go for walks too, it helps alot. Or prenatal yoga or swimming if you prefer.
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    I was GD with my first pregnancy. Eating poptarts everyday didn't help... :noway:

    I was sent to a dietician and it was suggested 20 carbs for breakfast, 30 for lunch, 40 for dinner.

    Things I ate alot of...

    Eggs and 1 slice of toast for breakfast (or bacon! love bacon!)
    String cheese
    Beef Jerky (watch the salt...but it was filling)
    Sugar-free pudding
    Sugar-free ice cream
    Plenty of salads...
    Meat Meat Meat.

    Opt for a wrap instead of a sub, etc. Fruit has alot of natural sugar so limit your intake. Cut out the canned/boxed processed foods. They're loaded with salt and carbs.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    I had gestational diabetes with my last two pregnancies. You should be getting referred to a class or a dietician that can teach you about the diet you are to follow. They also should have given or prescribed a meter so that you can check your blood sugar regularly. I was not able to control my GD with diet alone and needed insulin with both of those pregnancies (my first two pregnancies I did not have GD). Having to use insulin is not a sign that you are a failure or are not watching what you eat, like some people seem to think.

    For the diet, I was told that I could have two carb choices for breakfast (1 choice is roughly 15 grams of carbohydrates), 1 for each snack (have a snack in the morning, afternoon and before bed) and 3-4 carb choices for lunch and dinner. Look at total carbs, not just sugar. They also said that many people can't tolerate milk for breakfast, even if it is technically within your carb limit. Often, eating out will make your blood sugar higher than if you prepare meals at home. I disagree with what someone else said regarding eating lots of fats. Maybe that is fine if you are focusing on "healthy" fats but if your carbs are eaten with fat (whether in the original food that has carbs or just in that meal) your blood sugar will stay high longer. Eating protein with carbs helps to keep the blood sugar from spiking (so, if you have fruit for snack, eat it with some protein like almonds, string cheese, meat slices, etc).

    Exercising/walking after meals helps as well.
  • alibur85
    alibur85 Posts: 122 Member
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    This is good stuff. I am 28 weeks and was diagnosed last week with GD. I go to a counselor in a few days to discuss my diet. I've been very stricked with my diet the whole pregnancy, only gaining 8lbs so far, so my doctor and i were very shocked that my body was having such a hard time breaking down sugar. My sugar comes from fruit on a daily basis, and I'm Celiac, so I don't have breads, rarely I splurge and have some GF bread. My carbs are mainly from dairy, potatoes and squashes, and occasionally rice. I've cut out bananas, grapefruits and oranges starting today and eating berries and apples in their place (this is hard since this pregnancy i've been craving citrus fruits).

    I'm also restricted on my exercise because i've had contractions since I was 15weeks, and activity induces contractions for me.

    I'm eager to hear what the counselor has to say and to get my meter so i can actually see what my normal day to day diet is doing.
  • Britton12
    Britton12 Posts: 13 Member
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    I had GD with my son and was sent to a nutritionist. She was awesome! I told her things I liked to eat and she sat down with me for a few hours and help me plan out menus. It was easy once she worked with me. I gained 28 lbs. and came home weighing 31 lbs. less than the day I found out I was pregnant. I believe that it is thanks to the GD "diet". Along with this my son weighed 8 lbs. 12oz. it is very common to have a big baby due to the GD. It is also common for them to have broad shoulders and bigger abdomens. My 38 wk ultrasound "guesstimated" my son to weigh 9 lbs. 10 oz and the Dr. told me it could go a pound either way. Due to everything she told and the "possibility" of having a 10 lb. 10z. baby we opted for a C-section. They had a rough time getting him out of the C-section incision because of his shoulders so I was very thankful we didn't try naturally.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    alibur--good luck! I hope you got some helpful information from the nutritionist. Just remember that it is normal for our bodies to have problems with insulin resistance as the pregnancy progresses, despite our best efforts to change our diet. My providers told me that they did not want me cutting carbs out completely and wanted me to stick to the plan they gave me in order to provide the right nutrients for the baby, even if that meant needing insulin (which it did). They also consider a "carb to be a carb" no matter what type of food it is from. Of course, our bodies react somewhat differently to foods based on our own body chemistry as well as that of the food.
  • Pinkylee77
    Pinkylee77 Posts: 432 Member
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    I was a bad gestational diabetic and not because I was over weight. See a dietician they will be the best person to guide you. It is not just sugar that is the issue.
  • feebz36
    feebz36 Posts: 32 Member
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    The diabetes uk website lets you download a free cookbook...

    http://www.diabetes.co.uk/welcome/default.aspx?ref=300&seg=SEG_FOOD&utm_source=b&utm_medium=b300&utm_campaign=dcuk

    Hope that helps! xxx

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