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High-Risk Pregnancy
sparty11
member
I'm a newbie with GD
sparty11
member
I am new to these boards. I have been on my birth month board of April. I am due April 4 and this is our first child. We are absolutely thrilled. This past Friday I found out I have gestational diabetes. To say the least I am a little scared. I do not meet with the nutritionist until Monday the 7th. I feel like this is my fault as I have been eating so bad. And eating soo much. Since I don't see the nutritionist until the 7th I have been trying to follow a diet plan I found online. I've been lurking on this board since I found out. You all seem so supportive and always there to offer advice. So tell me ladies how hard is it to follow this diet? So far I haven't had much of a problem but I don't have a set plan yet. I am afraid if I eat something I shouldn't I am going to harm the baby more. Thoughts... I am fine with this if it will keep my baby safe. But what if I mess up?
Sorry for the rant. This is all a little overwhelming
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Re: I'm a newbie with GD
How hard is it to follow the diet? Lets put it this way, its a PITA but completely manageable. I'm totally diet controlled and after a month and a half my OB has my only testing once a week.there are a few key things you have to do, but there are tons of resources and work arounds that mean you don't have to starve! actually trying to keep up with it rather than just throwing up your hands and giving up is the first step. Here are a few (in my mind) key ideas:
*flip over your food. Look at the nutritional info on everything you eat. if you're making things from scratch, www.calorieking.com is a great resource for the carb counts on raw ingredients. When I'm planning dinner I usually start by "pricing out" the Nutritional info so I can figure out how much I can have, or what Substitutions I need to make.
*always eat protein when you're eating carbs.
Get friendly with cheese. I snack on string cheese all the time. I also keep pepperonis in the house, along with beef jerky (Plain, the Teryiaki has a bunch of sugar in it)
*Know you're going to have to give some things up. It'll suck, but its the way it is. everyons body reacts to food differently. Currently i don't eat (or eat in extremely sparing quantities) Sugar, Fruit, white flour, candy, soda or juice. these are all things that spike me horribly, so I've just quit them until the baby comes. This also means my weight has gone down at my last couple of appointments rather than up, but I've still got a healthy baby.Some people can have cereal with milk in the morning with no ill effects. as soon as you get your tester start experimenting, you'll soon figure out what you Can and cannot have.
*Check out some of the diabetic blogs. I've found a bunch of really good recipes that sub. things like almond flour for wheat flour so i can have "treats" they aren't as good as the real thing, but they've gotten me through thanksgiving and Christmas.
*Know that Stress and being sick both make your blood sugar go up. Try and eat a couple of small meals every few hours rather than load up at the three main ones. The Carb counts you're reading on the web are LIMITS not suggestions. For instance: I cannot keep my fasting under control if I eat a snack after dinner. Some people can't if they don't eat something. Again, everyones body reacts differently. although I'm "allowed" 230 carbs a day, I generally use work arounds and such to eat about half that.
it can be really frustrating, but again, manageable. I hope this isn't too scattered, and that the tips help some. Please feel free to PM me if you have questions.
You can check out my pinterest board for some of the treats I've been trying lately so i don't feel so left out of christmas sweets. (https://pinterest.com/paperstsoapco/low-carb-food-because-i-have-to-eat-something/)
great advice, I just got diagnosed Monday waiting on the info still.
The PP gave great advice.
The only thing I would add is always have nuts in your purse. Trader Joe's sells a big bag of raw almonds that come in small packs. I always have these in my bag. Almonds are a superfood and help to lower your blood sugar levels. When you get hungry, pop a few in your mouth until you can sit down and have a proper snack or meal. The problem I have found is most of the food you can get "on the run" when you aren't home and making your own meals is all carbs. If you have something with you in your bag you won't feel so desperate. Walnuts are also good. I believe hazelnuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts are also low on the glycemic index. Make sure they're raw (more nutritious than roasted but if you must have them roasted, that's still better than a carb). I have heard cinnamon also helps to lower blood sugar.
Oh and almonds also taste delicious with a little bit of dark chocolate - a fun before bed snack!
One thing that was hard for DH to understand was don't look at sugar counts, look at the carb counts only!
Pair your carbs with proteins as others have said. Like my breakfast is eggs and bacon with 1-2 slices of toast (that depends on my fasting and how hungry I am lol).
The BIGGEST help for me was creating my own spreadsheet to track my #s. I put in an extra column for writing my carb counts. So, for example I'll write my breakfast # of say 115 and in the next column I write "11g - 1 toast". By doing this I found that even if milk is my only carb and I was under my carb limit for the meal I'd still spike like crazy.
1/2 a banana is a serving (15g) of carbs. I'll sometimes eat it as a snack with some peanut butter. Other good snacks are trail mix that is heavy on the nuts. I go to Whole Foods and do the make your own bar. Lots and lots of nuts with a *handful* of dried cranberries and chocolate chips (just to sweeten it). It gives me the sweetness I crave but has tons of protein to balance it out. And the ~2 pounds I get lasts weeks.
Just make sure you read labels. The whole grain can be a good thing but not if you're eating the whole sleeve/box/etc of crackers lol or not pairing it with a protein.
It's not easy at first, I'll admit to a ton of tears. Hubby caught me a few nights crying in the kitchen b/c I was so hungry and scared to eat anything. But rest assured, despite some spikes and only just now getting my fastings under control (it's been 6 weeks for crying out loud) my DD is fine and actually measuring right at or below 50th percentile and all my NSTs have been perfect. If it was urgent they wouldn't have you waiting a week to see the nutritionist. I wish someone would've told me that. That was the worse 1.5 weeks of my life. Testing 4x/day, not knowing what my levels even should be and having ZERO guidance. To make it easier when you meet with the nutritionist, go ahead and keep a detailed food journal. That way she/he knows what you're eating and can make suggestions for things to substitute or avoid.
Just take it one meal at a time. Don't get frustrated if in a few weeks what was working doesn't anymore. As you get further along your insulin resistance will increase. As long as you're following the diet and keeping your dr appointments you're doing your part. There's a lot to this that is out of our control. Those damn hormones/placenta are a b**ch.
I've read a lot of posts like yours, and wrote one myself just before Christmas (when I was diagnosed with GD.) It is scary at first, and like a lot of people, I blamed myself and thought I had done something wrong. To repeat what everybody told me, don't blame yourself! Even my doctor told me if I had eaten like a saint, it could still have happened.
It also took me two weeks to meet with a diabetes councillor and get my meter. In the mean time, the ladies here were extremely helpful. They gave some good guidelines and got me started looking at nutritional information. It was really surprising some of the carbs in food, high and low. My councillor did stress to not stop eating carbs. Your baby needs them, and they should be eaten with every meal. Just not too many, and only those good nutritionally. Good luck and do your best until you can meet with your dietician.
Everyone has given great advice - I would just reiterate it is NOT YOUR FAULT that you were diagnosed with GD! I've known people who eat healthier than you can imagine who were diagnosed just because of crappy genetics. Also, the threshold is getting lower and lower - if we were pregnant 5 years ago, I really wonder how many of us would have "had it" - I think doctors want to play it safe, and that's absolutely fine. In the end, it can be a silver lining - it keeps your weight gain in check and for me, it really did give me a lot more energy. There are hard moments and you will beat yourself up if you get a bad reading - but remember, the damage is when you have a trend of bad readings. Once you get a handle on the diet and what foods work for you, it's really not that hard. In a way, you don't have to puzzle over "what should I have for lunch?" - you just know I can have this, this, or this.
This board was a tremendous help to me when I was diagnosed - I was really embarrassed about the diagnosis and didn't feel like I had anyone to talk to about it. I got some fantastic tips here, and great recipes too, and about a week and a half ago, my GD baby was born perfectly healthy with no complications from it. You can do it!!
Sorry you are so overwhelmed, but welcome! You can do this! I was very overwhelmed in the beginning, especially when I left the nutritionists office. I had a big ugly cry. But I will tell you that you can do this and it isnt as hard as you think! It really does take some planning and time and effort but its managable. The hardest part for me is eating all the food Im supposed to and keeping track of the time. I feel like my whole day revolves around a clock and food! I got a really great list of foods and portion sizes from my nutritionist that I am not having trouble following. Sure I eat a lot of the same things but you get used to it. It is important for me to pre plan out my meals for the day while I am at work so that I stay on track. Once you get into the swing of things, it does get easier.
Keep in mind this is NOT your fault. Regardless of whether you ate well or not or ate too much or not, it is out of your hands. That is the hardest thing for me to deal with. Even now when eating the right foods at the right times and being on medication, my numbers still arent where they would like them. I am trying not to beat myself up about it and just continue doing what I am doing. As for harming the baby, I think you are ok. With GD you will be monitored more throughout the rest of your pregnancy to check for growth of the baby to make sure it isnt out of control because of the GD. This should help ease your mind! And if you eat a cookie or cake or cheat or whatever, it isnt the end of the world! Your numbers don't lie and you will learn what you can and can't eat, or rather when to eat it
If you mess up, its ok! Just get back on track for your next meal or the next day. It happens. I had to deal with all of this over the holidays and man was that a challenge!
Big hugs to you!
Wow! Thank you ladies for all your suggestions!!! All of the support and suggestions have made me feel soo much better about things. I am taking every bit of your advice and using it. I have felt it was my fault, but your words are all helping soo much.
I feel with by your suggestions and what I am finding online for meal suggestions I will be just fine. I'm hoping when I go in next week they tell me whatever I have been doing is helping
I even started a spreadsheet like suggested by all of you. Granted I don't have a specific diet from the nutrionist yet, but I am logging everything. Thank you again for everything. You ladies are soo wonderful, and it is great to have all of the support.
Big hugs!!!