Gestational diabetes newbie...help!

Re: Gestational diabetes newbie...help!

• antyroroc

  January 2013

  PrivacyWanted:

  What do you mean when you say a lot of carbs?
  My guess is you aren't getting enough protein with your carbs. Protein powder may help since it's hard to get enough as a vegetarian

  
  
  I'm almost certain I'm not getting enough protein. I eat plenty of peanut butter, but I am aware that has sugar. I eat a lot of cheese, as well. I've never heard of protein powder, but will ask the nutritionist about it today. Since fruits and veggies alone don't fill me up, I have bread or potatoes at every meal. I know I will have to control that, another thing I'm sure the nutritionist will talk about. Thanks for the heads up on protein powder!

  

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• RosekittyS

  January 2013

  Also, fruit may as well be a carb. Limit your fruit and always eat it with a protein. Veggies are your friend and you can eat as many of them as you want. Cooked carrots are an exception to this because cooking them brings out the sugar and you lose the fiber so at that point they are no better than a carb. I was told protein powders aren't the best but I forget why. As long as you limit your bread or potatoes to a reasonable portion you can, and should, still have them, but especially if you eat fruit at the same time. Peanut butter is a great protein, I've been eating a lot of it since I've had GD. Usually for breakfast. Nuts are great if you can eat them. Cheese is good too, try finding different types of cheese so you don't get sick of the same ones. I enjoy colby jack cheese sticks, string cheese, and cottage cheese. Cream cheese unfortunately is high enough in fat that I avoid it. One of the best things you can do is read the labels of the things you buy, especially if you do fake meats and/or like veggie burgers, those have more carbs than you would think.
  

  

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• ah625 member

  January 2013

  RosekittyS:

  Limit your fruit. Veggies are your friend and you can eat as many of them as you want.
  

  Fruit could be your problem, OP. It's not as "healthy" as people think it is, as it's packed with sugar and even though it's naturally occurring sugar it will make you spike. 

  Regarding veggies: Green veggies are completely different from red/orange/yellow veggies. Green veggies are "free" as they contain little to no sugar, meaning you can eat them to your hearts content and have ok numbers. The brightly colored ones are going to have much more sugar, regardless of how they are cooked. 

  Be careful with breads. Don't eat anything that's white or enriched. You should only eat breads that are whole wheat and try to stick to under 15 carbs for each bread serving, which is usually one slice. Also make sure the bread you're eating does not contain high fructose corn syrup. That will sabotage you for sure. 

  Potatoes are the better of carbs (vs pasta for example) because they have what is called a low glycemic index. They burn much slower but you still need to watch your portions and be careful with how they're processed/dressed. Any kind of potato that is breaded is going to make you spike, that breading adds carbs. Green giant carries a line of microwavable potatoes, the kind that are in a bag that you just microwave and eat. Those are going to be a good choice if you want to eat 'taters.

   

  Rice cakes are another easy way to get a little bit of carbs in without using bread or potatoes. I really like the apple cinnamon ones. They're only about 11carbs a piece.
  

  

  
  

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• mandeesmiles

  January 2013

  How often are you eating?

  The first week I was put on my "diet" I was eating at the 2 hour mark for every meal and snack and found my blood glucose levels were always high.

  I switched to a more manageable schedule where I'd wake up and have breakfast, wait two hours for a snack and then wait three hours for a meal. My levels have been much better.

  Also be very careful for portion sizes and what veggies you're eating. What I normally do is I google something like "corn carb count" to find out how much I can eat for a serving. I've been doing it for years for my boyfriend as he's Type II diabetic and has been limiting his carb intake to help control his blood glucose levels. 

  
  

  

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