Jill asks:
I am currently 28 weeks pregnant with a singleton and just found out I have gestational diabetes. Can you tell me more about your experience? What are some good foods and snacks for keeping my sugar level in check?
Gestational Diabetes can be pretty scary and it is definitely an issue that will require more doctor’s appointments and monitoring. I am currently going to the doctor two times per week for non-stress tests and weekly ultrasounds to make sure that the babies are doing okay despite my high blood sugar levels. I test my blood sugar four times per day and I am on two shots of long acting and three shots of fast acting insulin per day. My insulin is increased at nearly every appointment as the placentas grow larger and make it more and more difficult for my body to process glucose.
In some ways, I feel lucky that I experienced infertility as it has put everything else about pregnancy in a different perspective for me. I am more than willing to do whatever I have to do — be it drive two hours to appointments, stick myself with multiple needles and lancets, etc. if it means ending up with healthy babies.
I only failed the original glucose test by 1 point so I was very hopeful that I would be able to control my glucose levels by diet alone, but that has not been the case at all. Many times I feel sick after I eat and so that has made it more difficult for me to gain weight. I thought pregnancy was suppose to be a free for all buffet but that definitely has not been the case.
As far as eating, it quickly became obvious that I am a total carb addict. I’ve really struggled to find good sources of protein and fat to add to my diet. Some foods that I’ve found keep my glucose levels in check include all meats and cheeses, hard boiled eggs and colby jack cheese, a small apple with peanut butter or cheese, celery with peanut butter, mixed nuts, etc. I’ve also been drinking a lot of smoothies. I’ve been making the smoothies with sugar free Carnation instant breakfast. (Example: 1 cup crushed ice, 1 cup milk, a whole banana, and 5-6 Tablespoons of the chocolate powder and blend. I also do the same thing with vanilla and strawberries). The smoothies taste sweet and gives me quite a few calories, vitamins, and protein. The instant breakfast has a lot of protein and vitamins which seems to balance the sugar from the milk and banana while keeping my numbers in range. Fruit without some type of protein source really makes my numbers spike.
I love sweets and desserts so limiting them and my beloved peppermint patties has been very difficult. I eat a ton of sugar free breath savers to work on that craving… Mike and I recently discussed the number of mints I’ve eaten this pregnancy and it is outrageous. I’ve literally eaten hundreds of them.
Have you experienced gestational diabetes? What was your experience like? What were some good foods/snacks that you ate during that time period to help regulate your blood sugar? What advice do you have for others dealing with gestational diabetes?
Friday’s Feature at Sticky Feet Part Deux is Ask Jamie. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any question you would like for me to answer. Anything is fair game!
I just had my GD one-hour test today- I hope I pass. I am a certified carbaholic- though I could probably find a way to manage on cheese- does that include cheesecake?
I can't believe you are almost full term! Congratulations on that!
I was borderline on the GD, so I didn't have to do much besides stay away from dessert and soft drinks. However, I did find that Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips have only 5g of sugar per serving (which was actually a generous amount of chips), so that was my daily treat.
I am not 100% sure that I have GD but I am testing 4 times a day because of the 1 hr test. I think I was at 170 after the 1 hr. I had GD 14 years ago so I figured I might as well pass on the 3 hr test. Things are monitored a lot closer for GD now compared to 14 years ago. The first time I had it all I did was watched what I ate and had my blood drawn when I went to my OB appts. That is how I thought it would be this time but boy was I wrong. Thankfully I am not on insuln as I mentioned I just test my blood 4 times a day and am careful of what I eat. I got a scare a few weeks ago because the monitor I was using started giving me higher number 140's-160's (this happened when I started using new strips). They are normally between 90-120. I started using a different monitor and my numbers have been fine. I was pretty upset when I found out that I had to do the monitoring but I got use to it pretty quickly. One reason that I was upset was because I am well within my BMI I was watching what I ate and exercising.
One good thing about GD is you are less likely to put on a lot of weight because of the well balanced diet. I do treat myself occasionally to ice cream or some sort of dessert. You can not totally deprive yourself of goodies. I eat 20-60 grams of carbs for breakfast, 20-40 grams snack,20-60 lunch,20-40 snack,20-60dinner,20-40 snack. For snacks I eat light yogurt,fruit cups with light syrup, applesauce with no sugar added, any kind of nuts,string cheese, toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk. Jamie thank you for the smoothie idea. I will be trying that next week.
ab1973@hotmail.com
I had GD with both my pregnancies. I struggled more the second time, but I think it was mostly due to having to be on the diet longer (they test you earlier in subsequent pregnancies) and having a toddler – makes tracking eating/blood sugars that much more annoying.
Honestly, though, the GD diet isn't that bad. I'm going to start trying to lose weight again and I plan on using this as a template. There are tons of things you can eat – you can even eat cake and ice cream, but you have to space it out and eat smaller quantities. Once you get good at it you may find that your body can handle a few more carbs for your mid-afternoon snack, but you have to be rigid at night or else your AM blood sugar will be off.
Some things I stocked are:
-couscous (great over salad, with chicken, instead of rice)
-100 calorie snack packs
-90 calorie granola bars
-jello sugar free Pudding (the jello is horrid, IMO)
-mini-bagels
Some tips I found helpful:
-make sure to space your meals evenly. i go to work early and my husband goes in later to space the drop off/pick up of the kids. i was eating breakfast, snacks, and lunch every 2-3 hours, but then going 4-5 between afternoon snack and dinner. that's too long. i had to start eating earlier to get my AM blood sugar under control.
-add protein to your "midnight" snack. milk was the best for me, but i would also do PB crackers or something.
good luck with the diet! it can be really frustrating, but also like another poster said, it helps control the weight gain!