Mama’s who’ve had gestational diabetes, how did you keep up with it? I was doing great at first, I did the diet change, lost some weight, and with the help with medication my sugar levels were fantastic. But I started to just get tired of it. Having to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. Having to eat 3 meals a day with 3 snacks. Having to only eat certain things. Buying things with no or low sugar, buying fresh fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis, and having to diet. I can’t always afford what I need and was told not to get frozen vegetables cause fresh is better. I fell off the wagon, this is the 3rd week now. And my sugars went from being great to my fasting numbers being 110. I’ve been eating whatever I want, but in moderation still: cake, pie, ice cream, fruits in the morning, cereal, fries, tortilla, popcorn. And I also haven’t been keeping track of my sugars the last 3 weeks, just my fasting numbers. I see it’s high so I’m scared to do it the rest of the day. I’m doing all of this knowing I’m too scared to do insulin injections. I saw a dietician about a month ago who recommended meal ideas and snack ideas and I loved them. Then I saw the Diabetic Dr who said my A1C went up by .3 and said it was high and bad. They asked what I was eating and I told them the ideas I got from the dietician, only to be told that it was all wrong. I tried asking that Dr for ideas but they kept going around my question. Then I was told I’m eating too many carbs and asked what I can do to substitute for starch? Potatoes and wheat bread are really the only starches I have on a daily basis that I LOVE. Potatoes are my life. But again they just said to refer to the paper with approved foods I was given. I’ve been honest with the Dr and saying that I haven’t been keeping track of my sugars like I’m suppose to and I’ve been eating non-approved foods. They haven’t said anything yet, but I have an appt tomorrow and I’m scared. I’m frustrated that I can’t just follow a simple diet plan for the sake of the baby. I’m frustrated and disappointed in myself. At this point I just hope my baby is born healthy and I haven’t damaged him. The ultrasounds I get the baby is measuring equal to how far along I am. The Dr hasn’t shown any concern.
You will have a greater risk of developing type two diabetes later in life and if that’s not scary enough, so will your child. Youve gotta find a way to make it a challenge and make it fun for yourself.
Just be careful because you can harm baby! I have it right now and it sucks so bad maybe every couple weeks I have 1 cheat day where I eat what I want but it’s only for that day and I just right back the next day! The most important is fasting and bed time numbers. I take insulin to help control mine hopefully today is my last day of this as I’m being induced tomorrow morning with a very healthy just big baby she will probably be about 9 pounds! So we taking her 2 weeks early.
Yes definitely be careful. I had it and I definitely hated counting carbs constantly so instead I did a lot of free proteins like meat and cheese for snacks along with fruit and veggies according to my doctors recommendations. I was doing really well with my sugars but they still putme on a low dose of insulin for my third trimester. Then I started getting highblood pressure and had to deliver at 36 weeks via C section. Anyway it is definitely important to watch your diet but I didn’t find it that difficult to find food that I could eat safely and enjoyed.
Be careful…if you aren’t In compliance with what the doctor is advising you. They can drop you as a patient, because they can get in trouble if you continue to not follow their recommendations. My former Doctor (no, I wasn’t dropped, she moved away) told me that. Follow what he gave you. It’s for the health of your baby. If you don’t do it for you, do it for your baby…if you follow what doctor recommended and you just have to have it, then have what your craving. Just enough to satisfy that craving. Then get back on track. Yes it’s hard, and trust me your doctor knows it is. You can do it…not sure how far along you are but you can do it until your little one is born. I’ll be praying for you. You can do this, do your sugars as directed, not just when you fast.
It’s hard, I wasn’t able to control it with only diet either. Ask them to give you insulin. I know you said you’re scared to do it but at this point it’s what’s best for the baby and you. I got my husband to give me the shots, just grab the fat on your hip and inject there, the needles are really tiny. My GD went away as soon as my daughter was born and I haven’t had any more trouble.
I’m a type 1 diabetic nd just gave birth last week. Ur going to damage your baby. Yes it’s hard but what’s harder is pushing out a baby that’s stomach is 3x bigger than its head. And having heart problems. And then having ur baby come put and because its little body was trying to keep up with ur high sugars they can’t regulate theirs so they have a hypo. And then they’ll be in the nicu. U have no idea the last effects ur sugars if high are going to do 2 ur baby. Yes ur measuring ok rn but that can change in a week and by then the damage is done. By all means eat what u want but u have 2 track ur sugars!!
When your sugar is reading a little high drink water and walk. When I had gd I focused mainly on meat and tried to stay away from carbs and sweet foods. Also, the first testing of the day after you wake up may read a little high due to something called “the dawn phenomenon” which is when our bodies release more glucose to get us to wake up in the morning. Try waiting about 20 minutes after you wake up to do your fasting reading in the morning. Beef jerky, nuts, and seeds (like sunflower seeds) are great low carb/high protein snacks. Don’t cut carbs out totally but try to keep it to about 15g for snacks and 30g for meals. If you have to satisfy a candy craving only eat a small amount and drink a glass of water while your eating it. If you have a soda craving diet Dr Pepper has 0 carbs and 0 calories but a lot of sodium so you can drink it but cut out salting the other foods you eat so you don’t retain too much water. You really do need to keep track of your sugar because if it gets too low you can faint which is no fun.
Please follow the diet and guidelines.
It’s important u follow the diet for the baby. This isn’t something u can mess around with. I also had gd and it’s very serious.
Don’t believe all of what everyone tells you. As for fruits and veggies. Fresh is alway better but frozen is just as good. Canned just looses some of it nutrients during the process. You need to stick to that diet. Your baby depends on it. If you have any type of insurance call them and see if they cover a nutritionist. And make an appointment asap. They will help better than any medical doctor.
Gestational diabetes are dumb literally. Had it with all 3 of my babies and the only things that would not raise my sugar was tomatoes, oven roasted turkey and cheddar cheese. I know it’s very hard but it can cause your child serious health problems or cause stillbirth. My 2nd daughter had to be in the nicu for 8 days because her sugars would not regulate after birth from it. I didn’t get to hold her until she was 3 days old. Drinking a bottle of water with every snack or meal keeps your sugars down too. Stay away from the sugars and starches and adjust what you are eating when you see your 1 hr sugars going up. It’s worth the effort. Good luck!!
Get some ensure, glucerna shakes they’ll help . There’s a lot of “free foods” you can snack on . I had trouble like you, seems like your doing good if your levels are 110. Just keep an eye on your carbs. 2-3 servings per meal.
If you don’t take care of this NOW there is a possibility it won’t go away after you give birth. I didn’t take care of my G.D. and now I’m still fighting diabetes 3 years after my daughter was born and it’s effected me terribly. I’m at my lowest weight, I have cut almost all sugar out now and my fasting sugars are still over 300 and I have to give myself insulin shots daily. Please nip this is the bud now before it gets any worse. If not for your baby then for yourself. It’s effecting you to and it’s hurting your body as well and you might not feel it now but I promise you will in the long run.
Look up kept or low carb diets. Lego will show you the free foods and low carb recipes will keep you sustained at a lower level.
Once you get the hang of things you’ll develop your go-to easy recipes. Plain yogurt with fruit & peanuts, Nutri-Grain Almond or regular Cheerios in a small bowl with milk, oatmeal with fruit or some unsweetened applesauce, scrambled eggs & meat of your choice (ham, bacon, sausage) plus a thin slice of whole grain toast for breakfast. Coffee or teas without sweetener are fine too.
Frozen vegetables are fine. Use the ideas from the nutritionist. Frozen dinners often have diabetic points/listings on them and are fine for when you don’t feel like cooking. Burrito bowls from Chipotle can be a good choice. Eat the cheeseburger without the bun. McDonalds and Wendy’s have good salads.
Skip sodas if possible. Sparkling water is a decent substitute. The less you eat sweets, the less you’ll crave. Milk is a good choice to drink. Carry around a water bottle and drink from it often. It may become a good habit.
Beef sticks, Mozzarella sticks, nuts, pepperoni, ham, salami make good snacks. Also a few dried apricots and 8 animal crackers are OK. Lunchables without the (tasteless, doughy) crackers ir pizza crusts. Chicken salad, low fat cottage cheese are all fine. Mandarin oranges and bags of tiny apples are the right size of fruit to eat.
Just skip the middle aisles and bakery areas of grocery stores and stick to the perimeter. Rotisserie chicken with mashed cauliflower and a green vegetable is good. Make your own chicken soup by boiling the carcass with bouillon cubes and chopped onion (food processor makes chopping easier) for a few hours taking out the bones & skin & picking off the bits of meat for the soup. Add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Make it creamy by pureeing tofu with some of the broth & stirring it back in.
Use zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or other noodle substitutes instead of pasta. Add Ragu sauce, cheese and frozen meatballs and a salad and you’re set!
When you make something, make a big batch & freeze what you don’t eat right away in serving-size containers. That way you can just pull stuff from the freezer and nuke it. I like getting bags of baby new potatoes. I can nuke just 4 if them for my potato fix.
Make sandwiches with wraps instead of bread. I also make omelettes with veggies (shredded carrots, diced bell peppers, salsa, chopped spinach), ham or bacon & cheese, then slide it onto a wrap & roll up.