You have just got the call from your Midwife or Doctor to let you know that you have Gestational Diabetes…. now what??

FIRST – don’t panic, it is okay. You are still the same person you were before you answered the phone, you just have more information about how your body is dealing with all those pregnancy hormones.

SECOND – call a friend who has had this diagnosis before and have her reassure you that it is okay… she may even tell you that she is now thankful for GD because it helped her become more aware and gain a better understanding of her body, diet and exercise.

THIRD- Embrace your love of vegetables, meat and fat

You are going to learn about what foods you can eat and what does not agree with you right now.  Testing your blood sugars before and one hour after you eat and tracking it is the best way to keep an eye on how things are going.

Ideally your day will look like this

• 7am Wake Up Test Blood Sugar Level (blood glucose level BGL)  <5.3
• 8am Eat a High Protean/ Low Carb Breakfast
• 9am Test your Test BGL <7.3
• 10am Have a Snack
• 12pm Test your BGL (<5.3) and enjoy lunch
• 1pm Test your BGL <7.3
• 3pm Have a Snack
• 5pm Test your BGL (<5.3) and eat a great dinner
• 6pm Test your BGL (<7.3)
• 9pm Eat a bed time snack

Now, when you look at this you may feel as though you are going to be eating and testing all day.  It takes less than a minute to test, and you would be eating all day anyway, you are pregnant!  So don’t let yourself get overwhelmed.  Remember to write down what you eat so that you can keep track of how your body responds to the food choices.

What do I eat??? They say for your snack to eat 15g of carbs and for meals you can eat 30g.  To learn how to measure carb, you call look at this post here.  For many people, according to my dietitian, it is difficult for people to get their carbs down to this level, for me, I find it hard to get to up to this.  I have taken refined carbs out of my diet (for the most part) large amounts of flour, pasta, rice, grains or corn products.  I still eat these, just in small amounts.  I get my carbs from Potato (sweet, yam or regular) carrots and other veg.    You always want to make sure you have a good amount of protean with your carb snack.  If your numbers are high before you eat, add in about 10 min of exercise before your meals.

For a snack I will have:

• fruit, like an apple, and I add natural peanut butter. It is delicious.
• 4 Crackers and 2 Laughing Cow Cheese
• Cheddar Cheese, Pepperoni and crackers
• A handful of Mixed Nuts
• Greek Yogurt, a few almonds and frozen bluebarries

For Breakfast:

• Shake – 1 cup Almond milk, a few spoonfuls Nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew…) Greek Yogurt and tbsp Cocoa Powder.  This is not very sweet, but it is yummy and filling.
• 2 egg omelette with spinach, farmer sausage and cheese
• Greek Yogurt w/ blue berries and nuts

For Lunch or Dinner

• Bean-less Chili – great recipes on line
• Soup – lots of veg (including carrots) and meat
• lettuce wrap burger (so delicious and you do not feel overfull)
• Turkey Lettuce wraps – look for a great recipe online
• what you normally eat, but less of the carbs.

I found that the trick with making meal decisions is that I looked for opportunities rather than limitations.  It is not always easy to see past a slice of bread, and if you love it, see how your body responds to it. If your numbers are too high, perhaps less bread or more whole grains in it, and add more protean.   It was difficult to limit rice for me, I love it! But I always make sure to drink a glass of water with my meal, that makes me feel more full and I remind myself that I get to eat again soon.

If you are wondering how to get through Christmas or other delicious-food-holidays with this… well so am I!  So far I have avoided Pinterest with all the yummy baking ideas.  I have found some Keto Diet recipes that I am looking forward to trying, just have to limit intake and watch how my numbers respond.  AND for the very best news…. CHEESECAKE is on the menu ladies!!! YUP, just mind your toppings, watch your serving size and mind your numbers afterwards.

Lets keep our eye on the bright side:

• This is not a life sentence.  You can keep in mind that this is only until your little one is born.  Most woman are not left with diabetes.
• You will find new healthy food that you love
• With less processed carbs in your body you will feel so much better, I promise.
• There are some amazing delicious vegetables out there just waiting for you to discover them.
• Getting back to your pre-pregancy weight will not be hard.

Helpful ideas:

• keep all your stuff for testing and/ or insulin in one basket.  I love a good basket. I call it my “blood basket”. I leave it in the kitchen for the most part. I have my papers, extra pokers, a pen, sharps container and tissue all in there.  I will grab out my meter when I leave the house.  
• Keep tissue around, your fingers can bleed a lot and leave blood marks everywhere.

 

• If your kids are old enough, teach them the target numbers.  Mine are always asking and cheering for me when I am in range. (It makes it fun)

 

• I have taught my older kids to test my blood for me, ha, kinda sick, I know, but they love it. They will also write it down for me and make me great snacks.

 

• Find Keto Recipes online, there are so many.  This is an opportunity to learn new ways of cooking and meal ideas that you have never thought of.  It may not be an ideal time for all this new information, but it is what it is and you might as well embrace it… your other choice is to grumble though it

 

• Join a Facebook group and enjoy the support from other women going through the same thing.

 

• GET THIS BOOK!

 

Most of all, you got this.  You can do anything for your little one.  You can do this!

In Wellness,

Donna