What foods are recommended for gestational diabetes?
My doctor has just informed me that I may have Gestational Diabetes and now I am in desperate need of help. I know the basic low sugar rule but could I get specific food ideas that don’t taste like cardboard?? Any help would be great! Thanks!!
Oh boy that’s a hard one! Everyone’s body is different on how they process carbs!
First, find out what your carb number for each meal is. Mine was 15 carbs for breakfast, 15 carbs for snacks, 30 carbs for lunch and 30-45 carbs for dinner.
Check your blood sugars frequently. Try a variety of foods, also try pairing different foods together. One time during my pregnancy I had a huge piece of cake (it was a special occasion) along with a hard boiled egg (sounds wierd) but my bs numbers didn’t spike at all.
~I did well on proteins and lots of veggies (of course). Also, dips and dressings helped with the numbers.
~Beans, legumes, etc. helped
~Cheese and crackers were a miracle worker.
~Hummus with whole wheat pita -great!
~Eating whole fruit did better for me than processed fruit.
~I also found that by switching from regular milk to soy that it helped my bs #’s.
~My nutritionist had me pair up carbs with fats and proteins to help slow the absorbtion so for the only time in my life real butter, oils, greasy foods was a YES!
~Nuts helped me alot for snacks.
~Raisin nut bread did better than regular toast for me.
~Hard boiled eggs, bacon and sausage (although it sounds really bad) was actually really good for the gestational diabetes and I stopped gaining as much weight.
~Also, try whole grain carbs instead of processed carbs. But keep in mind that CARBS are CARBS no matter what, so even the whole grain carbs may make your numbers high. I couldn’t eat any cereal, even high fiber cereal, because my body digested it badly. But for some, the high fiber works.
After you have the baby, you’ll have to learn how to eat all over again (without the fats, etc. that are so yummy) but it’s worth it!
November 21st, 2009 at 8:08 am
I had gestational diabetes with both of my children and it sucked because I had to give up a lot of different foods.
I’ve tried the low carb waffles and cereals and they might as well be cardboard.
Basically you need to eat lean meats, vegetables are high in fiber and lower your blood sugar, whole grain breads (the darker the bread the better for you), soups are also good.
They have sugar free peanut butter and jelly which is actually pretty good also.
References :
November 21st, 2009 at 8:50 am
Oh boy that’s a hard one! Everyone’s body is different on how they process carbs!
First, find out what your carb number for each meal is. Mine was 15 carbs for breakfast, 15 carbs for snacks, 30 carbs for lunch and 30-45 carbs for dinner.
Check your blood sugars frequently. Try a variety of foods, also try pairing different foods together. One time during my pregnancy I had a huge piece of cake (it was a special occasion) along with a hard boiled egg (sounds wierd) but my bs numbers didn’t spike at all.
~I did well on proteins and lots of veggies (of course). Also, dips and dressings helped with the numbers.
~Beans, legumes, etc. helped
~Cheese and crackers were a miracle worker.
~Hummus with whole wheat pita -great!
~Eating whole fruit did better for me than processed fruit.
~I also found that by switching from regular milk to soy that it helped my bs #’s.
~My nutritionist had me pair up carbs with fats and proteins to help slow the absorbtion so for the only time in my life real butter, oils, greasy foods was a YES!
~Nuts helped me alot for snacks.
~Raisin nut bread did better than regular toast for me.
~Hard boiled eggs, bacon and sausage (although it sounds really bad) was actually really good for the gestational diabetes and I stopped gaining as much weight.
~Also, try whole grain carbs instead of processed carbs. But keep in mind that CARBS are CARBS no matter what, so even the whole grain carbs may make your numbers high. I couldn’t eat any cereal, even high fiber cereal, because my body digested it badly. But for some, the high fiber works.
After you have the baby, you’ll have to learn how to eat all over again (without the fats, etc. that are so yummy) but it’s worth it!
References :
Diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 33 weeks.
November 21st, 2009 at 9:36 am
I had Gestational Diabetes with my 4th child and now I have a pre-diabetic condition called Glucose Intolerance. If you do end up being diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes you will have help through your doctor’s office as well as from a diabetes counselor who will help you set up your meal plan and teach you when and how to use a glucose monitor. With any form of diabetes, the consistent intake of carbohydrates is one of the most important goals you’ll have. It is typically assumed that only foods that are sweet and sugary are the problem foods, but there are many foods that you have to monitor and eat in moderation. Carbohydrate containing foods are breads, pastas, rice, grains, cereals, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt, legumes (dried peas and beans), starchy vegetables (potatoes, peas, corn), starchy snacks (chips, crackers), and sweets. It is not that you should avoid these things and in fact carbohydrates, especially in the whole grain category, are an important part of a healthy diet. Your body needs things as this is where energy comes from. When I had Gestational Diabetes and now that I have Glucose Intolerance, I preferred to try to eat several small complete meals per day instead of 3 large meals plus snacks, but everyone has to plan their meals around their own preference and schedule. I try to focus most of my meals/snacks around at least 2 servings of vegetables as well as 1 serving of protein. Then, depending on the time of day I add in between 30-60 grams of carbs. It is basically like an exchange program. I look for products that are high in fiber since if the food has more than 5 grams of fiber per serving I can lower the carb content of the food. For instance, the bread I like is a 12 grain bread with 6 grams of fiber per slice. The carb count is 22 grams per serving, so 22 minus 6 equals 16 grams of carbs per serving. This way I can add some fruit or some yogurt along with a protein source such as a scrambled egg or a piece of ham and be nicely satisfied for about 2-3 hours when I plan to eat again. Foods like pizza or lasagne can be quite carb heavy, but if you plan to eat a salad or some steamed vegetables along with it, you can have one slice or piece without any problems. You can even have chocolate or sweets, but you have to eat them in smaller quantities and as part of a meal or snack that includes protein and veggies. You can relax as Gestational Diabetes is no reason to become desperate. You will eat a bit differently, monitor your blood glucose, and be monitored more closely by your doctor. You may need insulin, but not everyone does, I didn’t. It is possible to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby with Gestational Diabetes. My baby was born at 41 weeks and weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces. One of the possible problems with Gestational Diabetes is having a larger than normal birth weight baby, but it doesn’t happen every time. Everything will be OK even if you do develop Gestational Diabetes.
References :
November 21st, 2009 at 10:01 am
I happen to Love Sugar Free Cake and Mousses, not because they are ALL tasty in general but because I found the best product that any diabetic would definitely come to admire. I found a company called eDietShop. They sell sugar free cake mixes that are only about 2$ and the Mousses are about 3$. They happened to have invented the sugar free cake mix and have even made the product better over the years. They even have sugar free icing to go with the cake. I love the Cakes and Mousses as well as the icing. You will like the guilt free cake mix as well.
References :
http://www.edietshop.com