Gestational diabetes in pregnancy, struggling with carb-free meal ideas

[Rayma]

Hello,

I'm needing some carb free inspo asap as I'm struggling at the moment.

This is my 2nd pregnancy with gestational diabetes, I got diagnosed at 13 weeks pregnant this time round and I'm currently 17 weeks and loosing my mind.

I'm already on the maximum dose of metformin (4 a day) and 22 units of insulin at night and yet my fasting readings are still over 6 and I'm in a constant state of hunger.

I've had 2 hypos in a fortnight (never had any with my first pregnancy) and most of my readings are about 6.5/7 when I'm basically carb free. Anytime I try to incorporate a carb (e.g. 2 tablespoons of brown rice, 1 slice of seeded wholemeal toast, 1 thin protein seeded bagel) my numbers shoot up.

I desperately need carb free meal ideas asap that will actually fill me because I am so depressed and feeling overwhelmed.

Currently I've been having

• chicken caesar salad
• fajita chicken and vegetables with salad
• chicken and veg curry with cauliflower rice
• sausages, egg, mushrooms and tomatos

I need more inspo please!
This really is the most depressing part as I'm not enjoying my pregnancy. The fact I have to have no sugar and no carbs during pregnancy is absolute torture. Please help x

Woman at work had this. She would have carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and hummus. If u r allowed to eat peanut butter, then a chopped apple with peanut butter is a nice dessert

Thank you for your suggestions,

I can't tolerate any fruit due to the high sugar content even when paired (i had 3 grapes and a quarter block of cheese and still sky high) same with hummus the carbs are too high even with 2 whole carrots :(
I'm just impossible haha x

Have u got someone in the nhs you can turn to for advice?

Strawberries blueberries raspberries blackberries on their own or with full
fat Greek yogurt

I eat low carb (though I've never had GD). High protein fills me up, now and when I was was pg

For breakfast I might have high protein yoghurt with nuts and seeds, maybe some blueberries
Sometimes I make a 'muffin' with eggs and veg, like a crustless quiche type thing, either for breakfast or a snack.

Lunch might be sausages and salad or omelette with chorizo and salad
Salads have to be really varied or I lose the will to live - fancy lettuce, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers, artichokes, radishes, seeds, nice tomatoes.

Dinner could be meatballs with courgetti or lentil pasta (though lentil pasta might be too carb heavy for you?)

I follow lots of low carb accounts on social media for inspiration.

Sorry to hear this OP.
Are you okay with avocado? Add that to a meal and at least it’ll fill you up. Similar with olives.

ETA: homemade ‘granola’ that’s basically nuts with maybe some cinnamon? Chia seed ‘pudding’ (again, maybe slightly sweetened with cinnamon or cardamom or another sweet spice)?

Bless you OP!
I had this in my 1st pregnancy diagnosed at 33 weeks.

Check out https://www.gestationaldiabetes.co.uk/.

I would have eggs, seeded bread with Greek yogurt for breakfast and blood sugar was always within range. I never needed medication and diet controlled.

Eggs became my best friend doing those final weeks lol.
When you have a carb, always try to pair with protein (eggs, yogurt, meat etc).

Crackers are low carb (5g carb per cracker).
Ride cakes are low carb.

Wishing you all to best and a safe pregnancy and delivery x

Yes I have been told to anyways eat the protein first, not sure if that's right for gd. I also had gd with my last (4th) surprise pregnancy at 49. I just focused on keeping healthy and had one of those machines which measured your blood sugar which helped as it's very individual how it affects you. Also a specialist nurse assigned. Eggs, chicken, I often add soy sauce to things as feel the salt makes up for sugar and have no probs with high BP. Berries better than other fruits(sure you know that). Sounds like you have it bad. Walking straight after meals helps to disperse the sugar.

Go on the Gestational Diabetes UK website - they have an amazing shopping list and meal and snacks suggestion list . They also have a membership which is totally worth the money as it has a huge archive of recipes. You pay monthly and can cancel whenever you like, so you’re not locked in to a 12 month contract you don’t need

i found having six or seven meals I just rotated so I didn’t have to think about it really helped

This is reminding me that I really need to get back on the wagon with high protein low carb to keep my type2 risk lowered

Clotted cream porridge!! Tried so many breakfast options but would all spike but this worked and was yummy
Are you also doing the not sitting down after meals thing? Being active made a huge difference to my readings xx

Diabetic here since 14 now 37 try:

Greek yoghurt
blueberries - super low sugar
strawberries - super low sugar
raspberries - super low sugar
try the lowcarb brand wraps
brocolli tots with cheese it’s a keto thing
anything on the keto diet really a good keto recipe book would be good
cocnut milk is good for making curries soups etc with cauliflower rice
eggs scrambled poached fried in an omelette
broccoli rice
you could make cauliflower mash it’s really nice with roasted garlic
cauliflower steak
cauliflower roasted with tumeric
snack on things like babybells, ham, chicken legs, beef jerky, peppers with cream cheese
low cal jelly I find good with blueberries and cream for a low sugar sweet dessert
Avocado
seed mixes
rice crackers in moderation with toppings like ham and cream cheese cucumber
Any type of salad with fish or chicken
cheeses like halloumi etc all good for salads and snacking on

none of these foods should drastically raise blood sugar

hopefully that helps xx

If you can also remember to go for a walk after eating to bring your sugars down. Every time I was high this worked well.

Porridge is probably one of the worst things to recommend to a diabetic it will make her sugar levels go sky high!

keto recipes are a useful thing to search for.

Cloud bread is pretty good. Loads of recipes online.

I also like celeriac chips and mash.

Salmon steak wrapped in buttered foil, baked in the oven for 20 mins, served with sweetcorn (if you can tolerate that) and green veg is one of my favourites

Hey, I had GD.

Pair your carbs with fats. They help slow down the digestion of carbs.

Berries are better fruits to eat as they have low glycemic index. Carbs like sweet potato also tend to be more tolerable as they spike your sugars less quickly. I managed things like baked sweet potato and chickpeas, paired with salad, and then whatever dressing. I found tomatoes are a pain for spiking your sugars, so if you're having pasta, have whole wheat and stick to things like cream based sources. Pairing with proteins will also help.

I couldn't do two slices of bread, but I tolerated one slice of wholewheat with something like bacon and a small amount of berries okay.

Meals:
-omlette
-due to the fat content, I on a couple of occasions managed to get away with a few chips, battered sausage, and mushy peas 🤣
-chilli, could have with cauliflower rice
-stir fry, use shirataki noodles, they're very very low/no carb
-make some wedges out of butternut squash, I also love roasted butternut squash cubes. It obvs has starch, but it has a low glycemic index and should be a lot more tolerable than potatoes
-Stuffed mushrooms
-Stuffed peppers
-you could try using aubergine as a replacement for lasagne sheets
-Pretend you're in Italy and make yourself a cheese and meet platter
-African peanut butter soup from my memory is not laden with carbs, there are recipes online
-Stews, just cut down the potatoes and bulk up on other veggies/mushrooms

Snacks, I lived off of celery and hummus, lentil crisps and sour cream, cheese, and pepperami 🤣

Obvs some women are more sensitive than others, and I know some people can't tolerate carbs full stop, even ones with low glycemic index, so hopefully you'll find something you can eat from advice on here!!

I’d never heard of cloud bread so I looked it up. Definitely going to try it now, thanks!

Goulash soup. Chopped onions, diced beef, carrots, stock cube, paprika and plenty of water. Fry off the onions and beef then add everything else and leave to simmer on low for several hours.

Flour-free cheese sauce. A tablespoon of Philadelphia cheese, good splash of milk, big handful of grated hard cheese. Stir on a low heat until the cheese is melted and it's thick and gloopy. Add salt & pepper to taste. I make cauliflower and/ or broccoli cheese, or add parsley and have it with fish on a bed of greens.

Sauteed sprouts. Slice them thinly then ook them in butter on medium, stirring regularly, until they start to brown. Can add bacon bits or chestnuts to make a meal.

Lasagne made with layers of meat sauce, thin slices of butternut squash and cream cheese instead of bechamel.

Cabbage leaves or flat mushrooms stuffed with tuna, cheese, onion and peppers.

Feta and spinach filo parcels.

When I had gestational diabetes porridge and shredded wheat were the only cereals allowed for breakfast!

Protein will keep you fuller - your body has to work harder to digest it. So up your protein.
How about soup? I make a couple and you can basically throw in whatever and they can be really filling. Also look up low GI carbs - rice is one of the worst, butternut squash is much better
(one soup I make has butternut squash and it’s really filling).

Filo pastry is not low carb!

The thing is its bot and exacr science because everyone's body reacts differently.

For breakfast id have eggs. They are very versatile, poachec, booled, scrambled, omelettes. I couldn't bare to look at eggs for a long timecafter having my daughters

Or full fat yogurt, berries, nuts and seeds.

Id qalk for 20 - 30 minutes after.

Lunch
Meat, olives, cucumber, carrot and pepper sticks.

Dinner
Chilli with cauliflower rice
Curry with cauliflower rice
Chicken and courgette noodle soup
Roast chicken and salad
1/2 jacket and tuna/ cheese/ prawn
Meat a few new potato's and veg

Every so often i"d hace a square of 80% dark chocolate.

Be careful. I lost heaps of weight in pregnancy but went care made and put on 4 stone after.

My mum made marrow mash on shepard pie and that was nice.