Daily diet with gestational diabetes

[Emmiedarling]

Please can anyone share their gestational diabetes menu plans?

I just got diagnosed and haven't a clue...I've heard that u can't have fruit - I eat LOADS to fruit...

Can I still have porridge for breakfast?

How radically did u change ur diet?

Thank you!!

First thing, you will get a lot of conflicting advice because what foods 'work' for some people don't do so well or others. I found I took about 3 weeks to work out what foods 'worked' for me. This is the sort of things I had

Breakfat was either porridge made with milk, no sugar, weetabix or rye bread toast with low fat spread.

Lunch was any kind of soup, scrambled eggs on granary or rye bread, baked potato with cheese and beans. I also did frittata with any kind of veg - particular fave was sweet potato, broccoli and goats cheese .

For evening meals, chilli con carne with brown rice, any kind of grilled meat with a big pile of steamed veg, stir fried meat and veg with a little bit of brown rice. I also liked cooked chicken and veg mixed in with cous cous cooked with a bit of chicken stock. I would make extra of this and take it to work the next day for lunch.

Snacks were oatcakes and cheese, an apple, or if I was pushing the boat out, a rich tea biscuit!

No fruit juice, no chocolate, no sweets.

The first week or two was hard, but on the upside, I was lighter at 40wks than I was before I got pregnant!

Were you given a carbohydrate limit? I was told 40-50g per main meal and 10g for 2 snacks. I read labels and weighed stuff and combined with my blood sugar measurements worked what was ok. Also a list of lower GI carbs was helpful.

Hi! I'm copying a post of mine from a thread by someone wanting to lose weight while pg. Hope it helps. FYI I've had gestational db in the UK and France now, and they have different approaches to diet - the suggestions (ie strict orders) below are from France. In the UK I was told not to eat fruit and to limit bread to one slice a day for breakfast - Vogel's soya and linseed was what they recommended. I had it with protein (ham, salmon, peanut butter, egg) to keep me going, and a plain yoghurt or decaf latte mid-morning to tide me over til lunch. I have lots of ideas for meals if you'd like them - I'm particular about what I eat and refuse to sacrifice interesting food. I might have time to post some suggestions tomorrow. Meanwhile do a search on GD - there are lots of threads about it which should help you get your head round it a bit. Good luck!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I was put on a diet as soon as I got pregnant, to delay the onset of the gestational diabetes that I had quite severely last time. I am now at 18 weeks, carrying twins, and have lost 2-3kg while eating healthily. Here are my eating guidelines. In general the key thing is to avoid processed food as much as possible, and refined sugar.

Breakfast: 60g wholemeal bread (get a proper loaf not ready-sliced, which will have sugar in), plus butter and some protein if you like, plus a plain yoghurt, tea or coffee
Snack: piece of whole fruit (I have lived on Granny Smith apples)
Lunch: as much salad or cooked veg as you like, plus up to 6 level soup spoons of carbs (wholegrain better than white, so try wild rice or wholegrain pasta, or lentils/chickpeas etc) plus some protein. 20g bread.
Snack: piece of whole fruit, plain yog
Supper: as lunch
Snack if necessary before bed: plain yog

Note that the only sugar you are eating is fructose in whole fruit - the fibre will help you digest this more slowly. Fruit juice is not allowed. Also try to avoid too much fat (I can't not eat cheese but can happily bake rather than fry food, give up vinaigrette and sauces, etc).

This way of eating will:

• help you control any morning sickness through regular eating
• control your blood sugar levels and therefore your energy levels, so you are less likely to grab quick-fix energy-boosts which will leave you feeling tired later on. Early pregnancy is tiring enough already without making it worse for yourself by eating badly.
• help you lose weight in a controlled, healthy manner (if you were overweight to begin with)

It does look strict but if you are not predisposed to diabetes you may not need to follow it precisely: if you try to use it as a guideline it will still help.

I hope that's helpful. Enjoy your pregnancy.

And here's an extract from a post of mine from a previous gestational diabetes thread - I talk about porridge for breakfast in it. Hope it helps.

Lastly, re hidden sugar: it crops up in places you wouldn't think to look for it, eg
Heinz mayo or most brands of peanut butter, as well as places you might, eg ketchup. And don't forget about sugars other than glucose eg lactose in milk (so if you are having porridge, try making it with half milk half water) or fructose (apparently exotic fruits are higher in fructose than native ones. Berries are naturally low). My clinic advised that the best bread was Vogel's soya and linseed (fortunately it's delicious), but watch out for Burgen's because they add sugar. And don't be surprised that your blood sugar is harder to control in the mornings. Apparently this is because when we wake up we get a surge of pregnancy hormones that send our blood sugar levels haywire. I found it easier to have breakfast in two installments - a slice of soya and linseed toast with ham or salmon or scrambled egg or peanut butter, then later on once I'd tested and knew I was within the right parameters, a plain yoghurt (also contains lactose) or a decaff latte or whatever.

It does seem overwhelming to start with but you quickly get the hang of it. I hope you get the support you need through your medical team as well as here. Good luck!

You've all been very helpful thank you. I am just panicking about it as I suffer badly from an eating disorder so can hardly control my diet as it is. I will do my best to put into action all that you've suggested!! Thanks again!

I have managed to control my gd throughout my pregnancy (40+2) by just cutting down on carbs. For example, eating same bolognaise sauce as DH but with a small sweet potato instead of spaghetti.

Everyone has different triggers - E.g weirdly i can't eat peas as they shoot my bloods up but some people are more affected by mashed potato. It's trial and error until you get established I reckon.

I have found that eating more fat helps as it stops you absorbing as much carbohydrate... Cheese ahoy!