Gestational Diabetes... help!

[Emjm9]

Hi everyone,

I've been testing my blood glucose levels for the last couple of weeks and unfortunately my evening readings especially have been quite high.

Saw the consultant today and from now I have to really work on my diet and look at low GI/low sugar foods.

Has anyone got any tips for keeping on track? Or recommend any good apps or even recipe books?

Thank you 😊

www.gestationaldiabetes.co.uk

Low sugar, Low carb and high protein is best way to go x

How far along are you x

It’s really hard, I kept a food diary so I could see what was problematic for me. Have you seen a dietician? Try and eat as much veg as possible, keep fruit to a minimum (look up which are the lowest GI ones). The trouble is balancing the sudden hunger surges with keeping your blood sugar stable. Greek yoghurt with berries, crudités with hummus, frozen yoghurt, rye bread with smoked salmon are tasty and low GI wise.

Oh and I’d keep off diet fizzy drinks, I think they make you feel hungrier.

I meant oh, not other half!!

I give up 😂

Hi, as the pregnancy progresses, you’ll find it harder and harder to manage GD without medication. I eventually started taking it and it was great - I could eat small amounts of low GI carbs again! It’s just the way that your body handles sugar and makes insulin - lots of people have to later down the line take pills, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
One more thing though, make sure your hands have just been washed with soap and water before testing, otherwise you could get a false high reading.

So I tend to stick to dairy, protein and veg. It’s pretty boring (by god, I am craving cake and bread alllll the time) but with some planning it’s ok. If I eat fruit, I pair it with protein or dairy - think peanut butter with apple. Mostly, it’s trial and error - a food diary helped me. I’m nearly 36 weeks and no meds yet (but I will happily murder some one for a fresh loaf a crusty bread....)

I've just had my baby (last week) and I had GD from week 24. Best diet to follow is - High fat, high protein, low sugar, low carb.
Think Keto diet, but make sure you include a small portion of carbs each meal time. I found it helped me to pair my carbs with a fat or protein. So for instance, if I had a couple of new potatoes - I'd pair them with LOTS of butter and maybe a piece of cheese or a bit of chicken. When I had porridge, I made it with full fat milk and cream. This pairing helps slow the release of the sugars into your blood stream. Really helpful Facebook page for gestational diabetes if you search for it. Run by a lady called Jo. Highly recommend it.

Have you joined the Gestational Diabetes UK Mums group on Facebook? It was indispensable for me when i had it in both pregnancies. They will be able to give you ideas etc.
The key things i remember was no cereal and bread was tricky (there's a few protein high breads that work) and also pairing your food well so lots of full fat and protein with any carbs and any carb should be wholegrain /brown.

Hi mightypinkdms how about a cake made with ground almonds instead of flour? I made one with eggs, butter and 85% dark choc. It’s nice with raspberries.

Thank you so much for all of your replies - it's good to know I'm not alone as it's all a bit daunting!

I'm nearly 26 weeks so I've still got a way to go.

I think my main problem is breakfast because I love cereal SO much 😂

But I also work shifts, including night shifts... do any of you have any experience trying to control your levels if you have to eat overnight? It's obviously something I'll bring up with the dietician.

I've looked at the Gestational Diabetes UK FB group and it does seem really useful so I'll keep an eye on it!

@Emjm9 when did you find out you had GD? Is it your first x

@HJWT yes it's my first and I only found out a few days ago! Still a lot of adjusting to do!

@Emjm9 best think to do is keep a food diary and write down when your levels are high! It takes a couple of weeks to figure out what works for you x

I’m on tablets, diet didn’t help me alone unfortunately. I focus on eating meat, veg and dairy such as yogurts, cheese etc

It’s hard when you want cake and toast etc 🙄