Hey Debs,
Glad some yummy fruits are back on board for you! Your diabetic chappy seems very nice compared to most!
Don' feel bad about your weight, best for you to be feeling happy and healthy, you can concern yourself with weight loss afterwards, but to be honest, the diet required to keep GD under control will probably cause some weight loss anyway, hence it's very important to make sure what you do eat is very nutritious indeed, so you and your baby get all the vitamins and minerals you need. Besides GD isn't necessarily a weight related condition - there are lots of slim women at my clinic, I am a size 8 and my pre pregnancy BMI was 22 and I still failed the GTT, so try and put weight issues to the side and see it more as a nutrition thing - how can I get the most out of the calories I can consume and keep my blood sugar from surging and dipping.
Here are some ideas for healthy low carb snacks that might work well for you between meals without pushing your pre meal readings up too much. Snacks will be your friends with GD, little and often seems to be the key (I'm sure I eat more - but spaced out over the day, rather than in three big hits), especially if you are going to reduce portion size of main meals - you will be ravenous for snacks and the baby will kick you to bits if it's hungary too!
Pieces of fresh coconut (M&S sell them at the moment, £1 a pack pre chopped) just a few chunks are really heavy and filling.
Almonds, Cashew Nuts etc
Green & Blacks DARK choc mini bars (the milk and white are full of sugar - but the dark choc - 70% cocoa solids is not as bad) - I buy the tiny bars and have a few chunks with a cup of tea/coffee through the day - not all in one go.
Oatcakes (make sure they have no added sugar) - one or two between meals helps me
Chunks of cheese
Cucumber and carrot chopped into sticks to dip into Humous.
Fresh Pears & Apricots seem to have very low sugar contents.
More generally, cows milk products have a higher natural sugar (lactose) content than sheeps or goats milk products, if you like milky tea/ coffee a few times a day or love yoghurt in the morning, it might we worth looking at alternative lower lactose products.
Switch from white rice to brown basmati rice, cut out all white bread products and look for seedy no added sugar wholemeal breads. I found no difference in readings after eating wholewheat pasta vs white pasta, and the wholewheat stuff is pretty yucky.....
Pulses are a great way to feel full up without eating as much carbs - chick peas, butter beans, lentils etc - I can send you some simple recipe ideas of you let me know which pulses you like!
I woud also try adding a pinch of ground cinnamon to much of your food, I have defo found porridge and hot chocolate without a pinch of cinnamon gives me a higher reading than with....
Try to do something active between meals. Light activity will help to reduce your fasting blood glucose levels. Something as simple as up and down the stairs a few times, a walk to the shops and back, a bit of hoovering or ironing, a few yoga positions or a bit of a boogie to a few songs on the radio,through the day, it all helps!
I am now 40+11 - going in to the hospital for monitoring today, induction date is being moved as long I as go in for daily monitoring. Had major grumblings all day yesterday and through the night, convinced I can feel her tying to scratch her way out! Hoping the contractions get stronger and show a clear pattern soon!