Last week I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, which really wasn’t a shock for me, since my dad lost a leg to diabetes complications two years ago. Although I was hoping to be cleared after the second test, it just didn’t happen. While the first day or two was a shock with sticking my finger after every meal and tracking carbs, I have to say that it is getting easier as I learn what foods are best for my body. First, I started out by going through my cupboards and removing all the high carb foods that only I eat. Some of the high carb foods my son still eats, but my husband started eating low carb a few months ago and has lost a good bit of weight.
While it’s very important to me to have a diet that follows the standards for gestational diabetes, I’m also going to be switching my family (slowly but surely) to eliminate as many processed foods from our diet as possible (except for some that support a good diabetic menu- i.e. low carb torilla wraps, etc.). I also have several other food intolerances such as dairy, soy, and preservative intolerances that can make it difficult to eat NO processed foods. However, I do believe that highly processed foods contribute to diabetes, so I’ll definitely be eliminating as much of it as possible.
My Tips for Dealing with Gestational Diabetes:
1. Don’t panic. Most gestational diabetes patients are not diabetic after the delivery of their baby. However, you may still choose to adopt this healthy lifestyle. Since my dad has already lost a limb to diabetes, my plan is to continue with this type of menu.
2. Eat whole wheat bread. This was the very first change I made after finding out I had gestational diabetes. I ordered a sub at Subway with whole wheat and only ate half of the roll. Since then, I’ve started making my own whole wheat bread in the bread machine. This has been the easiest change for me, because I love bread, and I’m still able to eat some amount of bread in my diet.
3. Get moving. I’ve found that exercising is helping me keep my numbers down, so I’m trying to work out for 30 minutes at least 3-5 times per week.
4. Monitor closely. I try to check my sugar with as many meals as possible, but sometimes life does get in the way, so I’m trying to be realistic about what I really can/can’t do.
5. Find a sweet alternative. Being a carb addict, I’ve really had to find some “sweet” alternatives. For me, this means sugar free vanilla pudding made with half and half. I do try to limit the amount (just as I would with ice cream), but I find that if I totally deprive myself, I will want to binge on real carbs, so I still need to have a “sweet” treat!
While these are just a few tips, they are what have kept me from getting down about this condition. There were some moments at first where it felt surreal that I couldn’t eat what I wanted anymore. I don’t even like pizza, but I found myself upset at one point that I couldn’t eat pizza, just because I wanted to eat pizza! However, despite my changing emotions (which could be pregnancy related too!) I know that it’s all worth it for my little guy, and I want him to be as healthy as possible!
Resources I found helpful:
Gestational Diabetes Fact Sheet
Gestational Diabetes Menu Plan
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