GD help please - been given no diet advice :-/

[Jo.t]

I was given my glucose monitor yesterday & told how to use it.

I have to check levels first thing in the morning & 4hrs after each meal.

But no one has told me what I can eat ! Just cut down on sugar - which I dont eat much of anyway !

Any tips ?

X

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

Hello

You should still eat carbs but make them good ones, complex carbs like whole grain food rather than simple carbs like sweets, white bread, cake and so on.

Plenty of fruit and veg but try to lean more towards veg as fruit has natural sugars in it.

Protein is the main thing you need plenty of, pair every carb with a protein so peanut butter on toast, beef with pasta ... The protein helps your body break down sugars it's also great as a snack as it adds no sugar to your system. Good snacks are boiled egg, cottage cheese, veg and hummus, apple with peanut butter....

If you want loads of good meal/recipe ideas lookup low GI diets on google.

Above all remember it's temporary and there are still tons of nice things you can have even if you have to forgo the chocolate fudge cake

 

[lovebabyhopes]

4 hours after each meal? Is that a typo? It should be 1 hour after each meal..

Yes, to what the poster above said. Protein is your friend now. It's extremely important to make sure you have a good amount of protein with each meal or snack, especially when attempting to eat any sugar/ starch. By the way, it's not just "sugar" you have to worry about. Basically, everything we consume breaks down into sugar when digested. So really, no matter what you eat will turn into sugar, which your body now has a hard time processing. Small, frequent, and balanced meals are now the way to go. Portion size is also key.

For breakfast these days I have a scrambled egg, a breakfast veggie patty and a half a piece of sprouted whole wheat toast. Yes, only half.. a full piece of toast will give me a high reading. (Bread is no longer your friend, even whole wheat.. it converts to sugar even more than actual sugar tends to do.)

Snacks these days include: Plain greek yogurt, with berries or chopped apple, almonds.. Or a protein bar, or sliced apple with natural peanut butter (by natural, I mean no sugar added, the kind that only contains peanuts and a little salt.)

Lunch - I usually try to stick to salads with some form of protein like chicken or grilled tofu. Or grilled fish tacos on corn tortillas..

Dinner - I stick with a grilled protein and veggies and salad. I can't have pizza, pasta, rice, etc. Actually, I can get away with a small portion of brown rice most of the time but very small.

Really, the trick is the protein. Even if I were to have a bowl of broccoli and salad, if I don't have a good protein, to slow the carb down, I'll spike.

If you have trouble with your fasting number, try a good 20g protein shake before bed. I've been doing that and have been great with my numbers. Good luck!

 

[lovebabyhopes]

Oh, and you don't want to over do fruit even though it's natural and good for you. It's still high sugar. Citrus and watermelon are pretty high in sugar. Try berries and apple w/ skin. The fiber in the berries & apple help to slow down the carb breakdown. Also, don't eat fruit for breakfast. The morning time is usually harder for us GD folks in regards to controlling our numbers. I save fruit for my snacks and pair with protein.

Whatever you do, don't attempt cereal for breakfast, or ever really. Cereal is your worst enemy now. It wreaks havoc on BG levels.

 

[lovebabyhopes]

A serving of cottage cheese and/ or greek yogurt are worth about 15-18g of protein. They both make great snacks and are easy to pair with fruit..

It's good to eat about every 2-3 hours. This is my schedule:

7:30a - breakfast
10:30a - snack
1:30p - lunch
4:30p snack
7:30p - dinner
10:30p - protein shake

(Sorry for multiple posts..)

 

[KRobbo]

Where are you uk or us? In the UK we test 2 hours after meals.

I second the great advice above, I have found roasted veg with feta cheese a lifesaver. Makes me not miss carbs so much and I can even add a couple of sliced new potatoes to it. Breakfast is mostly eggs, lunch is salad. I roast a chicken a couple of times a week and use it for meals and snacks, carry babybel everywhere. But even with all that I'm not diet controlled as I have to use a lot of insulin for any carbs at all.

 

[dae114]

I had GD with my first pregnancy. I'm in the US, but we check our blood sugar levels two hours after meals (not 4).

These were the carbohydrate guidelines I was given:
30 grams carbs/meal
10 grams carbs/snack

3 meals per day and 2-3 snacks per day.

I felt like this was pretty strict, but it definitely kept my blood sugar levels down and I did stick to the guidelines. I ate a lot of veggies and protein, with a small grain/carb choice. It was boring but temporary.

Perhaps you could schedule an appointment with nutritionist who could give you some personalized advice on meal planning, etc? Best of luck!