Gestational diabetes and after breakfast readings

[timeforababy]

Hi all, Ive been on the gd diet for about a week now and am more or less managing my numbers. My main issue is that my fasting number is more or less ok (hovers around 5) but the one after breakfast is always high (today it was 8.4). The rest of the day seems fine..

The dietician at the hospital recommended approx 30g of carbs for breakfast and I have been trying to stick to that. I have been upping the protein each day and all it does is spike the numbers.

Could it be I am not drinking enough before I eat breakfast? Anyone else have high readings just after breakfast and been told it's ok?

I have gestational hypertension and the meds for that require them to be taken Twice a day with food.

Anyone?

 

[d_b]

What do you eat for breakfast? My diet calls for no fruit or dairy at breakfast and only 15g carbs. So I'll have one piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter or a boiled egg, or a serving of oatmeal cooked in water with sliced almonds on top. My fasting numbers are usually borderline ok, 5.3-5.8ish. My after breakfast reading is always normal.

 

[timeforababy]

What do you eat for breakfast? My diet calls for no fruit or diary at breakfast and only 15g carbs. So I'll have one piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter or a boiled egg, or a serving of oatmeal cooked in water with sliced almonds on top. My fasting numbers are usually borderline ok, 5.3-5.8ish. My after breakfast reading is always normal.

That could be my problem. I love fruit, so have bits of it so often. I've had mostly bread based things (in moderation) and it always goes up to 7.7-8.4. I was told to have 30g of carbs at breakfast but might cut it down and make the next snack a bit more carby.

I'm still getting used to the idea of little and often (i'm a normal solid three meals a day kind of gal!)

 

[AmeliePoulain]

Very naughtily probably I really didn't do much in the way of carbs for breakfast as my body just hated carbs then. I tended to just have eggs/sausage/bacon and maybe one very small slice of soya and linseed toast if I was having maybe 3 eggs with it.

I sometime had very high protein yoghurt also.

But for the most part - breakfast sucked

 

[timeforababy]

Today I had 2 eggs, 2 rashers of bacon and half an apple and my blood sugar readings were fine!

I had fish (breaded) and pasta (small portion for dinner) worked out to be approx 50g of carbs and still went over at 8.2. But having been told I need to eat carbs for baby, this is driving me nuts!

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I ate extremely limited carbs but got through my entire pregnancy without getting ketones and I gained a good amount of weight.

I was very careful with my diet though and ate huge amounts of veg and lots and lots of protein. There was just no way I could eat the amount of carbs they suggested.

This was my 3rd GD pregnancy and my baby arrived at 41 weeks, normal fluid levels and weighing 7lb 1oz. She didn't have any sugar issues after birth.

In my previous 2 GD pregnancies I definitely aimed to eat more carbs as I thought I had to to be healthy - but especially in pregnancy 2 I was constantly getting ketones and struggled to gain weight.

Maybe certain carbs would agree with you better??

 

[d_b]

I ate extremely limited carbs but got through my entire pregnancy without getting ketones and I gained a good amount of weight.

I was very careful with my diet though and ate huge amounts of veg and lots and lots of protein. There was just no way I could eat the amount of carbs they suggested.

I find the same thing, that they are expecting me to eat way more carbs than I normally would.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I was diet controlled from 16 and 17 weeks in pregnancies 2 and 3 respectively so did the diet for a long time.

I used to get a lot of help from some type 2 diabetes forums where people were doing diet control. There seemed to be a lot of people who couldn't eat the amount of carbs recommended.

I did find it hard initially though to cut back and I definitely recommend reducing gradually if you need to. I also found certain carbs I was so much better with. I didn't eat any rice or pasta or any bread except soya and linseed - but I could eat oat crackers and baked sweet potato.

Things like pasta, sweet potato etc - if you cook them twice it reduces the amount it spikes your sugars. I found that helpful!

 

[timeforababy]

Thanks Amelie and d_b, the nurse at the hospital scared me by saying I shouldn't go into ketosis so should spread the carbs. The only thing that really works is actually going for less carbs than they recommend (so far!)

I've had ketones a few times when visiting my midwife so I did get a bit worried but baby is moving and I'm still managing so all must be ok!

Going to try a range of carbs and see which one works, fingers crossed there are some that work better for me

 

[starnicole]

I'm basically having bacon and eggs for breakfast and reduced carbs for other meals. My body can't handle carbs, especially bread and pasta (chocolate on the other hand is ok, go figure!). I'm on insulin for breakfast and dinner, one night at dinner I had one slice of multigrain bread and nothing else and my BSL was 7.7! I just am eating mainly protein with a little bit of carb, nowhere near the amount that is recommended.

 

[CelticNiamh]

Today I had 2 eggs, 2 rashers of bacon and half an apple and my blood sugar readings were fine!

I had fish (breaded) and pasta (small portion for dinner) worked out to be approx 50g of carbs and still went over at 8.2. But having been told I need to eat carbs for baby, this is driving me nuts!

try not to stress, it is not your fault esp when you are following the diet if numbers are rising it is not anything you are doing wrong it all down to hormones and sometimes even when we do our best with diet blood sugars still rise and then insulin may be needed

I am 11 weeks pregnant and started insulin this week my fasting levels where 6 mostly and 8 after meals but I was strict with my diet sticking to it as best I could as MS has been really bad so my portions sizes are tiny and some times only eating 3 mouthful of my meals I would be full and be to sick and still they were high! when I seen my Endo he explained it was hormones and I needed insulin now! but he also explained how important carbs are for baby so do not restrict them to much

 

[DRQuinn]

Hi ladies, I will be 41 on friday and this is my third pregnancy, all with gestational diabetes. I read a lot of your comments and I think I can help you better understand why your numbers are off and what you can do to adjust them. First of all, some women have certain trigger foods that other women can eat without a problem. For me it's rice and pasta. I can not have any, not even the whole wheat variety. When I eat bread, it has to be whole grain/whole wheat and 20 carbs or less total, and you absolutely must eat protein with your carbs. Just eating a slice of bread is going to spike your numbers, if you don't eat some form of protein with it. Protein slows down the conversion of starches to sugar and keeps your sugar from spiking. Next time, put some sort of nut butter on your slice of bread or drink a glass of full fat milk with it or eat a small amount of cheese. I also can not eat anything with white sugar, however I can put Sugar In The Raw in my morning coffee and eat a breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon and cheese and have normal after meal numbers. My main issue has been higher than normal fasting numbers in the mornings. I was told to eat a snack immediately before bed. I have found that dairy works best, so I have one of the following immediately before bed. (one scoop of vanilla ice cream with a few slices of strawberry / a small glass of milk / a few ounces of cheese/ or greek yogurt). My dietitian advise me to consume no more than 30 grams of carbs for breakfast and always have some form of protein with the carbs. For lunch I should also have no more than 30 grams and dinner should be kept below 40 grams. Eat every two hours and snacks should be kept to no more than 20 grams of carbs. The three biggest secrets I have discovered to keeping your numbers within normal range, without having to go on medication, are 1) walk for 10-15 minutes after any large meal that has more carbs in it than recommended, 2) drink loads of plain water, and 3) watch your sodium intake. Sodium has a tremendous impact on how well your body can regulate your blood sugar numbers. I hope this helps some of you and good luck with your pregnancies.