Gestational Diabetes...

[ProzacQueen]

Hello!

I just got a call today to say my GTT has come back positive for diabetes. not a great shocker as i suspect i had it in my first pregnancy!

im not seeing the diabetic midwife until thursday but got to do my weekly food shop tomorrow so any tips on easy meal ideas etc? im a single mum so only cooking for myself & a 2 year old.

i think from what i have read, its best to follow a low GI which im ok with. but i do eat alot of the carb heavy stuff so im stuck with what to replace with, especially breakfast ideas! i love salad & veg but not a huge fan of fruit or any kind of bean... ill pretty much eat anything else so any suggestions or tips would be great

 

[sarafused]

Ive been having things like meatballs or chicken with salad. Or a big salad with tuna mayo on. Ive found I dont really miss the carbs as Im so full with the protein. But we have been going through a lot of lettuce in this house!

For breakfast Ive usually been having heavy rye bread with cheese triangles. Though this morning I tried some cereal that was bran flakes mixed with some nutty bits with skimmed milk. I was surprised that it worked out well for me to have.

My big treat meal is grilled bacon, tomatoes and rye bread. Im loving this at the moment.

Ive been told Frosties are low GI but I find that hard to believe

Ive been having the odd portion of carb stuff like oven chips or mashed potato and found a little hasnt made a huge difference. But for me it could also be that I havent officially got GD yet (I had it first pregnancy and a GTT test at 16 weeks was fine though fasting level was a little high) but they have me monioring my levels.

 

[belladonna]

I found that I could eat carbs as long as they were home-made rather than processed. So oven chips were a no-no for me but home-made and baked in the oven were fine. Jacket potato was another one that was good- my levels were always below 6 if I had a jacket and tuna mayo.

My advice would be steer clear of white bread etc and have wholemeal and cut out lots of processed food and switch for home-made. Also limit the portion sizes.

 

[Caezzybe]

I struggled with breakfast as well, any sort of bread makes my blood sugar too high so I've cut carbs right down. I've been having either grilled bacon with mushrooms and grilled tomato halves or omelette made with 2 eggs, ham and mushrooms. Both are producing good blood sugar results and then I'm having small amounts of potato with the other 2 meals (150g max).

 

[Groovychick]

Wholemeal varieties when you choose bread, rolls, pasta and cereals are lower GI than their white counterparts. Eating salad is absolutely fine. Just do your best to eat regularly and try to make your meals balanced. You may find the following link of interest: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-t...Pregnancy_and_diabetes/During_your_pregnancy/

 

[ProzacQueen]

thanks everyone!

was at the diabetic clinic for the first time yesterday, got my blood sugar tester thingy and saw the dietician who has given me a diet sheet with ideas (mostly everything you guys have come up with already!)

did my very first reading this morning, pre breakfast was 6.6.....not a good start right?!

 

[going_crazy]

Hi, just thought I'd send you to this site for having a look at some different foods and their GI - https://fmx01dhs.ucc.usyd.edu.au/Sugirs/index.php
And it was me who said Frosties are low GI, and believe it or not, they are!:
https://fmx01dhs.ucc.usyd.edu.au/Sugirs/recordlist.php and this is the chart comparing them to the other cornflakes! https://fmx01dhs.ucc.usyd.edu.au/Sugirs/recordlist.php



Hope this helps you a bit, good luck xxxxx

 

[Caezzybe]

thanks everyone!

was at the diabetic clinic for the first time yesterday, got my blood sugar tester thingy and saw the dietician who has given me a diet sheet with ideas (mostly everything you guys have come up with already!)

did my very first reading this morning, pre breakfast was 6.6.....not a good start right?!

Mine started off high, but after a few days of diabetic diet started to come down. It may take a few days for your pre-breakfast sugar to normalise, so don't worry just yet.

Had you had a lot to eat late on the night before? If you did, try not to eat anything much after about 10:30pm and see how you do tomorrow.

Good luck xxx

 

[1four1cooking]

Mornings are the worst for me. I am on insulin and am taking a high dose of it. I do the best when I eat omelets and toast. Milk contains more sugar carbs than anyother carbs so try to avoid that. I buy the fat free cream cheese in Strawberry so that I have a bagel like feel to my bread. I eat whole wheat any other bread causes my BS to go crazy. I also add any veggies and pre-shredded cheese to my omelet.

I usually have a low carb snack with milk. Like an apple,small, and PB or Cottage cheese.

I have a sandwich or salad with fat free Caesar vinaigrette dressing for lunch. If you get the fat free croutons you can have enough for your salad if you like that. I also get imitation Bacon bits for toppings, all veggies are a go except corn, and a glass of milk.

Another low carb snack

For dinner I have, been craving beef lately, steak (any meats) small potato or 1/2 cup homemade mashed with cheese and veggies sometimes, then veggies on the side. I like to mix up the veggies and do different stuff with them, Be careful as onions omit an alcohol that can raise BS levels.

Then I have a light snack like popcorn (low fat no butter), or bread with PB and a glass of milk.

 

[Imalia]

I think it's all very personal, kind of trial and error what works for you.

I can get away with a lot of things I shouldn't be able to (small portion of ice cream, milk shake, yogurt, even chocolate or jelly etc) but I have to stear clear of bread, any bread, even wholemeal spikes my bs too much, even in small quantities. If I have 2 slices of bread for a sandwich or two slices of toast for breakfast, guaranteed they'll be 10 - 12.

 

[ProzacQueen]

im fine with yoghurts too, and bread seems a definate no no even oaty style bread.

mornings & pre breakfasts are terrible for me, even if i have nothing to eat from my dinner-breakfast.

also im confused because i had dinner last night of a very small amount of brown pasta with tons of chicken and low fat mayo and then had really good result of 5.4 after which is the lowest reading i have had so far. so decided it would be a good lunch to take to work...but my reading after lunch was was 8.2, despite it being the same meal, same drink, same amount of exercise etc

i guess its just going to take time but im getting frustrated as the harder i try the higher my readings seem to go!! just feel like i should eat what i want and enjoy it and get the same results anyway

its been 5 days now on change of diet, will it take much longer to stabilise from you experiences?

thanks for all the advice xx

 

[Imalia]

My diabetic nurse told me that the body's resistance to insulin is worst in the morning and decreases during the day, which is why eating the same thing for lunch and dinner will give a higher result at lunch.

I struggled too initially seemed like nothing I did, or that my diabetologist did made any difference to my levels and we were both just getting very frustrated with changing diets and medication but then one day it just clicked, and I haven't had a reading over 8 in about a month, and some days it doesn't even go over 7.