Gestational Diabetes

I still do not meet with my Doctor until next week so I am trying to learn all I can about gestational diabetes/diabetes in general on my own. Luckily, I belong to a pregnancy board for other August moms and there are a few women also with a GD diagnosis that have been helping. Since I do not have a glucometer yet, I really have no idea what different foods are affecting my blood sugar levels. However, I do know approximately how many carbs I should be eating at each meal and snack. I know that my snacks should have both a protein and carb. I know that I need to be walking at least 30 minutes every day.

I am avoiding all sweets until I know if my body can handle them at all. There are women on my board who eat a pudding at night and it doesn't affect their morning fasting numbers, but I am too scared to do that yet. I did make frozen yogurt pops today though that only have 3.5 g of carbs, 1.3 grams of protein, and 4.5 g of sugar. I pureed 8 small strawberries, 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, and 1 packet of Truvia to make 5 frozen yogurt pops. I am kind of excited about trying one later!

I have been logging all my food, water intake, and exercise in both a paper journal and on my phone. I use the LoseIt! app on my phone because it figures out all the nutritional information of my food. The paper journal is so it is easier to look back at my foods once I get my glucometer to see what I should be eating less of, more of, etc... I will say that eating smaller meals and snacks every 2-3 hours really isn't as bad as I was anticipating. It actually keeps me from ever being starving. My snacks are getting a little boring already, but I am hoping a nutritionist can help me get some more variety into my diet. Here is a sampling of what I have eating lately.

Breakfast

• scrambled egg with salsa and avocado
• scrambled egg with spinach, tomato, onion, and bell peppers
• 1/2 whole grain English muffin with 1 T peanut putter and a veggie sausage

Lunch

• Sandwich Wrap using Flatout Flatbread (high protein, low carb, awesome!)
• faux chicken salad with cashews and I load on the veggies
• veggie salami with spinach, avocado, tomato, cucumber, onion, and a little Italian dressing.
• Spinach salad with lots of veggies, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese and Italian dressing. This is great since our garden is starting to produce baby spinach. 

Dinner

• Crustless Quiche - I didn't have egg substitute so I used 2 whole eggs and 2 vegan "eggs" (2 T flax meal in 6 T hot water). The quiche was a little watery so I will use the egg substitute next time. Flavor was good though. This was served with a side of cumin beets.
• Fresh Tomato Sandwich with Roasted Cauliflower and white beans
• Quinoa with Broccoli and Tofu Stir Fry

Snacks

• Cottage cheese with fruit
• Nuts and string cheese
• Small fruit and some pretzels
• Veggie salami with goat cheese and tortilla chips
• Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon and berries

Crustless Quiche

Like I said, I am still only a few days in so I am hoping after the next week or so I can learn more, get more snack ideas, and become better adept and knowing what I can and should not eat. I am also hoping that when I meet with my Doctor my levels will look good and she will think that I am on the right track. Thanks for bearing with me on this new journey of diabetic living. I know it is only temporary, however, if I do not continue eating better and exercising after this baby is born, I have a 40-60% chance of getting diabetes within 5-15 years. If I do continue then I only have a 25% chance and I like those odds a lot better. Granted, I have seen the percentages vary depending on what study and website and read, but the idea is the same. Stay healthy, stay active, deliver a healthy baby, stay healthy, stay active, stay diabetes free. Sounds like a good plan to me!