Gestational Diabetes - Fort Lauderdale, FL

I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy. As far as eating out, I mostly stuck to things like grilled chicken and salad. The rule the doctors told me was that half the plate should be your veggie, then the other half should be divided between the meat and starch. Depending on how your body is responding you will have 40-60 carbs allowed per meal, this is one of those things you just get used to figuring out. For snacks, I ate things like small servings of cheese cubes or a few diced strawberries. Just stay away from crackers and chips. I found that my body couldn't tolerate ANY carbs first thing in the morning, but the rest of the day I just stuck with the plan and was fine, I even lost weight. In the end, the baby and I were perfectly healthy and I was able to start eating normally at the hospital. I hope this is helpful.

it sounds like you'll want to stay away from 'white' foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, SUGAR...

you'll need high fiber foods like oatmeal, bran, veggetables

and you'll need to stay away from sugar, even high sugar fruits like grapes, watermelon, juices ('natural' or not) and carrots...apples, pears, peaches- the 'harder' fruits are ok here & there...

look for whole grain, high fiber bread (look for one w/ the highest fiber and lowest sugar that you can find)

you'll need to look at sugars in everything, like even
spaghetti sauces! there are a few brands w/ only o or 2mgs of sugar- take a peek- you'll be surprised to see 12grams of sugar in some spaghetti sauces!

A lot of restaraunt have low carb options that is the way to go. Like ale house has their bonless wings without the breading and cheese all over them those were great. Taco salads without the shell and beans are good. A lot of times I just took off the bread from a chicken sandwich. I worked full time during my pregnancy so restaraunt food was important to me.

I at lease loved the fact that I could have the fats like ranch dressing, butter and such. You have to watch the sweets, carbs and fruit. My doctor allowed fruit but only with a protein. Like an apple with peanut butter great snack or an apple with cheese. I learned to eat more smaller meals more often with lots of snacks in between. Cheese sticks are great of all the hard cheeses.

Good luck it is not as bad as they say. I found it easier to resist the office bday party cake then when I would diet since I knew it impacted my daughter not just my waistline.

One more thing to look on the bright side is you don't gain as much weight so it comes off a lot easier. oh and if you have not been through the 3 hour test yet take a cereal bar or something I almost crashed afterwards because my sugar dropped so low after that sugar water stuff.

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my twins. The doctor recommended that I eat small meals and cut down on pasta, bread,and anything else which turned into sugar or contain too much sugar. After I delivered my babies, I was back to normal.

Hi, you need to get a glucose tolerance test. You should have the results in a very short time, your ob-gyn should do it. In the mean time, get a glucose monitor and some strips. Go on webmd or any diabetes web site and find out the ranges and begin to test 2x a day, first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach) and 1 hour after starting a meal (you can choose the meal). As for foods, again any diabetes website will let you know what the do's and don'ts are. You can't just cut out carbs and think you are okay, diabetes is about balance not elimination. You have to be careful if you do develope GD becuase it increases you risk of type 2 diabetes in the future. The monitor and strips may be overly cautious but you are better off and you begin to take control right away. Good Luck!

cottage cheese, in fact cheese in general won't hurt you (sugar wise).

I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy and my diet became very controlled after the diagnosis. The one thing that I can tell you for snacks is: peanut butter. I can't even remember how much peanut butter I had to eat. I never liked it and now even worst but its one thing that really helps you out; oh cheese cubes also. Stay away from lots of pastas/rice that makes the sugar go up fast (at least for it did). Check to see if they can offer you a nutritionist visit - and be sure they check you regularly (with ultrasound) as this condition makes your placenta age quicker and therefore nutrients to the baby are not what they should be. I ended up being induced and my placenta had already aged significantly - thanks to that peanut butter I held up -BEST OF LUCK!

How far along in your pregnancy are you? Usually they test you around 28 weeks - but can do it earlier if they detect that you have it - it should only take 24 to 48 hours to get the results back from the test - if it takes longer than that - see another doctor - it isn't something that you should have to wait around for results! Good luck!!!!

Lots of us get it, I had it and really the best things to eat are vegetables and protein. I ended up only gaining a net of 5 pounds when I gave birth, so I weighed less when the baby came out than when I started. Items that have a value of 30 carbohydrates or less per serving (on average one slice of bread has 30 grams) are what the nutritionist said I should be eating. A good choice could be a wrap instead of a sandwich, being the wrap is going to have a lower carb count than bread. Lean meats, chicken, turkey, eggs are good too, for your pretien at any meal. Just no eating pancakes, waffles, and whole bunch of french fries. :) You can eat carbohydrates, just keep the startchy ones to less than 30 grams per serving per meal (really not too hard), portion size really counts here so if you want a potato or rice, be mindful of serving sizes and you will do great! I would fill up on vegetables for your carbohydrates. :) Good Luck!