Told I can't eat sugar or carbs...what can I eat??!!

Bonnie - posted on 06/13/2010

See another doctor, one who will refer you to a dietician for guidance...The main thing is to balance your carbs with protein, and eat smaller portions, more often. I found that my morning blood sugar was the hardest to control, switched from cold cereal to oatmeal, with a pinch of splenda, 1/2 tsp marg, and 1/2 cup of milk. I had to eat 1oz of cheese with that meal too. Sometimes I would eat a fried egg, in olive oil, with some meat, cheese, on whole wheat. Just some ideas for meals. The dietician will give you books about which foods you can eat and a plan for how to eat them, and what times you should be eating your meals...Never go 9-10 hours without eating a meal/snack.

Light-moderate exercise helps too. Most of all, breath, you aren't alone. GD is not a death sentence.

Brandy - posted on 01/19/2010

Ask for a referal to a dietatician. You NEED carbs its the energy for your body.

Allison - posted on 01/18/2010

Oh goodness no, you need your carbs. Even when I failed my 3 hour test I was allowed carbs but they had to be the "good carbs". Whole grain, whole wheat in moderation. Brown rice instead of white rice, whole grain bread instead of white bread...things like that. There are some fruits that are higher than others in sugar and have more fiber than others. Fiber is your friend, it helps with your levels!



Do a google search for friendly foods and recipes for gestational diabetes and it will explain everything the way that your doctor really should have. Just cutting out white sugars should really help. Milk and potatos were always huge triggers for me so cutting back on potatos and sticking to cheese and yogurt for your calcium could go a long way in preventing you from getting gestational diabetes.



Good luck and do some research. You'll find that there are lots and lots of things you can still eat that will keep you and baby healthy and happy :)

Brandy - posted on 01/16/2010

It is a scarey thing to be told you have GD. I was totally confused when I was diagnosed since I have suffered with low blood sugar all my life. Like you I was scared to eat anything when they told me. I felt like I was starving myself and the baby and didnt think that was good so I went to a dietician. Best thing I ever did. She helped me understand the diet. Im on a 1800 cal diet and am allowed to have 60grams of carbs for Breakfast and Lunch 45 for dinner and 30 at to snacks. She told me the things I could eat as much of as I wanted. Which is Meat (lean) and veggies! When reading food labels if its 3grams or under of carbs its a freebie!
My GD is controled by insulin and I will be delievering in anyday now My baby is healthy and not to big.
The biggest thing is DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF.

Toni - posted on 08/27/2009

I was diagnosed GD at 24 weeks. After having baby I returned to normal but now 7 years later I am diabetic for good.

You can go online and find a list of suitable diabetic foods and recipes for gestational diabetes. Things that are obviously high in fats, sugars and carbs you should eliminate from your diet. But, you can eat bread in moderation but it must be whole wheat. You can have natural sugars with a med to low GI index such as honey or fruit...but again, in moderation. No pastry, fries/chips, or white pasta. Rice is ok so long as it's brown or basmati, don't use long grain as it's much higher in carbs.

You can still eat foods such as chilli and rice or spaghetti bolognaise but make sure your using whole wheat pasta etc. You can eat burgers but make your own using lean meat and whole wheat buns. Make wedges using sweet potatoes or normal potatoes but limit your use of oils and fats. try using a product called Pan or over here (UK) we have something called Fry Light that I use. I haven't used oil for anything in over a year and I still make Fries, chips, roast potatoes and roasted veg etc. The rest of the family prefer it now tan the taste of grease or oil.

Also what helps is if you make your meals from scratch yourself. Don't buy pre-packaged or foods with lot's of additives, preservatives, added salts and sugars etc and you'll be able to eat a lot more variety of foods this way.

You can even make your own desserts such as an apple crumble, but use a sweetener instead of sugar.

Go search online and get using your cooking skills and I bet you won't hardly notice the difference. The hardest part is getting your head around things. Once you've done that it's plain sailing.

Also has anyone told you that if you get gestational diabetes you are at a much higher risk, in fact it's inevitable, that you will get Type II sometime in the future if you don't change your eating habits now!!!



Try this http://www.healthy-diabetic-recipes.co.u... or google for some others. There's loads of recipes for gestational diabetes out there.

--- - posted on 07/22/2009

I think what the doc mean was to eat carbs low on the glycemic index. so things like sweet potatoes, wild rice, oatmeal. whole grain bread. there are so many options.

google foods on the low end of the glycemic index and you will see what you can have. cutting out carbs and fruit from your diet will harm your baby. I would rather have GD than harm my baby. a lot of times you can controll GD with diet and exercise and your baby can be perfectly healthy. anyway, until you figure out what carbs you can have try eating lean meats like chicken or fish and eat large salads with tons of veggies.

Gemma - posted on 06/05/2009

Hi, it is a really confusing thing to work out what you can and can't eat with GD or Glucose intolerance, in Australia we have many foods which are low GI (Glycaemic Index) these foods are generally OK for diabetics to eat. If you like rice, basmati rice is OK to eat and pasta that cooks quickly is generally OK too (this is fresh pasta which cooks in about 5 minutes). We have low GI bread which is high in wholegrains.

Fruit is OK too as long as you don't have 4 apples in a sitting.....LOL, but an apple a day is OK. Most things in moderation are good, steer away from obvious sugars like chocolate, cakes, cookies and soft drink (soda). Cordial is OK if it is made naturally with out added sugar.

7 weeks is early and about the time I found out I had diabetes this time around, I would suggest you get a blood sugar testing kit and keep track of your sugars after meals to see what things affect your sugars the most as that varies from person to person. We have access to educators and dieticians here who will also help with this. If you are unhappy with your doctors diagnosis, you can always seek a second opinion or ask for a retest.

Hope that this helps, cheers, Gemma

Courtney - posted on 04/22/2009

Quoting Brenda:

I don't know who would ever say don't eat them at all because it is VERY important because carbs are your energy source!!! The first thing my diabetic counselor said is DO NOT cut out all the carbs. You need to space them out through the day, like Sara said. I have GD right now, and you really need to see a dietician.

Gestational diabetes is nothing to fear. The reason you want to stay away from white stuff is because it doesn't have fiber and fiber helps you process the carbs so your sugar doesn't go up. This doc seems ill informed. You shouldn't overdo anything, but nothing is off limits, just keep that in mind. Carrots are what my dietician told me are a "freebie" as are most vegetables (except potatoes of course because they're starchy).

And to be honest I don't know what the big deal is. Honestly, only like 15 percent of women who take the three hour test even test positive for GD. I had to take the three hour test with my first, and passed it with flying colors though I flunked the 1 hour test. You might want to get another doctor's opinion, because she is totally stressing you out. Why would they do the test so early, is my question?

Initally, they thought I was 3 months along based on my LMP, but then they felt my uterus and said that I wasn't that far along...I go for an ultrasound to confirm EDD on Monday. I know what you mean about the GD, I am not scared about that, but the way she worded it to me it was like, "you get this you AND your baby WILL die!"....it FREAKED me out!! I am going to be going to a new doctor after I Monday. That is how I have been eating...I eat a lot of good veggies, and lots of protein, and then I try to limit my carb intake to once a day, and not over doing. For example, tonight...I was just CRAVING pizza!!! All day I ate very well, but I let myself have 2 pieces of pizza and a salad for dinner. I have always eaten pretty well, that was why I was blown away about what to do when they brought me all this crazyness!! Thank you so much for ALL your help!!!

Brenda - posted on 04/19/2009

I don't know who would ever say don't eat them at all because it is VERY important because carbs are your energy source!!! The first thing my diabetic counselor said is DO NOT cut out all the carbs. You need to space them out through the day, like Sara said. I have GD right now, and you really need to see a dietician.



Gestational diabetes is nothing to fear. The reason you want to stay away from white stuff is because it doesn't have fiber and fiber helps you process the carbs so your sugar doesn't go up. This doc seems ill informed. You shouldn't overdo anything, but nothing is off limits, just keep that in mind. Carrots are what my dietician told me are a "freebie" as are most vegetables (except potatoes of course because they're starchy).



And to be honest I don't know what the big deal is. Honestly, only like 15 percent of women who take the three hour test even test positive for GD. I had to take the three hour test with my first, and passed it with flying colors though I flunked the 1 hour test. You might want to get another doctor's opinion, because she is totally stressing you out. Why would they do the test so early, is my question?

Sara - posted on 04/18/2009

Glad I could help! Seriously, I had a freak show doctor who was super stict when I was pregnant, but he NEVER told me not to eat carbs. And you know, even if you don't have GD, it still doesn't hurt to eat a little better when pregnant, you know? I was actually in the end kind of glad I had to be on such a strict diet, I only gained 18 pounds with my pregnancy and was in my pre-pregnancy jeans 3 weeks after giving birth! Good luck to you! I hope everything works out and you get your appetite back! You got a baby to grow, girl! :)

Courtney - posted on 04/17/2009

Quoting Sara:

Oh no no no no no! You are pregnant, you need to eat carbs as well as healthy natural sugars. What is your doctor thinking? The point of any diabetic diet is to eat regularly in order to even out your blood sugar. I had GD and was on the diet for it, which wasn't that bad. You basically had 2 carb choices for dinner, 2 for your morning snack, 4 for lunch, 2 for afternoon snack, 4 for dinner and 2 for dinner snack. Each carb choice is equivalent to 15 grams of carbs, such as a small apple, or one slice of bread. You eat the snacks two hours after meals. If I were you, I would ask your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist who can help you to get a good eating plan. You DO NOT want to cut out carbs, that could put you into something called "ketoacidosis" which is very dangerous for a pregnant woman. Get some help, talk to a dietician or nutritionist and maybe find a new doctor? Hope that helps...and if you have any other questions or concerns, I'd be happy to talk with you!

Thank you SOOOOO much!! My sister has had two children, and though never GD she does a lot of nutritional eating etc and she said the same thing you just said! She told me that I need carbs to live, let alone my growing baby! She also suggested to me to get a new doctor because this one was saying "No sugar/carbs, but tomatoes and carrots are okay" which according to my sis, is a BIG contradiction! Tomatoes have a lot of natural sugar, and the doctor said to stay away from ALL sugar and almost all carbs! I also PASSED my glucose test, but passed it too close (by like 2-3 points) so she has a feeling that I am goign to be GD later on...though with my daughter, I didn't pass the 1 hour glucose and had to do the 3 hour and passed that one just fine!! Thanks so much!! I was so stressed about this that I have lost my appetite!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! :]

Sara - posted on 04/17/2009

Oh no no no no no! You are pregnant, you need to eat carbs as well as healthy natural sugars. What is your doctor thinking? The point of any diabetic diet is to eat regularly in order to even out your blood sugar. I had GD and was on the diet for it, which wasn't that bad. You basically had 2 carb choices for dinner, 2 for your morning snack, 4 for lunch, 2 for afternoon snack, 4 for dinner and 2 for dinner snack. Each carb choice is equivalent to 15 grams of carbs, such as a small apple, or one slice of bread. You eat the snacks two hours after meals. If I were you, I would ask your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist who can help you to get a good eating plan. You DO NOT want to cut out carbs, that could put you into something called "ketoacidosis" which is very dangerous for a pregnant woman. Get some help, talk to a dietician or nutritionist and maybe find a new doctor? Hope that helps...and if you have any other questions or concerns, I'd be happy to talk with you!

Allison - posted on 01/18/2010

Oh goodness no, you need your carbs. Even when I failed my 3 hour test I was allowed carbs but they had to be the "good carbs". Whole grain, whole wheat in moderation. Brown rice instead of white rice, whole grain bread instead of white bread...things like that. There are some fruits that are higher than others in sugar and have more fiber than others. Fiber is your friend, it helps with your levels!



Do a google search for friendly foods and recipes for gestational diabetes and it will explain everything the way that your doctor really should have. Just cutting out white sugars should really help. Milk and potatos were always huge triggers for me so cutting back on potatos and sticking to cheese and yogurt for your calcium could go a long way in preventing you from getting gestational diabetes.



Good luck and do some research. You'll find that there are lots and lots of things you can still eat that will keep you and baby healthy and happy :)

Toni - posted on 08/27/2009

I was diagnosed GD at 24 weeks. After having baby I returned to normal but now 7 years later I am diabetic for good.

You can go online and find a list of suitable diabetic foods and recipes for gestational diabetes. Things that are obviously high in fats, sugars and carbs you should eliminate from your diet. But, you can eat bread in moderation but it must be whole wheat. You can have natural sugars with a med to low GI index such as honey or fruit...but again, in moderation. No pastry, fries/chips, or white pasta. Rice is ok so long as it's brown or basmati, don't use long grain as it's much higher in carbs.

You can still eat foods such as chilli and rice or spaghetti bolognaise but make sure your using whole wheat pasta etc. You can eat burgers but make your own using lean meat and whole wheat buns. Make wedges using sweet potatoes or normal potatoes but limit your use of oils and fats. try using a product called Pan or over here (UK) we have something called Fry Light that I use. I haven't used oil for anything in over a year and I still make Fries, chips, roast potatoes and roasted veg etc. The rest of the family prefer it now tan the taste of grease or oil.

Also what helps is if you make your meals from scratch yourself. Don't buy pre-packaged or foods with lot's of additives, preservatives, added salts and sugars etc and you'll be able to eat a lot more variety of foods this way.

You can even make your own desserts such as an apple crumble, but use a sweetener instead of sugar.

Go search online and get using your cooking skills and I bet you won't hardly notice the difference. The hardest part is getting your head around things. Once you've done that it's plain sailing.

Also has anyone told you that if you get gestational diabetes you are at a much higher risk, in fact it's inevitable, that you will get Type II sometime in the future if you don't change your eating habits now!!!



Try this http://www.healthy-diabetic-recipes.co.u... or google for some others. There's loads of recipes for gestational diabetes out there.