New meal plan...

Now that I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I had to get in gear and figure out how I was going to manage my diet and testing my blood.

My diet plan consisted of very specific types of foods and very specific times for eating. Up to this point I had been eating cereal and a banana for breakfast. I rarely ate breakfast at all before I was pregnant so just eating in the morning was a change. I could no longer eat the sugary cereals and even the banana was questionable. For breakfast I was supposed to eat 1-2 proteins, 1 carb, 1 fruit, 1 milk and 1 fat. For instance, my usual breakfast menu was:
1-2 proteins = 1-2 eggs
1 carb = 1 piece of toast
1 fruit = 1/2 cup of orange juice
1 milk = 1 glass of milk
1 fat = little butter for my toast

I had this day in and day out for weeks. Then 2 hours after breakfast I needed a snack of 1 fruit. For lunch it was protein, carbs, veggies, milk, and fat. I would buy frozen hamburger patties, stick them in the microwave and eat without a bun. I don't think the hamburger was fit for human consumption. I ate them because they had high protein but they were the consistency of hockey pucks. I could barely chew them. Two hours later I needed a protein snack, usually a south beach diet granola bar. Two hours later, my dinner was pretty much the same as lunch, though I never had the hamburger patties for dinner. I took the time to actually make something when I got home from work. Then I needed a nighttime snack which usually was either a hard boiled egg or a piece of cheese and a tiny bowl of sugar free ice cream.

The combinations of food that I ate would probably normally make my stomach churn. But I didn't care if the food tasted ok together, I just cared that I met all of the requirements. I literally thought about food all day long. What was I going to eat next? Is it time to eat again? I felt like I was eating constantly. The point was to keep a steady stream of food coming into my body so my blood sugar didn't drop or increase dramatically. I could hardly eat all of the food I was supposed to eat. It took me several weeks to get used to this new way of eating. And I lost weight. By not eating carbs or sugars, I started losing some pounds which is great if you're not pregnant. It was definitely hard to find a balance.

In addition to stuffing my face constantly I had to test my blood. My first test of the day was after 8 hours of fasting before I ate anything. Then I would eat. I would have to wait 2 hours without eating anything and test again. Then I could have my snack. Then after my lunch, I had to wait 2 hours without eating, test again. Then snack. Then after dinner, 2 hours of fasting and then test. Then snack. But i had to be careful that the snack wasn't too late because I needed a full 8 hours of not eating or drinking so I could test in the morning.

Most of my readings were fine and within the ranges that were allowed. Some were really high though and I quickly learned that I couldn't eat peanut butter or any frozen packaged meal. Those seemed to make my sugars skyrocket.

It was a pain but I was able to manage the diabetes with diet alone and I didn't have to take any insulin which was a huge relief. But as I said before, it took something away from the pregnancy experience because I was always worried about food and it took a lot of effort. You always feel empathy and compassion for those that are dealing with a disease on a daily basis but you don't really know how difficult it is until you walk in their shoes. I feel like I had the opportunity to walk in the shoes of a diabetic and I have a whole new respect for what they have to go through. My ordeal only lasted until the baby was delivered but they have to deal with it for a lifetime.