2 months pregnant and gestational diabetes. Where can I find a good meal plan? I'm allergic to dairy also :(
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Been there, been that, done that, too. You CAN and you will get through this. Can you drink soy milk? I think it's delicious! There are also almond and oatmilks available at healthfood stores and many, many grocery stores now, too. Let me see if I remember what I did, as my daughter's now 11. 1) I kept crackers by my bed so that before I moved around very much in the morning, or if I got hungry at night, I could eat something little. I found the nausea and morning sickness was much, much worse if I let my stomach get too empty. In another month or so, many, many women (but not all...) begin to feel much better. Some even find the morning sickness/nausea completely disappears in the second trimester. I found the nausea was far, far worse than the actual throwing up, so sometimes rather than feel ill all day, or all morning, I'd make myself throw up, get it over with and then go about my business. That seemed to work well for me. Water and cups of tea were my best friends and helped to settle my stummy, too, especially chamomile. I found foods, anything, that had garlic in it made me violently ill for a long time, so avoid that if it's getting to you. I ate bananas, turkey sandwiches w/ lettuce and tomato on WW bread--no cheese since you're allergic. I also found that nut butters, like cashew and almond helped to settle my stomach and combined w/ the crackers, made a small meal that held my blood sugar much better than the crackers alone. Have you consulted w/ a diabetic nutritionist? Most insurances will cover this, and most OB/Gyns automatically send their patients w/ gestational diabetes to a Diabetic Educator as a matter of course. I ate a lot of grains, beans, salads, fruits and veggies when I was pregnant, and seaweed and sushi, too. I also ate chicken and fish. I found I absolutely needed to eat some animal food to keep from "bottoming out" while on insulin. Had some really, really low blood sugars, and that was immensely painful and scary for me as it made me feel desperately ill. Make sure, whatever else you do, that you eat enough for dinner and don't skip meals. This will wreak havoc w/ your blood sugars. I also want to say these last things to you: 1) Something like 90% of women who have gestational diabetes go on to become Type II's. Yes, the stats are that bad. So get used to taking blood sugars, exercising, eating really, really well and taking care of yourself, b/c that will go a long way towards making sure you're here to see your children's children. 2) Diabetes is actually a very powerful gift, b/c it makes us do exactly what we should have been doing in the first place: Eating well and exercising and taking the immensely good care of ourselves that we take of the other members of our family. 3) Don't worry about missed "treats". You will find you lose your taste for sugar and things sweet as you go further down this road. I let myself have one small cookie or piece of chocolate a day so that I don't feel deprived. I don't even want them every day, now. 4) Doctors can be terrorists. They tell you every bloody thing that can go wrong, might go wrong, went wrong three hundred years ago. They're actually required to do this, but it is EXTREMELY difficult (and abusive, in my opinion) to subject a pregnant woman to scare tactics and full disclosure. If you find they're trying to terrorize you into submission and into being "medically compliant", CALL THEM ON IT!! Insist that they stop it at once. Make friends w/ the PA or the nurse. Write a pregnancy plan, not just a delivery plan. Insist upon a midwife!!Tell them that you will deal w/ any and all complications as they arise (and IF they arise...)and NOT until! I found the obsession w/ what could go wrong extremely misplaced. Get your husband or lover to act as your Cheerleader/Mentor, not as your Enforcer or further terrifier. Being newly diagnosed a diabetic is extremely difficult and rather terrifying for most women, to say nothing about just hard going; they don't need it to be made worse. The most important thing you could possibly do is EXERCISE and talk to your baby and tell him or her that you are doing EVERYTHING in your power to take care of yourself and her/him. Think positively. Everything will be alright, and if it's not, you'll deal with it as soon as you know. I took 186 shots a month (that's three a day of insulin, and three a day of heparin), plus five-twelve finger sticks, plus blood tests to have my daughter. (I have a genetic blood clotting disorder that has almost killed me twice now. I am happy to say that I, the most needle phobic of all humans, can now give myself shots and it doesn't faze me a bit. You'll get used to it, and you need to, b/c unless you lose lots of weight and it works for you to do so, you'll be diabetic w/ all subsequent pregnancies as well.) I wish you the absolute best. Don't hesitate to e-mail me if you need a cheering squad!! Blessings upon you, woman!
Eat lots of little meals, rather than large ones, and try to put protein and fats into each meal like soy cheese, nuts and nut butters, seeds, GORP and trail mix, hard boiled eggs, tofu, tempeh and seitan, tunafish, salmon, sardines, mackeral, etc. turkey jerky, etc. I even ate hamburgers if I craved one, which is completely out of character for me! I loved peanutbutter sandwiches and tuna sandwiches, for example. My current favorite sam is fresh mozzarella (and it's from buffaloes, not cows, so you might be able to eat this...), fresh tomato w/ a bit of freshly ground black pepper and some seasalt, fresh lettuce from my garden, pesto from my garden, a bit of mayo and mustard and some cucumber and roasted red peppers. I've been known to add a grilled chicken breast to this, too. The less cooking inside, the better, in this heat. Romano and feta are from sheeps and/or goat's milks too. Can you eat other cheeses that are not from cows' milk?
This post is already too long! Just know there's folks out here sending you tons of LOVE AND LIGHT! You can do this!!!
your dr should have all the info you need.
there is an all natural cure for diabetes at www.healingplace.com
I would suggest you get a referral to a registered dietician (RD). They have all the menus for all types of different needs. They can teach you a lot about food period.
Meat, vegetables & whole grains.
Gestational Diabetes almost only onsets after 20 weeks of pregnancy - if you have it already, you probably have type II diabetes, onset from the stress of pregnancy. You need to see a licensed diabetic educator, as soon as possible. You need to purchase a glucometer, to monitor your blood sugar levels. Basically, you still need to be eating a balanced diet, but no huge portions of carbohydrates at any time. Your meal plan needs to be adjusted based on your sugar levels, and if your blood sugar can't be controlled by diet, you may need to be put on insulin, so it's important for you to be consulting a doctor. You probably won't find a good meal plan online, because most diabetic food plans are not designed well for a pregnant diabetic.
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