Reddit reviews Real Food for Gestational Diabetes: An Effective Alternative to the Conventional Nutrition Approach

Based on what I've seen on here, I think most of these questions are dependent on your provider, and are great things to ask during your phone call!

For me:

1. I was diet/exercise controlled and wasn't treated as high risk. I met with a nutritionist once, but no additional doctors.
   
   
2. I was able to keep seeing my midwife group throughout my pregnancy and they still delivered my baby. They did consult with the doctor who was part of the group towards the end, but that was because I was arguing with them.
   
   
3. I was allowed to go to almost 41 weeks before I was induced (they initially wanted to induce me at 39 weeks, but with no complications or issues I wanted to wait). If I had gone into labor before that, I could have avoided the induction, but my body just wasn't having it. They were reluctant to let me go that long, but after consulting with the doctor they agreed and I was in their office getting membrane sweeps every day in the week I was overdue.
   
   
4. I ended up having one extra ultrasound close to my due date to check the baby size. He was in the normal range which is why they let me go past my due date.
   
   
5. I did a class right after my diagnosis and met with the nutritionist once after that. Other than that, I did my regular appointments at the regular intervals.
   
   
6. I struggled a lot with feeling like food was the enemy. Real Food for Gestational Diabetes helped. You've got this!
   
   

Reading this book honestly changed how I felt about GD entirely. It helped me really understand some good eating options, how to mix and match, and be confident in my ability to diet control. Is it a major bummer that I can't give in to every craving now (hello, milkshakes, french toast, and kids cereal)? yep. Do I love how I have been feeling (and looking!) since I've switched to the GD diet? absolutely. As others have said, I am looking forward to keeping control of my weight gain and hopefully having an easier time after LO is here losing it all again.

Good luck! You've got this!

Just to add a different opinion. You can do other tests beside the glucose drink. If you are still in your first trimester you can do an A1c test (a proxy for average blood sugar over the past 3 months). But since blood sugar and insulin resistance change so much during pregnancy you can't do it past the first trimester. You can also opt to do at home blood sugar monitoring if you are comfortable pricking your fingers and have the discipline to stay on top of testing. This blog (by a registered dietitian and autor of a great gestational diabetes book has great info about the glucose test here and here. She also had a good post of GD myths.

Edit: I 100% think you should get tested...via the glucose drink or other method. I just think women are often forced into the glucose drink screening even when it isn't the best method for them (ex. if they are low carb or keto) and deserve to be told about other options if they aren't comfortable with the glucose drink.

Also, to clarify (since I was on my phone before) - I think the recommendations by diabetes professionals/educators (and most dieticians) are way above what is necessary. But if you do wind up with GD again you can expect to hear the same from them and should be ready to defend what you're doing.

From what I could tell the 175g minimum is arbitrary and based on a (faulty) assumption that basic human needs are 100g minimum + 75 for being pregnant. (see this book: https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Gestational-Diabetes-Conventional/dp/0986295000)

Hitting 150-160g per day has worked for me (typically with 50g of that being fiber) but if my numbers were high I'd restrict carbs further.

What I have seen is that people who have never done keto get cautioned by their doctors against going keto for the first time in the middle of a pregnancy. From your earlier comments I didn't understand that you'd been keto up until recently, and was also unsure if you were simply confusing keto diets for diabetic low carb diets - and those aren't the same at all. Keto definitely may be better for you (especially if it's worked for you in the past!) and lots of people swear by it even during pregnancy. I personally worry a little about keto's effect on organ development based on the study I linked, so I wouldn't lower my carbs to that degree even if my numbers were high, but many many people have great pregnancies and healthy babies using keto.

Sorry if my earlier comment sounded in any way dismissive of your background/experience with keto!