Top products from r/GestationalDiabetes

I’ve had good luck with a premier protein shake paired with a Nature Valley almond butter biscuit. Got both of these from Costco - I think it’s around 25ish carbs all together. I’ve never been a breakfast eater and definitely don’t cook in the morning but I can put these down pretty easy.

The biscuits are legit good, not just GD good. They’re excellent paired with a glass of milk but I can’t do that in the AM. The protein shakes are super good too - cookies and cream is my fave. They mix super well with cold brew coffee for a fake out latte.

https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Breakfast-Biscuits-Sandwich-Filling/dp/B01BK9MXZE

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!

So for the record, I didn’t use this one specifically, it’s just the first one I saw: link

From the photo, the bright blue things are lancets - they’re basically the needles that go into your fingers. You’ll want to alternative fingers when testing - that helps prevent scarring (if you reuse them too much, it’ll get dull which causes the scarring). New lancet per blood draw. You’ll want to take the blood from the sides of the finger (though idk why) - too far to the side though and it’ll hurt more than necessary.

The test strips (here’s a closer look) are what reads your blood after pricking your finger. The side with the arrow goes into the machine and you’ll want the strip in the machine before you draw the blood (other side of strip, in the middle). Not sure if it was my machine being finicky, but I had to angle it a certain way so the blood wasn’t drawn up too quickly or the machine would throw up an error - you’ll have to play around with that. The strips are really the most expensive part in all of this (there’s bits of gold in it) but it’s also the bit you can’t reuse.

The silver pen looking thing is what holds the lancet. You basically open it like a pen and put a lancet in before recapping. You’ll probably have numbers - the lower the number, the less the lancet comes out (shallower prick), the higher the number, the more the needle comes out (deeper prick / if you develop calluses).

Ideal, by the books method of using it is alcohol swab the finger/area you will prick. Put a new lancet into the pen thing. Turn on machine and put the strip in. Immediately prick, squeeze blood out, dip the strip into the puddle of blood and wait the 1-2 seconds for your result (or notification of error...in which case you repeat the dipping with a new test strip). Clean and bandage your finger.

You’ll want most tests under 140. Occasional blips are ok (ie your baby shower and gender reveal are ok) but don’t make it a daily thing.

The meals don’t have to be full sit down meals - 3 normal meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) + 3 snacks in between...which is a lot easier said than done in the beginning. After like a week, I found myself constantly starving so that made eating a lot easier (ofc then I found myself staring longingly at my food and waiting for the next meal to come).

For tracking purposes, I found glucose buddy to be great. I jotted down what I ate in the notes section and at the end of the week, you can download a report with your numbers and your meals come up as little footnotes.

Edit: as an aside, the monitor comes with a pouch for you to put everything into. There’s a mesh zipper pocket on one side (for bandaids, alcohol pads, lancets) and elastic bands on the other. Both the pen and monitor goes alongside the spine, the test strips stay in the container it comes in and goes perpendicular to the spine.

I eat mostly gluten free at home simply because my husband has a gluten intolerance and we don't keep much gluten in the house. You didn't ask for tips about food, so feel free to ignore this. But I've found some bean based pastas that are gf and much lower carb/higher protein and fiber than regular (gf or otherwise) pastas.

Here is one of the brands I like on Amazon. Not a good price; just wanted to provide an example. I buy it at Costco and a local grocery. https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Edamame-Spaghetti-lbs-907g/dp/B00TCUM7X2

If I use it in a dish with plenty of fat and protein (e.g, pasta with pesto and chicken or pasta carbonara with shrimp), my numbers do great. Hope this is of some use to you! Good luck :)

Basically you are looking to balance carbs and protein.

Carbs are sugars, and grains. Fibrous carbs (check the nutrition label to see how many of the carbs are fiber) are better than simple carbs (think fruits, bread, rice, and other grains). Protein carbs (nuts, beans, legumes) are also better than simple ones.

I found the app, Carb Manager, to be a god send. You type in what you ate and how much and it tells you how many carbs/fiber and protein is there. Helps you get a good feel for what portion sizes you can have of things.

General rule of thumb for amounts seems to be:

Breakfast - no more than 30 carbs
Lunch - 45 to 60 carbs
Dinner - 45 to 60 carbs
With 2-3 snacks a day at no more than 15 carbs each

You will want to wait at least 2 hours between eating (for blood sugar testing). I found that spacing my meals out more like 5-6 hours with a snack at the 3-4 hour mark worked best for me.

It was also emphasized to me that I should be EATING my carbs not DRINKING them, so no juices or sodas. (That really helped with my water intake. 😋)

All of these need protein with them. My favorite snacks are Nature valley protein bar, Special K Protein Meal Bars, and Carnation Breakfast Essentials, in addition to nuts and cheeses.

I don't know what kind of lancing device you use, but there was only one lancing device I've ever used that is by far the most painless. I have mine on a zero. It could also have something to do with the needle size. Some lancets are much bigger than others and it certainly does not make the process any easier. This fastclix accuchek is the one that I use. It was given to me by the diabetes doctor but diabetes runs in my family so I've had a wide variety of stabbers to experience and the one they gave me is by far the best. There is no pull back spring action too.

Some of these Costco bars are "granola" bars in terms of form factor but don't have any grain! Like, they have these: https://www.amazon.com/Caveman-Foods-Paleo-Friendly-Nutrition-Chocolate/dp/B00IRRJY2S which TBH are so good I had a hard time believing the carb count. These also have no grain and are also really good: https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Paleo-Bars-oz-Pack/dp/B07PPR5L4M

Yes there's definitely sugar in them...but also plenty of protein and fat.

I’m a big fan of [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJ7DCQ4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_phaMDb382RKYZ protein power. I only use one scoop and it’s 8g carbs per scoop. Tastes decent and has a ton of good reviews on Amazon!

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!

Insurance covers my supplies and it's still cheaper to buy them off off Amazon. It's such a sham.

EDIT: I got this kit with insurance for $130 USD. Amazon is charging $56.04. Lancets are cheap for this, maybe $11 for 100? So $67 dollars vs. $130.

Cheese and these Mary’s crackers have been a godsend this week. Also the Skinny Pop popcorn is only 14 grams of carbs for 3.5 cups of popcorn and they have all sorts of flavors. Not exactly healthy but soooo nice to not be like “I’m craving something crunchy, guess I’ll have like two tortilla chips or a half of a bland ass rice cake”

Type 1 diabetic, just visiting here-the running joke over at r/diabetes is that we never change our lancets. Most Type 1's I know, myself included, change the lancet every few months.

That being said, try a different lancet device if your's is painful. I recommend the Delica.

Gen Ultimate Strips

You might need a new meter, but that's also fairly cheap:

One Touch Ultra 2

You can buy this- it’s great! https://www.amazon.com/Care-Touch-Diabetes-Testing-Kit/dp/B076VSN7TR/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542850970&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=glucose+meter&dpPl=1&dpID=51WLUxdu5SL&ref=plSrch

Comes with all you need!

My leg cramps dropped by about 90% when I started taking magnesium citrate every night before bed!

This

Look, found this one https://www.amazon.com/Prodigy-AutoCode-Talking-Glucose-Monitoring/dp/B002JLEXFQ/ref=sr_1_sc_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1469650212&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=alterante+site+blood+glucose+meter
 
Can I ask for your testing "ritual"? Like, what devices you're using, how you prepare, where you prick? Mine don't hurt too bad, but maybe I have a high tolerance :(

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!