Foods to Eat with Gestational Diabetes - Part Two

In part one I started talking about foods to eat with gestational diabetes, but basically only covered the why you need to watch what you eat. Here I continue with the foods to eat, servings sizes, and some further guidelines.
Basic Rules to Follow

• Eat three meals plus 1-3 snacks each day.  Your dietician will help determine how many snacks are necessary to support the development of the baby and maintain your blood sugar levels.
• Once your program is developed eat at the same time each day and don’t skip snacks or meals.  Skipping can lower your blood sugar to dangerous levels.
• Use high fiber foods to fill you up, keep your bowels regular, and give you calories without the added carbohydrates.
• If your cholesterol levels are too high incorporate a low fat diet as well.
• As much as possible avoid processed foods or foods that have added sugar or syrups.
• After you have cleared it with your doctor, talk with your dietician about your exercise plans. Basically, your doctor must clear you to exercise and your dietician must integrate the exercise into the management of your blood sugar.

Determining Serving Sizes

When you are taking into consideration foods to eat with gestational diabetes you must have an understanding of serving sizes.  More than likely servings are smaller than you think.  For example, 3 oz of meat or fish is a serving and is also the size of a deck of cards.  That’s probably less meat than most of us are used to eating.

Guidelines for Foods to Eat with Gestational Diabetes

Consult with your dietician before finalizing your dietary intake, but the following are guidelines:

• If you are eating approximately 2100 calories you’ll eat about 245 grams of carbohydrates (47% of calories); 123 grams of protein (23%) and 72 grams of fat (30%).
• You’ll need 300 more calories each day than you were eating before to support the appropriate amount of weight gain for your developing baby.  This would assume that you were eating an 1800 calorie diet prior to your 2nd trimester.

Depending on the diet you follow foods to eat with gestational diabetes can change.  You and your registered dietician will resolve if the diet from the American Diabetic Association, if a vegetarian diet, or if a combination of both will be best for your needs and lifestyle.