Its been two weeks since I started testing my blood sugar four times a day and following the diet my OB recommended.

I’ll admit it; I was in denial that I actually had gestational diabetes, especially when I struggled with low blood sugar the first few days – that was awful! I felt weak and had trouble concentrating. But then I got the hang of the diet and my blood sugar stabilized (for the most part). I began to feel better, have more energy and I can tell when my blood sugar is crashing or soaring (the later is literally a sugar high and it doesn’t feel good.)

My diet isn’t typical for diabetes, at least not in my experience (several of my family members have type 2). I’m not counting carbs but rather servings. In a day, I’m allowed 10 servings of carbs, 10 proteins, 5 fats, 4 nonstarchy vegetables (i.e. not potatoes, peas or corn), 3 milks and 3 fruits. I max out the fruits pretty quickly but not the others, especially the milks – cheese products count as proteins.

A typical day on this diet looks like this:

Test my blood sugar first thing in the morning

Breakfast: Cheerios with soymilk and Morninstar Sausage or an Egg Beater cheese and vegetable omelet (my doctor highly recommended eggs for protein but limiting them to 3 a week because of the cholesterol so this is an alternative)

Test my blood sugar two hours later

Snack: fruit, a cheese stick, or cottage cheese

Lunch: a sandwich and a salad or, more likely, leftovers from dinner

Test my blood sugar two hours later

Snack: celery and soynut butter (no peanuts in this house), hummus and carrots or plain yogurt and fruit, like blackberries or strawberries

We eat dinner late so I often have another snack, something similar to the above. On a hot day I like making smoothies with soymilk, a banana and another fruit.

Dinner: a meat like chicken or ground turkey, a salad or vegetable like broccoli, and a small carb side like a potato, rice or sometimes pasta. Pasta makes my blood sugar spike so I really have to watch my portion size.

Test my blood sugar two hours later

Snack: fruit, fruit and yogurt, or cheese if my after dinner number is high

This diet can be boring at times and eating out is a challenge but its manageable. And, hopefully, its only for a few months. Although, eating this way – 6 small meals of correct portion size – is not a bad thing. Its actually a good diet to follow for anyone.

In my first pregnancy, I struggled to gain weight (still a problem this pregnancy but the diabetes trumps that) so I adopted some not so healthy eating habits that were hard to break. Not so this time around. I’ll take that silver lining.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or any kind of medical professional nor do I play one on this blog. I’m just sharing my personal experience. Consult your doctor if you have or suspect you have diabetes. But please share your experience with me. I’d love to hear how its going.