Goodbye, Chocolate!

Goodbye, cupcakes! Goodbye, hot chocolate! Goodbye, sugar! I’ll miss you all and will hope to see you after I give birth… Hello, Gestational Diabetes! You weren’t invited. I wish you would go away.

After failing the 1-hour AND the 3-hour glucose tests, I must now face the reality that I have GD. I suppose it could be worse. I could have Type 2 Diabetes and would have to deal with this forever. But for now, it’s gestational diabetes and I need to focus on my diet.

Yesterday I had my appointment with a dietician to discuss my new nutrition plan, and to make sure I have my glucose levels under control. It’s actually not too bad of a diet. It’s just overwhelming considering all the other things happening in life (Christmas, work, parties/get-togethers, buying baby furniture, etc.) It’s not as bad as the Atkins Diet (thank goodness!) but I still have to cut out sweets. My question is… How the heck do you cut out sweets during Christmas? It’s just not right!

Here’s the plan in three easy steps:

1. I need to eat every 2-3 hours: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and night time snack. OK… I can do that. I like eating!
2. Every meal has to have a protein and only 15-30 grams of carbs (i.e. 1-2 slices of bread, 3/4 cup of brown rice). For example, I can have an English muffin with an egg and a slice of cheese, or a tuna fish sandwich. Easy enough. Snacks can be cheese and crackers, a serving of light yogurt, or a handful of nuts. I can also possibly have a piece of fruit or a glass of milk, but never milk and fruit together. (A cupcake or a bowl of ice cream is NOT considered a snack – darn it!)
3. I need to check my glucose levels four times a day by pricking my finger: when I wake up, one hour after breakfast, one hour after lunch, and one hour after dinner.

My glucose level has to be in the range of 100 – 130. (My glucose test was at 208! No wonder I failed.) If my reading is too high, then I have to cut down my carb and/or sugar intake.

Now for the RULES: (This is the part that makes is hard.)

• TRY TO DO AN EXERCISE OR ACTIVITY for 10 minutes after eating.
• No juice.
• No hot chocolate. (Okay, I can’t have coffee so now you have to take away hot chocolate? Cruel!!)
• No dry cereal.
• No instant oatmeal.
• No bagels.
• No dried or canned fruit.
• No fruit for breakfast.
• Absolutely NO SWEETS! (cake, doughnuts, ice cream, candy. This is an evil plan!)
• No milk for breakfast.

FREE foods: (I can eat endlessly from this list, provided it is the right time to eat.)

• Protein – meat, cheese and nuts
  
• Fat – bacon, cream cheese, mayonnaise, butter (Whoo-hoo… I can have bacon dip for dessert!)
  
• Non-starchy vegetables – artichoke, cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, etc.

Typing this out has actually helped me not feel so overwhelmed. I feel motivated! I can do this. It’s definitely a lot easier and more forgiving that the Atkins Diet. And if I can do the Atkins Diet, I can certainly do this. Besides, I’m not only doing this for me. I’m doing this for the baby.