Plus Size, Insulin Resistant and Gestational Diabetes. How being pregnant changed how I eat.

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Getting the Gestational diabetes diagnosis when I was pregnant with my daughter was frustrating, but mostly scary. I had gone through 2 years of IvF to finally get pregnant and be told at 12 weeks pregnant I had gestational diabetes.

There is still questions to whether or not I actually had gestational diabetes because I was diagnosed from a high fasting glucose (It was 97 and they wanted to see a 95 or lower), but after the glucola drink my numbers were very normal. What I have since learned is that my morning glucose is always right around 100 or a couple of points higher and I may have Insulin Resistant Dawn Phenomenon.

I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance when I was a teenage and diagnosed with Poly Cystic-Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). I had been told time after time, “don’t eat carbs” and then I would not eat carbs, still gain weight and then go back to the doctor and be told “you’re eating too many carbs”. This led to years of cutting carbs out, eventually eating carbs, gaining weight and then trying to crash diet.

While going through IvF, my prior OB-GYN stopped accepting my insurance, so once I finally got pregnant and graduated the fertility clinic, I had to find a new OB-GYN. Well, I chose wrong and ended up with a fat-phobic doctor.

Something important to note, is that with each of my IvF treatments, I would gain weight. This led to my highest weight ever. When I got pregnant I was 309 lbs. The first time the doctor saw me, she immediately jumped into doing a glucose test. I was 12 weeks pregnant and had just had an A1C done a couple of days before this appointment and my level was mid-range.

I got the glucose test and, as mentioned above, had a slightly high fasting glucose. When we met with the doctor again, I asked if the test should be redone since I didn’t have a high glusoce after eating. She said “Honestly, you probably have type II diabetes and we are just finding out about it”.

To which I responded, “I just got an A1C test that was normal, so I don’t think that is true.”

Happy and healthy at 38 weeks pregnant

She backed off during that meeting, but the rest of my pregnancy was more of the same. I swam laps almost every day and my husband and I took frequent walks. I only gained 7 lbs in the whole pregnancy but there was an appointment where I gained 3 or 4 lbs (water weight, it was gone the next day) and she said I “need to get up off the couch and move”. I had swam more than a mile the night before.

The juxtaposition between my OB and the gestational diabetes clinic that I was referred to was stark. The clinic was full of friendly nurses, dietitians and social workers who made navigating not only the gestational diabetes but my insulin resistance so much easier.

I took my diagnosis very seriously, I was not going to let me eating affect my daughter negatively.

You need carbs, but you should be eating them in small amounts throughout the day. The following is the schedule they had me on. The times in parenthesis are based on a 6:30am wake up and 10:00pm bed time, this would be adjusted based on wake up time.

Morning Snack (7:00am): 15 - 30 grams of carbs

Breakfast(10:30am): 15 - 30 grams of carbs

Lunch(12:00pm): 45 grams of carbs

Afternoon Snack(3:00pm): 15 -30 grams of carbs

Dinner(6:00pm): 45 grams of carbs

Pre-bed snack(9:30pm): 15 - 30 grams of carbs

Another habit I picked up while doing this was going on a small walk after lunch and dinner. This walk is typically 10 mins or so, just getting up and keeping your body moving for ten minutes. If I do the dishes after dinner I try and move around a lot while doing them, or turn on some music and dance a little.

Keeping up with this carb break down has been imperative in my weight loss journey post-baby. When I was still on maternity leave I was busy taking care of our daughter so I had to make sure I had good snacks to easily grab, and now that I am back at work it is even more important.

Below are my favorite snacks that are between 15 and 30 grams of carbs in convenient prepackaged servings:

• Nature’s Garden Probiotic Yoggies - These come in packages that are exactly 15 grams of carbs. They are delicious and my favorite pre-bed snack.

• Madegood Granola Bites - Similar to Yoggies, these come in a perfect snack sized pack. They are perfect on the go.

• Hillshire Snacking Plates - Some of these are less than 15 grams of carbs so I would like to pair them with a pack of nuts. But these are perfect for an afternoon snack, its like your own little person Charcuterie board.

• Planters Variety Pack Nuts - For me, limited serving size is always best. I love these nuts as an easy grab for in the car or taking with me for work.

• Entenmann’s Chocolate Donut - Ok hear me out. There are only 26 grams of carbs in these and this was the only thing I craved while pregnant. But most importantly, it is not about restricting what you eat, but about making sure that you are getting the right amount of what you need.

I love fruit and veggies so I always eat a healthy mix of those and easy to grab snacks. If you have gestational diabetes, just know that some things will make your glucose spike and there is no rhyme or reason to it. Life is about balance and it is ok to eat things that you love, as well as making sure you are getting healthy snacks as well.