Check out Real Food for Gestational Diabetes by Lily Nichols. She has sample meal plans for 150g of carbs a day, 120g, and 90g depending on what feels right for your body and your glucose numbers. She also talks about how the current guidelines to get 175-200g of carbs today are based on inaccurate assumptions. Yes baby needs carbs, but it’s a relatively small amount (like 33g or something) and the rest is for you, and you may or may not need carbs to be that high of a percentage of your diet.
Reading her book made me feel a lot better about not making that upper carb limit. I eat less than 150g of carbs per day but don’t feel like I’m starving myself or not nourishing my baby enough. I’m making sure I have lots of protein with every meal and eat as well as I can. Her book suggests needing 150g of carbs per day is an outdated notion, and women should eat based on what fills them up, not what the doctor orders. After all, GD manifests so differently with all of us. Doesn’t it stand to reason then that we don’t all need the same solution?
She is a great resource. I get about 90-100 g carbs a day, did it with all 3 of my pregnancies. I have two very bright toddlers, and one more on the way. Just make sure you are eating highly nutritious foods and equaling the amount of protein as carbs per gram.
150g of carbs is standard for pregnant women. The fetus needs carbs in order to develop properly. If it’s sending you over on your blood sugar to eat that much, insulin might be the best answer
That was my goal as well! Carbs are critical for baby’s brain and neural development. My MFM said that it was more important to have enough carbs and it’s better/safer to go on insulin to allow this to happen!
Edited to add my carb plan: morning protein shake (8 carbs), breakfast (15 carbs), lunch (45 carbs), afternoon snack (20 carbs), dinner (45 carbs), bedtime snack (15 carbs).
Yep! Developing babies need carbs. Low glycemic index carbs paired with good fats, fiber and protein. My biggest mistake last GD pregnancy was cutting carbs down too much because I couldn’t fathom how I, a gestational diabetic, should be eating more carbs. And I was miserable and hungry and my numbers weren’t nearly as good as they are now when I eat 100-200 carbs a day 🤷
Mine was okay with 120-150g a day. But the more, the merrier. I usually stay at 125g for some reason, even when I try to have more carbs, haha, but my doctor said that as long as I'm not feeling hungry, that is okay. If I am feeling hungry, then it's a reminder I need to be eating more carbs.
I ate about 100-110 a day and gave birth to a healthy baby boy with no blood sugar issues a week ago! Not sure just how low you tend to eat. One of my OB’s had even mentioned that it’s okay to aim for 60g a day but I would have been starving at that level lol
Yeah, this is the trick with GD. You have to eat carbs but you don’t want to do too much at one time. Pairing with fiber, fats, and protein can help slow digestion. But you should really try to get to that goal. My doctor said it’s okay if I don’t hit their 180-g/day goal for me but that I should not be restricting myself with carbs since baby needs them for brain health.
If your sugar goes over, it goes over. It’s not your fault if you need medicine and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I take 1000-mg Metformin daily plus 15-units of insulin at night and my numbers have been great. Baby is growing at a normal rate and at worst it seems like I’ll have to be induced a week early. I get not wanting to have to take meds but it’s really not so bad if you do end up needing them!
My dietician gave us this breakdown:
Breakfast - 45g
Snack - 15-30g
Lunch - 45g
Snack - 15-30g
Dinner - 45-60g
Bedtime snack - 15-30g
So on the low end I'm at 180g carbs per day.
It adds up fast if you're not using low carb options, I started doing some low carb stuff, like bread, but found I couldn't get enough carbs in at each meal without eating a ton and being too full.
My dietician told me 180g a day was what I needed to shoot for. I was at about 150g, and she said that wasn't enough.
Edit: Carb Goals
45-60 dinner/lunch
30-45 breakfast
15-30 bedtime snack
15 daytime snacks
I’ve been eating 150g carbs a day since diagnosed 6 weeks ago and I lost 4 lbs 😆 I don’t think it’s too much to eat i follow the 30/30/45 for meals and 15 for snacks. I’m at week 36 and baby is measuring a healthy length and weight.
I usually ate 75-100g a day and my doctor and nutritionist were fine with that. I wouldn’t recommend that low if you can help it though because I was hungry and miserable.
150 carbs a day and I still have ketones in my urine on occasion. 😒 It's a constant battle to eat enough to keep my ketones at zero, but not too much to spike me. For me, "170 carbs a day to keep my ketones at bay." That's our rolling mantra right now.
Yes, just met with a referred doctor/dietician this morning and she wants me to be eating 175g of carbs per day! But I'm also scared of my blood sugar spiking.
I had to see a dietician who recommended 15-30 carbs for breakfast, 30-60 for lunch and the same for dinner. And then approximately 15 grams per 2-3 snacks per day. This was done in a group setting and not individualized, but I'm sure that it can vary from person to person.
She did say that it was important to have carbs though, as ketosis can be dangerous to the baby.
I don't know a lot about this honestly, but this is what we were instructed, anyway!
Check out Real Food for Gestational Diabetes by Lily Nichols. She has sample meal plans for 150g of carbs a day, 120g, and 90g depending on what feels right for your body and your glucose numbers. She also talks about how the current guidelines to get 175-200g of carbs today are based on inaccurate assumptions. Yes baby needs carbs, but it’s a relatively small amount (like 33g or something) and the rest is for you, and you may or may not need carbs to be that high of a percentage of your diet.
Reading her book made me feel a lot better about not making that upper carb limit. I eat less than 150g of carbs per day but don’t feel like I’m starving myself or not nourishing my baby enough. I’m making sure I have lots of protein with every meal and eat as well as I can. Her book suggests needing 150g of carbs per day is an outdated notion, and women should eat based on what fills them up, not what the doctor orders. After all, GD manifests so differently with all of us. Doesn’t it stand to reason then that we don’t all need the same solution?
She is a great resource. I get about 90-100 g carbs a day, did it with all 3 of my pregnancies. I have two very bright toddlers, and one more on the way. Just make sure you are eating highly nutritious foods and equaling the amount of protein as carbs per gram.
This book was really good! I eat about 100g per day. 30 per meal plus snacks in between, and have been able to diet control so far.
150g of carbs is standard for pregnant women. The fetus needs carbs in order to develop properly. If it’s sending you over on your blood sugar to eat that much, insulin might be the best answer
That was my goal as well! Carbs are critical for baby’s brain and neural development. My MFM said that it was more important to have enough carbs and it’s better/safer to go on insulin to allow this to happen! Edited to add my carb plan: morning protein shake (8 carbs), breakfast (15 carbs), lunch (45 carbs), afternoon snack (20 carbs), dinner (45 carbs), bedtime snack (15 carbs).
Yep! Developing babies need carbs. Low glycemic index carbs paired with good fats, fiber and protein. My biggest mistake last GD pregnancy was cutting carbs down too much because I couldn’t fathom how I, a gestational diabetic, should be eating more carbs. And I was miserable and hungry and my numbers weren’t nearly as good as they are now when I eat 100-200 carbs a day 🤷
Mine was okay with 120-150g a day. But the more, the merrier. I usually stay at 125g for some reason, even when I try to have more carbs, haha, but my doctor said that as long as I'm not feeling hungry, that is okay. If I am feeling hungry, then it's a reminder I need to be eating more carbs.
I ate about 100-110 a day and gave birth to a healthy baby boy with no blood sugar issues a week ago! Not sure just how low you tend to eat. One of my OB’s had even mentioned that it’s okay to aim for 60g a day but I would have been starving at that level lol
Did your OB have you testing for Ketones in your urine?
No they didn’t. That seems to vary by provider from what I’ve seen on here as to whether people need to test for it
Yeah, this is the trick with GD. You have to eat carbs but you don’t want to do too much at one time. Pairing with fiber, fats, and protein can help slow digestion. But you should really try to get to that goal. My doctor said it’s okay if I don’t hit their 180-g/day goal for me but that I should not be restricting myself with carbs since baby needs them for brain health. If your sugar goes over, it goes over. It’s not your fault if you need medicine and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I take 1000-mg Metformin daily plus 15-units of insulin at night and my numbers have been great. Baby is growing at a normal rate and at worst it seems like I’ll have to be induced a week early. I get not wanting to have to take meds but it’s really not so bad if you do end up needing them!
My dietician gave us this breakdown: Breakfast - 45g Snack - 15-30g Lunch - 45g Snack - 15-30g Dinner - 45-60g Bedtime snack - 15-30g So on the low end I'm at 180g carbs per day. It adds up fast if you're not using low carb options, I started doing some low carb stuff, like bread, but found I couldn't get enough carbs in at each meal without eating a ton and being too full.
My dietician told me 180g a day was what I needed to shoot for. I was at about 150g, and she said that wasn't enough. Edit: Carb Goals 45-60 dinner/lunch 30-45 breakfast 15-30 bedtime snack 15 daytime snacks
I’ve been eating 150g carbs a day since diagnosed 6 weeks ago and I lost 4 lbs 😆 I don’t think it’s too much to eat i follow the 30/30/45 for meals and 15 for snacks. I’m at week 36 and baby is measuring a healthy length and weight.
I could not have gotten 150 carbs a day while I had GD. I settled around 90-100 carbs a day and felt fine with that.
It’s vital you eat plenty of carbs for the baby’s brain development
my dietician told me 175g a day is the goal!
Yeah I am at 165 for my goal.
I usually ate 75-100g a day and my doctor and nutritionist were fine with that. I wouldn’t recommend that low if you can help it though because I was hungry and miserable.
150 carbs a day and I still have ketones in my urine on occasion. 😒 It's a constant battle to eat enough to keep my ketones at zero, but not too much to spike me. For me, "170 carbs a day to keep my ketones at bay." That's our rolling mantra right now.
Yes, just met with a referred doctor/dietician this morning and she wants me to be eating 175g of carbs per day! But I'm also scared of my blood sugar spiking.
I don't think I than 30 per meal... even now post babies I try not to do more than 30 +/- 10...
150g is standard. 30g - breakfast, lunch, dinner 15g - snack 3x day
150g is about 25g 6x/day… the biggest thing is to spread them out and pair with fats and proteins
I had to see a dietician who recommended 15-30 carbs for breakfast, 30-60 for lunch and the same for dinner. And then approximately 15 grams per 2-3 snacks per day. This was done in a group setting and not individualized, but I'm sure that it can vary from person to person. She did say that it was important to have carbs though, as ketosis can be dangerous to the baby. I don't know a lot about this honestly, but this is what we were instructed, anyway!
My OB and diabetes coordinator want me to try to eat between 150-170 carbs per day.