14th week appointment: Doctor to me: "I see you have a big family history of Type II diabetes, you have a higher BMI, although everything else looks perfectly fine. I suggest you take the Glucose Tolerance Test early maybe before the end of this week."
That's when my heart raced so fast that I could here it beating in my eyes!! And as very much feared I was indeed intolerant of crabohydrate marking me as a high risk pregnancy. What followed then was series of tests one ultrasound for checking baby's heart another for brain, the list was endless. Like every other GD candidate I too was sent over to meet a dietician. One in Obstetrix Medical Group.
It is what later became my routine week after week. I appreciated the enlightenment that was bestowed upon me by the dietician but what I detested the most was the way she addressed me. Seems like they treat all women with GD as kindergarteners who have no idea as to what has them clutched by its tentacles. Her words to me were,"You are a high risk pregnancy and if you do not control your sugar level then you could end up having a 12 lbs baby or a pre term labor both of which are extremely dangerous." Having said that she gave me a list of food items that I could eat which was nothing!!
For the first time in my life I cursed myself for being a vegeterian. I mean my diet was supposed to consist of 30gms carbohydrate and 30 grams of protien at a gap of every two hours. I found carbohydrate everywhere but protien was something that I failed to find. It came as a shocker to me the fact as to how much little protien as a vegeterian I ate.
The first two weeks were the hardest of all since I practically starved at every meal and started losing considerable weight which caused my dietician to panic. She called me over immediately and warned me that I could put my health in jeopardy by not eating right. For half an hour she lectured me on how I might have to go on insulin and that is when she pissed me off. Totally!!!
I mean here I was struggling to find alternatives to my new lifestyle and there she was treating me with carrot and stick approach. I snarled at her and fired back. I made it very clear to her that if this is how she intended to behave then I would be forced to find a new dietician and she can kiss her $400 every appointment good bye!
That's when she came to her senses and gave me time to get used to my new ally. Ally, yes because GD was this rude awakening that I got. Something that made me realize how easily I was fooled by labels at supermarket. How everything that glittered was not gold. For instance lentils, half a cup of cooked lentils has around 30 grams of carb and only 5 grams of protien, oats that the world is so crazy about has more carbs than one could dream of and less than 3 grams of protien. Bottom line is carb is unhealthy just as the way all purpose flour or any other fried item is! Carbs unless burnt in the right manner automatically turn into sugar and then fat which leads to obesity so people who eat the so-called right food and wonder why they are not loosing food need to know that a human body does not need more than 90 grams of carb and protien each on any given day.
Anything more or less unless burnt is dangerous! Apart from my struggles and deep ended frustration here are some cursors for vegeterians who suffer with GD:
1. There is this protien shake at walmart which provides 30 grams of protien and can be substituted as breakfast at any time.
2. Know and remember that one chapati or dosa has 30 grams of carb and less than 2 grams of protien
3. Egg if you can eat is a very good source of protien with very little carb
4. 8 oz of milk is 15 grams carb and can be used as a source of food and energy
5. Yogurt again just like milk should be eaten in ample quantities because it is a good source of protien
6. Quinoa is very high in carbs though better than white rice and the way it works is that it burns itself very slowly there by giving time for a individual to exercise and keep weight in control since the individual is bound to feel full for a long time but in my case I was hungry within an hour.
7. Kuthari, urpell or kusla akki as it is called in south kanara and kerala is excellent source of fiber and protien. It has lesser carbs than other alternatives such as brown rice though brown rice is equally good
8. Avoid white rice at any cost. There were days when I had to eat white rice and realized that one cup cooked white rice shot my sugar levels out of the roof
9. Avoid sugar even in juice or coffee and tea. One spoon sugar would keep my levels high the whole day. Try splenda instead
10. There are plenty of fruits such as plums, oranges, and others which have some protien and vitamin C and can be eaten two at a time. Avoid banana if possible since it is all carb and potassium
11. You can happily snack on fried items such as one small samosa or one cup of churmuri since they are not all carbs. It does not have carbs but has saturated fat. So beware about the quantity you plan on eating!!!!
12. Avoid maida, sabudana, besan/chick pea flour, these are what I call as poison that can almost create doomsday scenario for a GD candidate
13. Remember to eat once in every two hours. Any gap longer than that can create higher sugar levels.
14. You can find plenty of crackers and icecreams that are sugar free and low in carb at stores. Indulge and binge.
15. Try eating raw vegetables or grill them I do it almost all the time and I love it.
16. If you crave for white rice then there is this diabetic rice of Laxmi brand that is available at Indian stores that I use which keeps the sugar level under control.
More of all it is important to not let GD interfere in your time to have fun. If you are with friends and want to eat outside go for it. Do not pay heed to the dietician I have done enough research and mainly spoken to my OB gyn who made it very clear that occasional indulgence is OK! I am yet to come across a vegeterian woman who has given birth to a twelve pound baby.
Of course excercise is quintessential and that goes without saying. Do not excercise with the hope to have a vaginal delivery since that part of child birth depends heavily on situations and conditions.
These are few of the things I did and tips I have to offer. I know how it feels to know that you cannot eat what you crave for but hey! look at the upside when the world is busy gaining weight here you are looking just the way you did and fitting into your old tank tops just fine.
All I invested in was a pair of elastic pants other than that I was good to go and still am. Currently i am 34 weeks pregnant and with the diet and excercise mentioned above I have kept my GD well under control and am not using any medication. So if that gives even an ounce of hope to women somewhere then I am good to go. So long and happy bulging belly!
That's when my heart raced so fast that I could here it beating in my eyes!! And as very much feared I was indeed intolerant of crabohydrate marking me as a high risk pregnancy. What followed then was series of tests one ultrasound for checking baby's heart another for brain, the list was endless. Like every other GD candidate I too was sent over to meet a dietician. One in Obstetrix Medical Group.
It is what later became my routine week after week. I appreciated the enlightenment that was bestowed upon me by the dietician but what I detested the most was the way she addressed me. Seems like they treat all women with GD as kindergarteners who have no idea as to what has them clutched by its tentacles. Her words to me were,"You are a high risk pregnancy and if you do not control your sugar level then you could end up having a 12 lbs baby or a pre term labor both of which are extremely dangerous." Having said that she gave me a list of food items that I could eat which was nothing!!
For the first time in my life I cursed myself for being a vegeterian. I mean my diet was supposed to consist of 30gms carbohydrate and 30 grams of protien at a gap of every two hours. I found carbohydrate everywhere but protien was something that I failed to find. It came as a shocker to me the fact as to how much little protien as a vegeterian I ate.
The first two weeks were the hardest of all since I practically starved at every meal and started losing considerable weight which caused my dietician to panic. She called me over immediately and warned me that I could put my health in jeopardy by not eating right. For half an hour she lectured me on how I might have to go on insulin and that is when she pissed me off. Totally!!!
I mean here I was struggling to find alternatives to my new lifestyle and there she was treating me with carrot and stick approach. I snarled at her and fired back. I made it very clear to her that if this is how she intended to behave then I would be forced to find a new dietician and she can kiss her $400 every appointment good bye!
That's when she came to her senses and gave me time to get used to my new ally. Ally, yes because GD was this rude awakening that I got. Something that made me realize how easily I was fooled by labels at supermarket. How everything that glittered was not gold. For instance lentils, half a cup of cooked lentils has around 30 grams of carb and only 5 grams of protien, oats that the world is so crazy about has more carbs than one could dream of and less than 3 grams of protien. Bottom line is carb is unhealthy just as the way all purpose flour or any other fried item is! Carbs unless burnt in the right manner automatically turn into sugar and then fat which leads to obesity so people who eat the so-called right food and wonder why they are not loosing food need to know that a human body does not need more than 90 grams of carb and protien each on any given day.
Anything more or less unless burnt is dangerous! Apart from my struggles and deep ended frustration here are some cursors for vegeterians who suffer with GD:
1. There is this protien shake at walmart which provides 30 grams of protien and can be substituted as breakfast at any time.
2. Know and remember that one chapati or dosa has 30 grams of carb and less than 2 grams of protien
3. Egg if you can eat is a very good source of protien with very little carb
4. 8 oz of milk is 15 grams carb and can be used as a source of food and energy
5. Yogurt again just like milk should be eaten in ample quantities because it is a good source of protien
6. Quinoa is very high in carbs though better than white rice and the way it works is that it burns itself very slowly there by giving time for a individual to exercise and keep weight in control since the individual is bound to feel full for a long time but in my case I was hungry within an hour.
7. Kuthari, urpell or kusla akki as it is called in south kanara and kerala is excellent source of fiber and protien. It has lesser carbs than other alternatives such as brown rice though brown rice is equally good
8. Avoid white rice at any cost. There were days when I had to eat white rice and realized that one cup cooked white rice shot my sugar levels out of the roof
9. Avoid sugar even in juice or coffee and tea. One spoon sugar would keep my levels high the whole day. Try splenda instead
10. There are plenty of fruits such as plums, oranges, and others which have some protien and vitamin C and can be eaten two at a time. Avoid banana if possible since it is all carb and potassium
11. You can happily snack on fried items such as one small samosa or one cup of churmuri since they are not all carbs. It does not have carbs but has saturated fat. So beware about the quantity you plan on eating!!!!
12. Avoid maida, sabudana, besan/chick pea flour, these are what I call as poison that can almost create doomsday scenario for a GD candidate
13. Remember to eat once in every two hours. Any gap longer than that can create higher sugar levels.
14. You can find plenty of crackers and icecreams that are sugar free and low in carb at stores. Indulge and binge.
15. Try eating raw vegetables or grill them I do it almost all the time and I love it.
16. If you crave for white rice then there is this diabetic rice of Laxmi brand that is available at Indian stores that I use which keeps the sugar level under control.
More of all it is important to not let GD interfere in your time to have fun. If you are with friends and want to eat outside go for it. Do not pay heed to the dietician I have done enough research and mainly spoken to my OB gyn who made it very clear that occasional indulgence is OK! I am yet to come across a vegeterian woman who has given birth to a twelve pound baby.
Of course excercise is quintessential and that goes without saying. Do not excercise with the hope to have a vaginal delivery since that part of child birth depends heavily on situations and conditions.
These are few of the things I did and tips I have to offer. I know how it feels to know that you cannot eat what you crave for but hey! look at the upside when the world is busy gaining weight here you are looking just the way you did and fitting into your old tank tops just fine.
All I invested in was a pair of elastic pants other than that I was good to go and still am. Currently i am 34 weeks pregnant and with the diet and excercise mentioned above I have kept my GD well under control and am not using any medication. So if that gives even an ounce of hope to women somewhere then I am good to go. So long and happy bulging belly!
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