Hello all,
I just found out that I'm 4 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have T1 and celiac disease, and am feeling overwhelmed about how to eat to keep blood sugars down while still maintaining gluten free. I can't tolerate soy well so that's out. Any tips from other people who have done this before?
Jamie
Congratulations! I ate a very paleo-influenced diet with my second pregnancy, and had better control than I had with my first, during which I ate more carbs. I would say cram in as many vegetables as possible, and then think about high-quality protein like beans and lentils, plain whole-milk yogurt, nuts, meat, etc. Everyone seems to have different foods that spike your bg, but I did very well with brown rice and barley, in terms of grains.
Thank you! I've been wondering about paleo-influenced foods and as an option so it's good to hear from someone who used it successfully. The tips on high quality proteins are good too. I'll have to see how whole grain carbs like the ones you suggested affect me. I've had what seems like an increased insulin resistance over the past week or so, maybe from hormones, and it seems like no matter what carb I eat I get a post meal spike.
I know how that is! It's so frustrating, and unfortunately it's a big part of pregnancy with type 1. Do some browsing of older discussions on this group and you'll find lots of tips for preventing the spikes. A big one is bolusing/injecting your meal insulin at least 15 minutes before you start eating (while of course being very careful to check your bg to make sure you're not going too low). At some points in my pregnancy, I needed to bolus as early as 20 or 30 minutes ahead. If you have a CGM, that can really help you see when the insulin is actually starting to lower your bg. And that's another good tip: if at all possible, get a CGM if you don't already have one. I recommend the Dexcom G4.
Definitely start reading some of the older discussions, and good luck! And keep asking questions!
PS If you do decide to go for a lower-carb diet, be prepared for some resistance from your medical team. My doctors and diabetes educator were very uncomfortable with my diet because they were worried it would cause ketones that would affect the baby's development. While I did not eat an extremely low-carb diet, I ate many fewer carbs than they wanted me to, and my baby was and is perfectly healthy. She's 8 months old now and is hitting all of her milestones right on time. That of course is just "anecdotal evidence," but I just wanted to share my experience.Thank you again for sharing your experience!!