I am now 15 weeks along and just left an appointment with my doctor. The nurse basically made me feel like crap and told me that I have gained too much weight early on in my pregnancy (I’ve gained about 15 pounds already). I have been T1 for over 25 years and have pretty tight control right now (my last A1C was 6.2) and I’ve been focusing more on my numbers than on my eating. Looking back, I realize that I’ve been eating WAY more carbs than I did before the pregnancy, and that is probably a huge contributing factor.
Has anyone else dealt with the same thing? Any suggestions for good low carb/low calorie snacks?
I keep cheese sticks in the fridge at work for when I need a bite but can’t or don’t want to stop to bolus. Also? Lots of almonds. They aren’t exactly low calorie, but they are fairly low carb.
But don’t let the nurse make you feel bad. In my early pregnancy, they kept giving me crap for not gaining enough (even though I, too, was eating more food and more carbs), even after my OB said I was right on track. One of the nurses even said, “Just go to Braums every night!” (Braums is a regional fast food joint famous for its icecream.) After that, I decided I’d just pay attention to my OB’s recommendations on weight.
omg, unless YOU are uncomfortable, i’d just do what i feel is best for my body. I’m on a pregnancy forum in another site and there are so many women that gain weight in the first and second trimester, and then dont gain ANYTHING in the third. You may be one of those women.
Don’t feel like CRAP. You’re making a baby! Doctors dont know everything.
I’ve gained 20 lbs and i’m 30 weeks. I craved a lot of salads, so that’s what i ate. I dont watch my carbs since getting pregnant, but i eat lots of veggies. That’s what my baby wants, so i give it to her.
Cheese is one of my problem foods! I think I could eat an entire block of cheese in one day, which is a big problem! But I still appreciate the suggestion!
My OB definitely was not as concerned as the nurse-and she even apologized for her. I will try not the let the nurse get to me next time and only see my doctor
Thank you so much for your response! MY OB basically said the same thing to me today about some women gaining in the beginning and then not later on…I HOPE I am one of those women!
Well I was about the same as you at that point! I had a fair amount of lows, which didn’t help with the weight gain issue. Those have tapered off mostly (I’m 22 weeks now), so I’m hoping the weight gain will slow a bit. My doctors didn’t seem too concerned about it, so I have just been trying to mostly focus on my numbers, like you were saying. It’s been hard for me to realize that I might gain more weight than a non-diabetic woman, mostly because of having lows and correcting those…but in the end, as long as my baby is healthy, I have to tell myself that it won’t matter.
As far as low calorie snacks, I really like baby carrots Or veggies with ranch dressing or hummus. And popcorn! Okay, now I’m hungry… Good luck!
The lows are really one of the things that I think are getting me as well. I’m working hard with my CDE to change basals and carb ratios, but right now I keep going low in the mornings (after breakfast) no matter what I do. I just really dislike dealing with nurses who work at the high risk OBs office but really know NOTHING about living with T1!
Thank you again!! And good luck with your journey as well.
Yeah I would have lows at my post-breakfast reading - and then it was as if I had to eat a second breakfast!! I just kept lowering my basal rates in the morning. Right now that’s my lowest basal rate of the day, and I sometimes still have lows, but not as consistently.
Thanks Christina. It is so strange how much my insulin need have been changing! Right when I found out I was pregnant I was having highs early morning and now the lows! Thank you for sharing your experience!
Don’t be hard on yourself, I gained 80 lbs with my last pregnancy and only weighed 100 when I started haha! I gained all of my weight in my first 2 trimesters and none in my 3rd. How many carbs are you currently eating per day?
My fav low carb snacks:
Celery with cream cheese or peanut butter
Hard boiled egg whites with salt
100 calorie packs Emerald Cocoa Roasted Almonds 4 carbs
Broccoli steamed with cheese on top or raw with a few tbsp of Ranch
There are also many of those prepackaged 100 calorie packs and most of them have 12-17 carbs per bag
Deli Turkey made into little rolls
Bread&Butter splenda pickles
Nature Valley Nut Bars they are delish and only 13 carbs
Lil Mama. You’re so cute. 80 lbs? that makes me feel so much better because based on your profile pix, you look fantastic again! I’m pretty tired of hearing everyone say that I’ll never look the same again after baby comes. I was in the best shape of my life when we conceived (partly WHY we conceived, haha) and I’m starting to feel like a beached whale. I know I’m being too hard on myself, but as a recovering anorexic/ bulimic it’s hard to hear even family members joke that I"m “getting fat”. Just trying to focus on producing a healthy baby.
I actually used to be anorexic myself and never ate correctly until I became pregnant with my first…aaannnnddd obviously I went a lil overboard haha!! You def can get back to your pre pregnancy weight and be a hott mama don’t listen to everyone else! I lost my weight in only a few months, heck childbirth made me lose about 25-30 lbs! Don’t worry about it just try to eat healthy and enjoy this time you can diet after the baby is born. By the way breastfeeding burns 500 calories a day and lowers bg!! Win win right!? You can also combine breastfeeding with a low carb diet and bam you are a skinny mini in NO time!
haha. That’s what I like to hear! I’m planning to breastfeed because I have such a low immune system, that I’m hoping to boost hers with that. But the calorie burn absolutely helps in me trying even harder to make sure she latches on.
I’ve been a lot better regarding the anorexia for about 6 years now. But, my appetite is GONE, so I’ve been scheduling eating times to make sure she eats when she needs to, regardless of if I’m hungry or not. I’ve only gained 20 lbs so far and we’re 31 weeks now. I’m just so SWOLLEN. Even my face.
25-30 lbs during birth? Wow! I heard it would be like 15 lbs. Another reason why I want a natural birth, to push all that stuff out!!
I got a sample of my skinny ankles yesterday. All of a sudden, my ankles were all boney & curvy again. I havent seen those beautiful things for months! Was fearing having cankles for life.
Few more weeks to go. I love that she’s safe in there, but I’m so ready to meet her and get her out! I need to just fastforward these last weeks. So uncomfortable lately.
20 lbs!? Keep up the great work Mama! Hope I can say the same in 20 more weeks haha. Have you low carbed or exercised during pregnancy? Did you ever start on Metformin for the insulin resistance?? I know I took it with my pregnancy last time for gestational and it made me have no appetite.
