Yesterday I mentioned in my last post that I was considering
going low carb to maybe help with the insulin resistance in pregnancy. That
afternoon I ate lunch a little later than usual but my BGs spiked before even
eating lunch and I waited about 40 minutes after taking my insulin before
eating. Even still with the waiting and accurate amount of insulin I still
spiked up to 208 about 2 hours after lunch. Frustrating. I emailed my CDE
asking for her advice on going low carb and she called me not long after to talk
to me and answer any questions and try to ease my fears. Since I haven’t
mentioned it lately, I still think she’s great! I have such a great support system
with both her and my high risk OB. They are pretty fantastic. Anyway, so
this is what I learned and she said about low carbing it. Being prego going low
carb is a big NO NO! She said that it’s not healthy for me or the baby. There
are nutrients in the carbohydrate foods that both of us need. Those are things
that I pretty much figured but I had read that some T1D pregos have done the
low carb thing to help minimize the highs. I don’t care how much insulin I need
to take, I’ll take whatever is needed to work, I’m not trying to avoid taking
insulin, I’m trying to avoid the highs. What I did learn from Deb is that
apparently the minimum requirement for pregnant women on a daily basis is 160
grams of carbs. Now, if you are not diabetic and have never paid attention to
carb counts I’m sure that sounds like a lot, but really it’s not at all. If you
are a regular soda drinker one can of soda typically has about 35-45 grams of
carbs. An everything bagel from Trader Joe’s has a total of 60 grams of
carbohydrate, 1 individual serving size bag of Cheeze-its has 25 grams of
carbohydrate. A peanut butter protein Kind Bar has 17 grams, and a Burger King
Whopper Jr and small fry has 76 grams of carbohydrate total. I know that these
are random food items, but see, I’m hoping that those items help you to see how
easy it is to eat way more than 160 grams of carbs in a day. Deb told me that
if I do want to stay on the low end of the carb spectrum that she would like
for me to ration out my carbs this way:
Breakfast (because it can be the worst meal of the day to
send BGs sky high): 30 grams
Morning snack: 15 grams
Lunch: 45 grams
Afternoon snack: 15 grams
Dinner: 45 grams
Evening snack: 30
I have been having about 30 grams of carbs as an evening
snack in a mug of frozen yogurt. I’ve found that either the brand Skinny Cow
ice cream or frozen yogurt do not mess with my BGs the way regular ice cream or
frozen custard does. It’s a total miracle! I hadn’t admitted to Deb that I was
already eating that just about every night, but after she told me the breakdown
of the least amount she would like for me to eat as I listed above she went on
to say to enjoy food. Stop stressing, that this is going to happen, my insulin
needs will continue to increase and we will get it worked out. She said to eat
fun things. She is the one that actually brought up and encouraged me to eat
Skinny Cow bars! That’s when I admitted to my indulgence and she said I should
try plane vanilla frozen yogurt with pumpkin pie spice. I did and it’s to die for. She also said that if I want something close
to apple pie to chop up an apple, microwave it until soft and add pumpkin pie
spice to that as well. I will be trying this one FYI!
Altho I have her tips and “ permission” and her encouragement does make me feel a bit
better. I did end up spiking after the frozen yogurt last night and wouldn't come down to under 140 till almost 4 this morning. I’ll be sending her my numbers later today for more adjustments because
I’m really not happy with how yesterday and the night before looked. You know
the t-shirts that say “Stay Calm…” with whatever after it? I need one that says
“Stay Calm and dose insulin and enjoy your food”. Here’s to insulin resistance
and pregnancy! I’ll do my best as always, and keep eating to keep little girl
fed.
***As usual, these are just my opinions, thoughts and what my doctor/CDE has told me. I am not a medical professional in any way shape or form. If your doctor, nurse or CDE says something different, please follow their advice or ask them questions regarding anything that I have written. Please do not take any of what I say as medical advice.***
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