I’ve gotten a few emails and comments asking what exactly I do for the Diabetic diet. So I decided to post it for you all to see since I am having such great success on it, both with losing weight AND keeping my sugar in check.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases*
When I was pregnant with my daughter 5 years ago, I failed the 1 hour glucose test (that test where they make you drink the nasty stuff) so they sent me to do the 3 hour test. Yep…failed that one too. So I got put on the Diabetic Diet. At that time, much like I felt a month ago, I thought my world had come to an end…yes I realize I am a tad dramatic! But I quickly fell into a routine of what I can eat and can’t eat, and it worked because each week I went to get blood drawn and never ONCE since going on that diet did I have any issues with high sugar. Plus I only gained 12lbs with that pregnancy…so much better than the 55lbs I gained with my son. Here’s a picture of me about 1 month before I had my daughter. My face is thinner in this picture than it is of me now (but I’m getting back there).
So back to the Diabetic Diet info. When I was told that my sugar was high, they recommended I watch my carbohydrate intake. Since I had already been down this road before, I knew “watch your carbohydrate intake” was code for, give up all the yummy food you used to eat and go on the Diabetic Diet. Being that I got these test results right before my 30th birthday, all I could think about was the cake I was NOT going to get to eat. Sad isn’t it? After a few days of completely freaking out about food, I bought a book called What Do I Eat Now?
Here is what I do in a nutshell:
- 30-45 carbs per meal…when I was pregnant with my daughter, I saw a nutritionist and I vaguely remember her telling me to only eat 15 carbs for breakfast. I don’t remember why, but I didn’t read that in my new book so I do try to stay at the 30 carb mark for breakfast, but 45 for lunch and dinner.
- ONE 15 carb snack…I try to make sure this snack has protein and fiber…that way I stay fuller longer.
- Diet pop (which I know has it’s own debates right now, but I can only give up one thing at a time)…my drink of choice, Diet Mt. Dew.
- Lots of veggies…though you have to watch the starchy veggies and baby carrots. They have carbs.
- Limit your fruit and make sure you eat your fruit with protein…apples, blueberries and cherries are EXCELLENT fruits to help keep your blood sugar in check.
- Drink LOTS of water…I’ve been VERY thirsty lately. So while I do drink Diet Pop which is 0 sugar and 0 carbs, I only really drink ONE per day…the rest is water.
- Use MyFitnessPal.com to log all of my food and exercise…I love the android app for my phone! There is a barcode thingy where I can scan a food and it inputs all of the stats for that food!
Let me tell you, after just one day or two following this diet, I have felt SOOOOOO much better. As soon as I cheat and have something I shouldn’t that is maybe WAY too many carbs, I feel all bloated and nasty. So while it stinks sometimes, it really is for the best. So now, all I have to do is get my Vitamin D level up, lose some more weight and I will be pretty healthy (for the most part).
Which, by the way…for those of you that read my post on my Vitamin D level…you also need to look into and ask your doctor about taking Magnesium along with Vitamin D to help alleviate some of the HORRIBLE headaches and side effects I am feeling from having such a low level of Vitamin D.
If you have any questions, please ask! I don’t mind answering from my point of view. But please note, I am not a doctor and you should always take the advice of your doctor. But I do recommend clicking on the link for the book I posted above and consider purchasing it. It really is a big help, but SUPER easy to read and follow.
I was diabetic while pregnant and followed a pretty similar diet and even now I do my best to each clean, which is very similar to a diabetic diet. You can really tell how good you feel when you pick a day to NOT eat well. You feel like garbage!