How to reduce fasting values with diet?.gestational diabetes.?

Question

Hi all,

I have gestational diabetes .Since past 2 weeks, i have been on diet for that.I am always under 140 after 1 hr of meals but my fasting is always close to the upper range..like 93, 95 ,96.I am not able to keep it low.I tried walking after my dinner snack, reduce my carbs in snacks...its not helping.Any tips to bring it down without medication..please advise.

I am grateful for all the useful tips.

Answer 1

That's actually a decent fasting.  Even if it's close to the range it's still okay - it's not like you want to be 20 points lower every morning!

There are a couple of things you can try:

- walking after dinner (as you are already doing)

- eating a good protein oriented snack at bedtime, preferrably something that breaks down slowly. In other words, don't make it a glass of milk, make more like a lean meat or some cottage cheese.



The most effective way is to take a long-acting insulin such as Lantus.  

Answer 2

You do not want your fasting glucose any lower than it is in the 90s!!! that is a perfectly normal fasting and glucose number. Anything between 70 and 100 is a fantastic number.

If your doctor wants it lower he wants you into HYPO levels and that is just as dangerous for your baby as HYPER numbers are.

I just wish my fasting numbers were so good, If they were I would be jumping for joy.

Answer 3

Smaller, frequent meals usually help to stabilize blood sugars so there's less spiking.

Carbohydrate type foods release their energy differently, depending on what type of carbohydrate it is. Some release almost all their energies at once, while others take a medium amount of time, and some take a long time.

Glycemic index, or Glycemic Load, is a 0-100 scale, with lower numbered foods releasing sugars very slowly into the bloodstream, and the higher numbered foods releasing blood sugars very quickly, causing your blood sugars to be higher.

Here's a very extensive list of carbohydrate foods, with their glycemic loads:

http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

Carbohydrate foods with high glycemic loads, 70-100, release sugars quickly, here's some examples: sugars, corn syrup, sweetened fruit juice,  candy, and cakes. Try to cut out foods with glycemic loads more than 70.

Carbohydrate foods with medium glycemic loads, 56-69, release sugars more slowly than the above foods, eat these foods in moderation.

Low glycemic load foodss are what you'll want to make up the most of your carbohydrates. Most vegetables are low glycemic, so are beans.

The finer the grain like wheat is ground, the higher the glycemic load. So whole wheat products would release sugars more slowly than finely ground wheat.

The fiber in fruits slows down the release of the fruit's sugars, so it's better to eat whole fruit than to drink fruit juice. Plus the extra fiber will help keep you more regular, which is a struggle for many pregnant women.

So by eating more low glycemic load foods, and cutting out high glycemic load foods for your carbs, eating smaller meals more frequently, and increasing fiber, your blood sugars will hopefully decrease enough to avoid medication.

Best of luck with your pregnancy!

Answer 4

Follow the link below!

http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diab...

Good luck!