10.16.2011

Struggling With My New Meal Plan and Eating Habits...

I haven't been as strict with my diet as I should be and my glucose numbers show it.
This past week I've had about 4 abnormal numbers (meaning out of range) and I'm not sure if that will alarm the doc enough to recommend putting me on medication.

I can see that the reason why my numbers are so high is because I've been having more carbs than usual.

If anything, I hope they can give me another week to get everything back in line!

I also haven't been walking as much as I was in the weeks before.  Usually after lunch and dinner I go for a 20-30 minute walk.  Walking is known to greatly decrease glucose levels. 

My excuse? Well, the past couple days it's been raining around lunch time and I'm not about to go walking in the rain.  And at night? It's either raining or I'm too lazy.  Yeeeaaahhh.... I need to work on that!

A few nights where I haven't gone for a walk I sit on my exercise ball and work on some arm strength. It worked one night... and failed miserabley on the other.

My dietician has recommended a meal plan where I'm eating a limited amount of carbs, paired with protein, and sprinkled with as many non-starchy vegetables as I like.  I can eat a limited amount of fruits in the afternoon (meaning within the limits of my meal plan... so a snack will be a small piece of fruit no more than 30g of carbs), but not in the morning since that is when our bodies have the hardest time breaking down carbohydrates.  The breakdown is like this:

Breakfast- 2 servings of carbs (1 serving = 15 grams) w/ 1-2 servings of protein.
Snack- 2 servings of carbs, 1 serving of protein
Lunch- 3 servings of carbs, 2 servings of protein, 1-2 servings of green leafy vegetables
Sanck- Same as above
Dinner- Same as lunch
Sanch- Same as above

Yes, I get a snack after dinner.  One of my fave parts of the meal plan!

But lately? My snacks have been heavily carb loaded.  The other day I had a slice of pound cake (yikes!) that a co-worker made from scratch.  Today I had multiple servings of cereal.  Cereal wouldn't be so bad if 1) I limited it to one serving and 2) paired it with some protein.  I don't drink dairy milk but drink almond milk instead.  Thing is... there's hardly any protein in almond milk.

It is uber important to pair carbs with protein because it helps slow down the glucose from flooding my system.  This is also why complex carbs > simple carbs (example? brown rice > white rice).  When the body breaks down non-complex carbs (white rice, white flour, refined sugar, etc...) it floods the system with glucose and my body struggles to break down and/or store it.  However when the glucose is slowyly released, the body can handle it a lot better and my glucose levels stay pretty consistent.

When I checked my glucose levels after dinner tonight, I was over by 2 points.  I can't help but think that if I didn't stuff my face with cereal a few hours before, I might have been in a normal range.

My doc gave me the following ranges:
Fasting (before breakfast)- <95
1 hour after meals (first bite, not the last)- <140
*If I eat somewhere that takes longer than 30 minutes to eat, say like a restaurant, I can wait 2 hours after my first bite to test.  Then my limit is <120.

This meal plan is such a delicate balancing act for me.  It's HARD.

After these last few days though I found my motivation to get back to business and buckle down.  It's important for my health and also for my baby.

I've accepted that I'm going to make mistakes but I really hope the few bad choices I've made don't have a lasting impact on my baby. 

Tomorrow is a brand new day and I'm ready to start fresh!

1 comment:

  1. You can do it Vanessa! Im fasting right now from sugar and carbs as well. -Shirl

    ReplyDelete

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