While complications during pregnancy are always alarming for the soon-to-be mom, gestational diabetes can be easily managed by making changes to your diet. Like other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes is characterized by elevations in your blood sugar. Controlling the amount and timing of the food you eat can help you manage your blood sugars. A 2,200-calorie gestational diabetic diet should be able to support a healthy weight gain for you and your baby while keeping your blood sugars within acceptable ranges.
Diet Guide
To help you manage your blood sugars, follow a structured meal plan. The diabetes exchange diet can help you make healthy food choices to meet your nutrient needs while balancing your calorie, carbohydrate, protein and fat intake. On the exchange diet, you can eat a certain number of servings from each of the exchange groups, including starches, fruits, milk, meat, vegetables and fat, at each meal and snack. On a 2,200-calorie diet, your exchanges include seven servings of starch, 17 servings of meat or meat substitutes, three servings of fruit, three servings of milk, seven servings of vegetable and three servings of fat. Your diet should include three meals and three snacks.
Breakfast
For breakfast, you should have one starch exchange, three meat or meat substitute exchanges and one fat exchange. A sample breakfast may include a cheese omelet made with two eggs and 1 oz. of cheese with one slice of whole-wheat toast with 1 tsp. of margarine.
Morning Snack
A healthy morning snack on your gestational diabetes diet should include one starch exchange and one meat exchange, which may include five whole-grain crackers with 1 oz. of cheese.
Lunch
Your lunch meal should include two starch exchanges, five meat exchanges, one fruit exchange, one milk exchange, three vegetable exchanges and one fat exchange. For lunch, try an entree salad made with 3 cups of mixed greens topped with 5 oz. of grilled chicken and 2 tbsp. of low-fat salad dressing, served with 1 cup of nonfat, sugar free yogurt, a small apple and a 2 oz. whole-wheat roll.
Afternoon Snack
An afternoon snack should include one starch exchange, one meat exchange, one fruit exchange and one vegetable exchange. A healthy snack idea may consist of half a turkey sandwich with a small orange and 1 cup of carrot sticks.
Dinner
For dinner, include one starch exchange, five meat exchanges, one milk exchange, one fruit exchange, three vegetable exchanges and one fat exchange. A sample dinner meal on your 2,200-calorie diet may include 5 oz. of broiled salmon with a 3 oz. baked potato with 1 tsp. of margarine, 1-1/2 cups of steamed broccoli and cauliflower, 17 small grapes and 1 cup of low-fat milk.
Evening Snack
Your evening snack should consist of one starch exchange, two meat exchanges and one milk exchange. Try two rice cakes with 2 tbsp. of peanut butter and 1 cup of low-fat milk.
