Today will be a little different than my usual post on mindful eating, Pilates, or healthy recipes.

I’m tackling a topic that is near and dear to my heart – one that I devote roughly half of my working hours to every week and one that I frequently present on at professional conferences (I’ve been asked to speak about it at 3 different conferences this fall alone. Holy powerpoints!)

The topic is gestational diabetes, in other words, diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. 

My friend Jenn over at Fit For Expecting asked me to write a guest post for her blog, since her business is entirely devoted to helping pregnant women stay active during their pregnancy. And although exercise helps to manage gestational diabetes, the diet part is absolutely crucial to success.

I have helped literally hundreds of women have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby despite having gestational diabetes. Over time, I’ve observed similar patterns with new clients and identified the most common mistakes they make before they get a chance to talk with me.

Now before you close this window because you’re not pregnant with gestational diabetes, let me say that 2 of the 3 things I cover in the post are universally applicable to everyone who wants to eat healthier and watch their weight – pregnant or not, diabetic or not, female or not.

Gestational Diabetes – What NOT To Do!

You might be wondering why the image in this post about what not to do when you have gestational diabetes features “healthy” grapes. Well, a lot of women think that eating healthy means eating more fruit, but fruit is high in sugar. If you’re managing gestational diabetes, you have to be very careful with the portion of fruit you consume to prevent high blood sugar!

Hop on over to her blog where I explore this further and cover the 3 most common mistakes that women with gestational diabetes make. I hope the ladies over at her blog will find it helpful and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

In the meantime, I better get to work preparing for my presentations.

Until next week,

Lily

Want to learn more about managing gestational diabetes with real food?

Check out these interviews:

• Birthful Interview – Gestational Diabetes Explained – (For a discussion on how gestational diabetes is like the “warning light” coming on in your car, different screening methods and their pros/cons and how not all cases of gestational diabetes are created equal.)
• Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solutions – Gestational Diabetes Interview (This oldie but goodie covers controversies surrounding gestational diabetes, including whether it’s a made-up diagnosis, if a low-carb diet is safe, and pitfalls of the diagnostic standards.)
• Wholistic Beginnings Gestational Diabetes Interview (This is a 4-part series covering the basics about managing gestational diabetes with real food and exercise: Parts 1&2. Parts 3&4.)
• Midwives Cauldron Interview – (In this episode we touch on diet for those diagnosed with gestational diabetes, along with post-birth and breastfeeding nutrition tips.)
• Birth Kweens Decoding Gestational Diabetes (This episode covers how GD is diagnosed and the different classifications of GD, along with using standard vs alternative testing methods – including the Glucola test.)
• Down to Birth GD Prevention and Management (For a discussion on the nutritional deficits that may set you up for the development of GDM along with the flaws in how we screen women for GDM and finally, the things you can do to best manage your diet if you are diagnosed with GDM.)
• Biohacker Babes – Understanding Gestational Diabetes (In this episode I share info on concerns around ketones and plant based diets, what biomarkers should be tracked during pregnancy, along with insight into managing gestational diabetes.)
• Real Food for Pregnancy (This delves into some key real foods for fetal development, including some that pregnant women are incorrectly told to avoid, but are prized in traditional cultures.)

My book, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes, covers all of this and more. Grab your copy HERE.