Carb Counter
How ironic. After swearing off trendy diets, especially the fanatical Atkins and slightly more subdued South Beach, I am on a very carbohydrate-restricted diet for my gestational diabetes. I met with the nutritionist/dietician and nurse on Monday. They gave me a meal plan and my blood sugar metering kit, respectively. The meal plan goes like this:
Breakfast
30g total carbs
1 protein
Midmorning Snack
15g total carbs
Lunch
30-45g total carbs (depends if I exercise afterwards)
2 proteins
Midafternoon Snack
15g total carbs
Dinner
45g total carbs
2 proteins
Evening Snack
30g total carbs
Do you know what 15g of carbs equates to? Think 1 slice of whole wheat bread or half a hamburger bun. Or half an English muffin. Or half a cup of mashed potatoes. Or one extremeley small apple. Or 2 tablespoons of raisins. Or one cup of milk.
Protein sources are virtually carb-less so the limitation with them is the amount of fat. Vegetables can contain carbs but are generally listed as 5g per serving (1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw).
Fats in moderation, some might contain sugars like salad dressing or cream cheese.
"Free foods" which can be consumed in any amount include herbs, sugar free drinks and mixes, soy sauce, garlic, lettuce, mushrooms, salsa, unsweetened decaf coffee and tea.
Now for the glucose monitoring part. I have to check my blood sugar levels 4 times per day. First thing in the morning (called the fasting) and then 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I cannot eat the snacks until after I take the glucose metering. The timing is pretty strict - no earlier than 1 hour 45 minutes and no later than 2 hours 15 minutes after the first bite of each meal.
I'm on the first full day of this diet and I'm already weeping. It's not so much the obsession over food although that in itself is extremely inconvenient and very annoying. It's the schedule. I have to watch the clock constantly. My little finger prick kit is quite interesting. It isn't as bad as I thought since the pressure of the lancet can be adjusted. I just set it to the lowest possible pressure that still draws blood. However, I've experimented with several fingers and decided that I'm not going to use the 4th and pinky fingers of either hand. They are too sensitive. Basically you need a small drop of blood on a test strip which is inserted in a glucose meter. You get your reading in seconds. Regardless of how easy this has become in the past decade, however, I am still anxious about drawing blood. Why does it have to be the fingers? Why can't I draw blood from, say, my elbow?
Oh, I am such a wimp. I think I will adjust to the food part of this diet OK...I'll probably eat certain foods all the time (e.g., yogurt, peanut butter and apples, wheat bread, egg anything) but keeping to the schedule and the anxiety about drawing blood makes it difficult. Yuck, yuck, yuck!
I'm feeling sorry for myself right now. I know it's stupid and could be a lot worse but still. Waah.
Breakfast
30g total carbs
1 protein
Midmorning Snack
15g total carbs
Lunch
30-45g total carbs (depends if I exercise afterwards)
2 proteins
Midafternoon Snack
15g total carbs
Dinner
45g total carbs
2 proteins
Evening Snack
30g total carbs
Do you know what 15g of carbs equates to? Think 1 slice of whole wheat bread or half a hamburger bun. Or half an English muffin. Or half a cup of mashed potatoes. Or one extremeley small apple. Or 2 tablespoons of raisins. Or one cup of milk.
Protein sources are virtually carb-less so the limitation with them is the amount of fat. Vegetables can contain carbs but are generally listed as 5g per serving (1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw).
Fats in moderation, some might contain sugars like salad dressing or cream cheese.
"Free foods" which can be consumed in any amount include herbs, sugar free drinks and mixes, soy sauce, garlic, lettuce, mushrooms, salsa, unsweetened decaf coffee and tea.
Now for the glucose monitoring part. I have to check my blood sugar levels 4 times per day. First thing in the morning (called the fasting) and then 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I cannot eat the snacks until after I take the glucose metering. The timing is pretty strict - no earlier than 1 hour 45 minutes and no later than 2 hours 15 minutes after the first bite of each meal.
I'm on the first full day of this diet and I'm already weeping. It's not so much the obsession over food although that in itself is extremely inconvenient and very annoying. It's the schedule. I have to watch the clock constantly. My little finger prick kit is quite interesting. It isn't as bad as I thought since the pressure of the lancet can be adjusted. I just set it to the lowest possible pressure that still draws blood. However, I've experimented with several fingers and decided that I'm not going to use the 4th and pinky fingers of either hand. They are too sensitive. Basically you need a small drop of blood on a test strip which is inserted in a glucose meter. You get your reading in seconds. Regardless of how easy this has become in the past decade, however, I am still anxious about drawing blood. Why does it have to be the fingers? Why can't I draw blood from, say, my elbow?
Oh, I am such a wimp. I think I will adjust to the food part of this diet OK...I'll probably eat certain foods all the time (e.g., yogurt, peanut butter and apples, wheat bread, egg anything) but keeping to the schedule and the anxiety about drawing blood makes it difficult. Yuck, yuck, yuck!
I'm feeling sorry for myself right now. I know it's stupid and could be a lot worse but still. Waah.
posted by Lynette at 4/04/2006 12:52:00 PM
2 Comments:
Blah, I'm sorry, I would be terribly frustrated as well, it's no fun keeping a constant eye on the clock and everything going into your mouth. Not to mention the pricking, I wouldn't be liking that at all! Hang in there! At least you know it is just temporary!
That sounds awful. I would hate all the counting and the monitoring and such. Just double yuck!
At least you have a countdown to when you can stop it all and go back to normal eating, right?
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