Goal Of Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan The goal of a good gestational diabetes diet plan is to provide the pregnant woman sufficient amount of energy. Generally this energy is counted in terms of calories. These calories are required to ensure proper weight gain and nutritional sufficiency to support the body of the mother and meet the needs of the growing baby. The gestational diabetes diet plan must be designed in a way to maintain the proper levels of blood glucose levels and avoid the formation of peeks and valleys of the blood glucose level.

Though calorie requirements are highly personalized; still an average woman with a proper pre-pregnancy weight requires additional 300 calories during 2nd and 3rd trimester. These extra calories must come from essential minerals, vitamins and other essential nutrients to support healthy pregnancy. The proteins requirement of the pregnant women also increases by an extra 10 gm daily as recommended by RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)

Sample Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan

The sample diet for gestational diabetic women given below follow the above mentioned and other dietary guidelines recommended by American Diabetic Association.

Breakfast

Whole Wheat Bread -2 slices Peanut Butter -2 Tbsp Fresh Juice – Half cup
Mid-morning Snack

Apple – 1 No. Cottage Cheese – 1 cup
Lunch

Lentil Soup -1 cup Whole Grain Crackers -1 serving Low fat cheese -2 ounces Baby Carrots -1 cup
Mid-afternoon Snack

Almonds – 20 Grapes -1 cup
Dinner

Fish – 6 ounces Steamed Broccoli – 1 cup Brown Rice – 1 cup Low Fat Milk – 1 cup
Evening Snack

Plain air popped corn – 5 cups

By: Tehmina Mazher

About the Author:

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Here is a sample diet for gestational diabetes. This Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan is designed to work as an outline for further daily meal plans. This should be kept in mind that gestational diabetes is only a temporary phase and can be effectively controlled by diet alone. It is recommended that it should not be treated by other oral hypoglycemic drugs.

The goal of this diet plan is to provide a woman with proper energy, to ensure a steady nutritional supply along with the required increase in the weight of the body of the mother. This diet plan aims at healthy growth of the baby while controlling the sugar levels of the mother’s blood.

The key idea of this meal planning is that it should center on eating small foods throughout the day. These small meals keep the blood sugar levels in a healthy range as compared to the large meals. The sample diet for gestational diabetes is given below.

Breakfast

2 slices Whole grain bread
6 tsp Peanut butter
4 ounces Pure juice

Mid-morning Snack

1 apple
8 ounces cottage cheese

Lunch

8 ounces Bean soup
1 slice Whole Grain Crackers
2 ounces Low Fat Cheese
8 ounces Carrots

Mid-afternoon Snack

8 ounces Almonds
8 ounces Grapes

Dinner

6 ounces Fish
8 ounces boiled/steamed broccoli
8 ounces brown rice
8 ounces low fat milk

Evening Snack

5 cups air-popped popcorn (plain)

The goal of the above meal plan is to provide the pregnant woman with a steady supply of energy. The caloric need vary a lot from person to person. Still an average woman may require an extra 300 calories during the second and third trimester. But these calories should be loaded up with all the required minerals and vitamins. This diet plan should be accompanied by a plenty of fluid intake evenly distributed throughout the day. A snack just before bed time is recommended to avoid hypoglycemia during the night.

By: Tehmina Mazher

About the Author:

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