I want to preface this by saying that I have never been diagnosed with gestational diabetes or anything related to blood sugar outside of pregnancy. So I really don't have any reason to be concerned. But for some reason this pregnancy has brought on a lot of health anxiety for me. And after my L&D and ICU stay, I'm even more concerned about my health and this baby boy. I decided to ask my midwife for a glucometer and track my blood sugar over the course of a week. I just wanted to see how my body was reacting to certain foods and what my baselines were. I know every pregnancy is different and even though I exercise, am a healthy weight, and don't have any history of diabetes, I still could develop it because gestational diabetes has a lot to do with the placenta and hormones released in pregnancy.
I will note that during this week I sorta used it as an experiment with certain meals. Some things I don't normally eat and I wanted to see how my body would react. I probably should have just kept with my normal diet to see my typical patterns, but I'm glad I also got to see how certain foods affect me.
Here are the guidelines my midwife gave me:
Fasting: 70-95
1 hour post meal: <140
2 hours post meal: <120
So here is how the week went and what I learned about my body along the way. I highlighted the out of range numbers in red throughout the week.
Day 1: February 25th
Fasting: 94 at 7:15am *This was a little on the high side but the night before I ate a smoothie bowl in bed right before I went to sleep, so I'm also not too terribly surprised. And even still, it's within normal range.
Breakfast: 8:20am
- 2 eggs fried in butter
- 1 apple chicken sausage
- 1/2 orange
- 4 small slices of grass fed cheese
1 hour: 84 at 9:20am
8oz apple juice with L-glutamine powder to take vitamin D/K supplement
Workout: upper body (14mins) and meditation
Smoothie Post Workout: 12:22pm
- 8oz coconut milk
- 2 scoops collagen powder
- 2 scoops grass fed protein powder
- 3 frozen dates
- 1 scoop colostrum
- 1 Tbsp peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp cacao nibs
- dash of cinnamon
1 hour: 81 at 1:22pm
Lunch: 2:07pm
- sourdough grilled cheese and turkey sandwich
- avocado potato chips and french onion dip
- 1/2 cinnamon malasada
- 8oz 1% milk
1 hour: 149 at 3:07pm *I thought it was high so I retested right after and it said 154 so I just went with the first reading. Then again, I wasn't surprised because this was one of my "experimental" meals. I never eat this carb heavy and especially without any fat or protein. When I added up the total carbs it was about 150g in one sitting....yikes.
Workout: baby and the bell (35 mins)
2 hour: 169 at 4:10pm
3 hour: 143 at 5:21pm
Pre Dinner: 72 at 7:02pm *I wanted to check to see where my blood sugar was before dinner just to see what the spike would be. I was feeling hungry at this point.
Dinner: 7:05pm
- grass fed patties with grass fed cheese
- caramelized onions and roasted carrots
- dijon mustard
1 hour: 72 at 8:05pm *This was a really healthy curve, even though it's a little low. I didn't eat really any carbs at all at my meal though. I maintained my blood sugar and if it did rise it came right back down.
Before bed I had a Tbsp of Manuka honey at 8:18pm. I checked it about 30 mins later at 8:51pm and it was 102.
Overall I think today was pretty good. I only had those few wonky readings after that SUPER carb heavy meal (which I never do). So I'm not all that surprised. When I did the math that meal was about 150ish grams of carbs in one sitting with little to no protein so really...not so bad for that amount because that's INSANE.
Day 2: February 26th
Fasting: 85 at 7:06am
Breakfast: 8:09am
- 1 slice buttered sourdough
- 1 string cheese
- 4 small strawberries
- 1 small grass fed patty with cheese
- 8oz banana juice with liquid iron supplement and vitamin D/K supplement
2 hour: 105 at 10:06am *I missed the 1 hour mark because we were busy and I was driving, so I just tested at the 2 hour instead.
Workout: sculpt for two (29 mins)
73 at 10:50am
Post Workout Smoothie: 11:00am
- 2 scoops collagen
- 1 scoop vanilla plant based protein powder
- dash of cinnamon
- 8oz. 1% milk
1 hour: 82 at 12:00pm
Lunch: 12:52pm
- pulled pork
- 2 grass fed patties with grass fed cheese
- caramelized onions
- shredded grass fed cheese
- 1/2 slice (34g) homemade yellow cake with homemade rainbow chip frosting
1 hour: 104 at 1:52pm
Snack: 4:09pm
- 1 slice sourdough with butter
- 2 turkey slices
- grass fed cheese
2 hour: 114 at 6:15pm * I checked it three times because the monitor was being really weird and giving readings all over the place. The first was 125, the second was 99, and the third was 114. So I just went with the middle one. But there was a HUGE jump in numbers which was odd.
Before Dinner: 86 at 7:13pm
Dinner: 7:17pm
- grass fed ground beef
- white rice with butter
- roasted carrots
- 8oz banana juice with L-glutamine and 1 liver capsule
1 hour: 162 at 8:23pm *This seemed really high so I decided to test at the 2 hour. My guess was the white rice and banana juice which are both super high in carbs.
2 hour: 126 at 9:20pm *I checked it three times because the first time seemed really high at 135. The second reading was 125 and the third was 126.
3 hour: 95 at 10:20pm *I checked for piece of mind to make sure it went back to normal baseline.
I think the second day was pretty good. I was surprised at how high white rice spiked my blood sugar, but after some reading I've realized this is a pretty normal reaction even for healthy non-diabetics. But it was a good learning experience for me to know that white rice is one of the foods that my body is sensitive to.
Day 3: February 27th
Fasting: 79 at 7:12am
Breakfast: 8:06am
- 1 apple chicken sausage
- 2 fried eggs in butter
- small bowl of apple cinnamon cheerios with 1% milk
- spoonful of Manuka honey
1 hour: 155 at 9:06am *I'm guessing the spike is because of the cheerios I never eat and the spoonful of honey (which is unusual for me for breakfast.)
2 hour: 88 at 10:18am *I felt much better knowing that by the 2 hour mark I was right back to normal.
10oz white grape juice: 12:56pm I wanted to do a little experiment and in a way imitate the glucose tolerance test. At this point I was really hungry and I hadn't eaten since 8:06 that morning. So it wasn't entirely accurate since I wouldn't be "fasting" or going into the glucose test hungry.
1 hour: 142 at 1:57pm
Snack: 2:21pm
- 1 string cheese
- 2 gluten free crackers
- 1 chicken rotisserie leg
Workout: bump and booty (38 mins)
1 hour: 66 at 3:21pm *This was a bit low so I made a smoothie with some fruit to try and bring it up. But the workout I did was long and kicked my booty literally. I worked up a sweat with that one so I'm not surprised it was low because I was also really hungry.
Post Workout Smoothie: 3:32pm
- 1/2 banana
- frozen peaches and frozen strawberries
- plain kefir
- 3 scoops colostrum
- 2 scoops grass fed protein
- 2 scoops collagen
1 hour: 107 at 4:30pm
Dinner: 7:40pm
- chicken salad
- pulled pork
- 1/2 KFC chicken thigh
1 hour: 88 at 8:50pm
I think day three went pretty well, I was out and about a lot today and did some errands. Breakfast spike my blood sugar, but then again I don't normally have a spoonful of honey and cheerios for breakfast. The good news was that it came right back down quickly.
Day 4: February 28th
Fasting: 73 at 7:11am *I did it the first time and it was 60 which seemed really low so I did it again and got 73
Breakfast: 8:07am
- 1 slice sourdough toasted with butter
- 4 small slices of grass fed cheese
- 1 fried egg in butter
- 1 apple chicken sausage
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 2 strawberries
- 1 spoonful Manuka honey
- 4oz orange juice with liquid iron supplement
1 hour: 81 at 9:11am
Workout: rest and restore (27 mins) 10:35am
Post Workout Smoothie Bowl: 11:21am
- frozen peaches, strawberries, and mangos
- 1 banana
- 2 scoops grass fed vanilla protein powder
- 3 scoops colostrum
- 2 scoops collagen
- L-glutamine powder
- coconut milk
- fresh strawberries and blueberries
- chia seeds
- cacao nibs
- granola
- drizzle of raw honey
1 hour: 110 at 12:23pm
Lunch: 2:07am
- chicken salad
- 1/2 avocado with drizzle of avocado oil and pine nuts
- raw carrot salad
- strawberry shortcake ice cream bar
1 hour: 69 at 3:09pm
4oz coconut water and 4oz apple juice with 2 liver capsules: 3:41pm
1 hour: 124 at 4:41pm
Dinner: 7:00pm
- 2 homemade sourdough einkorn enchiladas with shredded chicken and cheese
- 1/2 avocado
- sour cream
- refried pinto beans
1 hour: 164 at 8:05pm *this was the first high reading of the day. I can't say I'm super surprised. I don't normally eat beans and I can't even remember the last time I did honestly, but it sounded good with dinner. Also I just sat on the couch the entire hour. I'm learning that my body does better when I have most of my carbs during the day versus around dinner. So I decided to test at the 2 hour mark just to make sure it regulates.
2 hour: 205 at 9:15pm *This was really concerning and honestly shocking to me. I'm not sure why it's so high. I was super stressed out and was crying not 15 minutes before I took it, I'm not sure if that could affect it, but I did not like it at all. I've never been close to the 200 mark ever before.
3 hour: 177 at 10:21pm *I felt better that it wasn't going up but instead coming down.
I felt really good about my numbers up until the evening when I tested my post dinner numbers. I had a pretty good freak out about it. But after talking to two friends who are practicing dietitians I felt much better. They assured me they wouldn't worry about it and that they would continue to test and monitor and see if it becomes a pattern or if it's just random. I was also told to try and manage my stress (which isn't surprising that stress contributes to my blood sugar because I'm particularly sensitive to cortisol.)
Day 5: March 1st
Fasting: 78 at 8:23am *I slept in since it was Saturday and it felt like my body needed that extra hour or so. I'm happy that my fasting number was normal even with the crazy reading last night. I talk to two different dietitian friends of mine and they both said they wouldn't worry about it. One said that my stress probably had a huge part in that because cortisol shunts glucose into the bloodstream and makes you less insulin sensitive. Which I knew from school but sometimes your logical brain shuts off when it comes to your own health.
Breakfast: 9:44am
- grass fed beef tenderloin
- 1 hard boiled egg
- 4 small slices grass fed cheese
- handful sautéed spinach
- 4 pieces pineapple
- 1 spoonful of Manuka honey
- 8oz whole milk with 1 scoop prenatal vitamin powder with dash of cinnamon
1 hour: 94 at 10:54am *I was pleasantly surprised with how my blood sugar reacted to breakfast because I wasn't sure if it would spike since I had a spoonful of Manuka honey.
Snack: 12:42pm
- 1 string cheese
- 3 pieces of bison jerky bites
- 1 scoop blue seal ice cream (Okinawan salt cookies)
1 hour: 94 at 1:43pm *I was actually really surprised how level my curve was here with the ice cream.
Lunch: 2:30pm
- Charley's cheesesteak bowl: steak, provolone, pickles, lettuce, bell peppers, onions, and ranch dressing
- handful of fries
2 hour: 126 at 4:51pm *We went to a movie for the twins birthday celebration so I wasn't able to check it until about the two hour mark. I'm actually pretty happy with this number considering we had fast food for lunch which we never do. Technically yes, it's 6 points over "normal" but really I still consider this normal.
Dinner: 8:25pm
- pulled pork
- chicken salad
- 4 small slices of grass fed cheese
- 1 small wedge of brie cheese
- raw carrot salad
- torn pieces of naan bread
- 1 strawberry shortcake ice cream bar
1 hour: 107 at 9:27pm
I had a string cheese and a shot of white grape juice to take my L-glutamine powder, but I didn't test after and just went to bed.
I think today went really well. We were out all day to celebrate the twins and ate out most of the time. Plus I had ice cream twice today and each time my body handled it just fine.
Day 6: March 2nd
Fasting: 70 at 7:45am
Breakfast: 8:54am
- scrambled eggs
- chicken apple sausage
- sautéed spinach and bell peppers
- shredded grass fed cheese
- slice of buttered sourdough
- 4oz orange juice with liquid iron supplement
- 8oz whole milk with prenatal powder and dash of cinnamon
1 hour: 108 at 9:48am
Snack: 12:05pm
- Morning Bowls pitaya bowl: almond butter, granola, cacao nibs, strawberries, blueberries, banana, chia seed pudding, honey
2 hour: 114 at 2:14pm
Lunch: 2:35pm
- 4 oz banana juice with L-glutamine powder
- chicken salad
- gluten free crackers
- raw carrot salad
1 hour: 117 at 3:46pm *Banana juice is pretty high in carbs and I was pleasantly surprised with how my blood sugar reacted to that.
Snack: 6:51pm
- string cheese
- hardboiled egg with salt
- 1 spoonful of Manuka honey
Dinner: 7:05pm
- 2 small sliced of sourdough (store bought) with butter
- sautéed zucchini
- chuck steak
1 hour: 111 at 8:02pm *I was hungry while making dinner so I grabbed myself a snack, and even still my blood sugar did just fine.
I'm really happy with all my numbers today! Not one of them was out of range which was nice to see. I've started to relax more about my numbers and I realized that stressing was only making things worse. I've also just been eating what I feel like eating and not thinking too much about it, except I have upped my protein I noticed.
Day 7: March 3rd
Fasting: 79 at 7:27am
Breakfast: 8:34am
- 2 hard boiled eggs with salt
- 4 small slices of grass fed cheese
- pulled pork
- cottage cheese
- 3 strawberries
- spoonful of Manuka honey
- 8oz whole milk with 1 scoop of prenatal powder, dash of cinnamon, 1 capsule probiotic, and 2 capsules desiccated liver capsules
1 hour: 65 at 9:40am
Snack: 10:36am
- LÄRABAR coconut cream pie
2 hour: 85 at 12:38pm
Lunch: 1:10pm
- small sourdough (store bought) munster grilled cheese
- chicken salad
- celery stick and hummus
- raw carrot salad
Workout: prenatal arms (24 mins) and meditation (12 mins)
1 hour: 110 at 2:12pm
Post Workout Smoothie: 3:10pm
- frozen peaches
- 1 banana
- coconut milk
- dash of cinnamon
- splash of vanilla
- 3 scoops colostrum
- 2 scoops grass fed vanilla protein powder
1 hour: 132 at 4:21pm *I took forever to finish my smoothie and I didn't finish it until 4 minutes before I took this blood sugar reading, so basically while I was eating because I was just curious. I'm not really counting this reading since I really shouldn't have taken it anyways.
2 hour: 113 at 5:21pm *As I thought it leveled out to normal by the 2 hour (which really was kinda like a one hour.)
Dinner: 7:15pm
- chicken salad
- string cheese
- 1 slice sourdough with butter
1 hour: 176 at 8:16pm *I hadn't been feeling well since the afternoon and I was laying down (even while eating) and didn't move at all for the one hour after. So I'm not all that surprised that it was high because 1. I didn't feel good and 2. I didn't move at all.
2 hour: 196 at 9:19pm *Wasn't necessarily too shocked that it continued to go up since I also didn't move from bed.
3 hour: 109 at 10:17pm *This is where I actually got out of bed and started moving.
Today went well and I had all normal numbers (aside from post dinner when I didn't feel well and didn't move from bed). Once I started moving around from the bed my numbers normalized by the 3 hour mark. Nothing out of what I expected though. I'm happy with how it went.
My Final Thoughts
My midwife wanted to me to monitor for 2 weeks initially. But, this was before when I had told her I wanted to opt out of the 1 hour glucose screening test. Since having been admitted to the hospital recently, I decided to go ahead and go through with the screening but am opting for the dye free option. She told me I didn't have to monitor anymore because I'm doing the 1 hour test, but I requested the glucometer because I wanted to know for myself how my body reacted to certain foods. I've learned so much about my body already! With that being said, since I'll be doing the glucose tolerance test within the next week or so, I don't think I'll go through with the two weeks. I think one week is just fine as far as data goes since it's just for me anyways. I'm not too worried about the random here and there high values I've gotten, because theres reasoning behind them and it seems like a normal response to me. In certain cases, I was either under a lot of stress, didn't feel well, or consumed only carbs and a lot of them, etc. I'll keep y'all updated on how this glucose test goes!
My average blood sugar number over the last 7 days: 106.5
