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Living with gestational diabetes has not been easy. Going out to restaurants and trying new foods is a large part of my life. Just shortly after receiving my diagnosis, my husband decided he wanted to have his birthday at a local pizza place. I knew this would be the first of many occasions where I would be going out to a place not so diabetic friendly. Knowing my social life often revolves around food, I had to figure out how to eat out and stick to my diabetic diet. I managed to make it work so I know you can too. Here are my strategies for eating out with gestational diabetes:
Plan Ahead
- If you are going out with friends or family, ask about where you will be eating. This is key to becoming familiar with the menu before you get there.
- Know a few restaurants that have a large menu, including items you can eat. If it is your turn to pick a restaurant you know the place will have something you can eat.
- Look at the nutritional info online, if it is available. I’ve been surprised about the number of carbohydrates and calories that were in a dish. Online nutritional information for a restaurant has saved me from myself more than once.
Tips for Ordering
- If you are not sure what is in the dish, just ask. It’s better to ask a couple of questions than feel super yucky later.
- Look for items that are grilled and not breaded.
- Chose foods you really like, skip those that are just okay. I’ll have a piece of bread from the breadbasket if it is really good, but then I’ll skip the mashed potatoes.
- Be mindful of what you order to drink. Flavored tea and other drinks can add a lot of sugar to your meal.
Make The Experience Pleasent For All
- Focus on who you’re spending time with and enjoy them.
- Don’t make a huge stink about your diet restrictions when out with friends and family. Instead of complaining when husband picked a pizza place for his birthday, I just found what I could eat on the menu. It was his special day, not my day to make a fuss about my diabetes.
- Find restaurants with a big menu when suggesting places to go out. It is a win-win for everybody.
In case you missed it, I did my first post about getting tested for gestational diabetes. I also shared my sample meal plan for those of you that asked. Feel free to ask me questions about living with gestational diabetes. I’ll respond to your comment or even write a post to answer your question.
hi.. do you take insulin or any medication for diabetes gestasional? or only maintain what u eat n work out is enough? few days ago i had glucocose tolerancy test. after fasting for 12 hours my blood result is 76 mg/dl (or 4.2 mmol/l) then they give sugar concentrated drink and the result after 1 hour is 223mg/dl (or 12.4 mmol/l), after 2 hour 158 mg/dl (or 8.8 mmol/l). my doctor said i have diabetes gestasional and should take insulin. is that really necessary cause im worry insulin could harm my baby. so sorry to bother u but im so confused because doc said if i dont take insulin for my condition it would do more damage for baby
I want to say I'm not a dr but I will tell you that those numbers are high. Insulin is one of the better meds to be on for diabetes management. There is no need to worry about it hurting the baby. I didn't need meds but my mom did when she had it. High blood sugar can be harmful for the baby. It also leads to higher birth weight for the baby which increases the likelihood of having a c-section. Your dr will be monitoring your sugar numbers. I would suggest asking if you can go a week without insulin while recording your numbers. If your numbers are within normal then you shouldnt need the insulin. But your dr is right that you need to keep your numbers under control.
thank u for yor advice. i went to internist yesterday. he said that right now i dont have to take insulin. maintain my food intake and for a month they would monitoring my blood sugar level.