Paleo/Primal while pregnant?

[Momtoamayalilal2]

Anyone follow this way of eating while pregnant?

 

Anyone with gestational diabetes eat this way with good fasting/ post prandial numbers?

 

 

More questions later typing one handed on an ipad...not fun ;)

Tia!

[kolamum]

Have you read the Paleo book by Robb Wolf?

 

He mentions this about Diabetes & other issues. Not sure he mentions it for pregnancy, but I might be wrong. was just thinking how I need to reread this book & rededicate myself to this.

[Soror]

I tried to stay pretty primal in my last pregnancy, although in the first trimester I had a thing for gf porridge for some reason. After the first trimester it was fairly easy, although I did need higher carbs, I generally got those from tubers- especially sweet potatoes. I found that by the 3rd trimester though I didn't need as much.

 

This time around I'm not near as strict although I eat considerably less grains than most. But I didn't do porridge the first trimester and actually hardly any grains at all then although I've ate more in the 2nd trimester (rice (a few times a week), gf pasta (maybe 1x a week) and popcorn- sporadically) . Although, I'm 26 weeks now- so closing in on the 3rd trimester and it seems my need for carbs is lessening (thank goodness).

 

I was strictly dairy free with my last pregnancy but have been eating some dairy this time. Generally hard cheeses, yogurt or icecream(which I try not to keep around as I love it too much).

 

I'm not diabetic but I think it can be a great way to eat if you are. However, with primal it can still be easy to get higher carbs then is needed w/ diabetes if you don't count. I tried to keep fairly low carb last time and around a GD diet but have not been as strict this time.

[Katy]

My sister got gestational diabetes with her last pregnancy. She tested after everything she ate and within a few weeks ended up on a primal diet because other things (especially dairy - even whipping cream!) gave her a whopping sugar rise.

 

Her son was born so healthy and so strong- he could hold his own head up on the day he was born and could scoot/bounce all of his weight with his legs too!

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I tried eating paleo/primal this time because I knew from past pregnancies that GD would be a problem and my A1c at the beginning of this pregnancy was high normal.

 

I did great on paleo/primal after morning sickness went away. Then, around 22 weeks my fasting numbers started climbing no matter what I did. (around 100-105) I did some research and increased the carbs at my bedtime snack. That kept the numbers down for a few weeks. Then I started losing weight. I was seeing a perinatologist along with my OB, and he insisted I try Glyburide (oral medication).

 

I started on the lowest dose of Glyburide at 24 weeks. I had to add more carbs just to keep my blood sugar up! However, I realized I needed the carbs. I had been growing more and more fatigued and the extra carbs gave me some needed energy. The "extra" carbs would still be considered "low carb"; I probably went from 50g per day to 120g per day.

 

Just this week I've had some high numbers. I can keep it down if I do strict paleo/primal, but if I lose more weight the Dr. will want me to increase my Glyburide again and increase my carbs. My total weight gain right now is 9lbs and only three of those pounds have been in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. I'm 29 weeks now, so my Dr. thinks the Glyburide should see me through the pregnancy and I can avoid insulin. The fact that I stayed on the same dosage for 6 weeks is unusual. They usually have to raise it every two weeks. I do attribute that to my low carb eating. There is NO WAY I would be doing this well if I ate the carb amounts they told me to eat with my first GD pregnancy many years ago.

[Soror]

Your experience is interesting Leanna. I've not ever had an issue with weight gain myself, even last time when I was pretty darn strict I gained 35 lbs. I tend towards hypoglycemia myself though, although I haven't had too much of an issue in a while I did in my first pregnancy but I ate tons of carbs, gluten and everything else then.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

Your experience is interesting Leanna. I've not ever had an issue with weight gain myself, even last time when I was pretty darn strict I gained 35 lbs. I tend towards hypoglycemia myself though, although I haven't had too much of an issue in a while I did in my first pregnancy but I ate tons of carbs, gluten and everything else then.

 

The weight gain thing always had me scratching my head. When I was diagnosed with GD the first time (20 years ago!!!), I was sent to a class with other GD moms. They put us all on the same exact diet. At 5'9" tall, I was put on the same diet as the other 2 women in the class who were both around 5'2". None of us were overweight. They both gained a normal 20-30 lbs in that pregnancy. My net gain was ZERO (all I gained was the 11lbs I lost during morning sickness - and that was before my GD diagnosis). After being put on the diet, I gained zero pounds. I buttoned my jeans when my baby was three days old.

 

It wasn't until my 6th pregnancy that my (new) diabetic educator allowed me more food. That pregnancy and my next I gained a normal 25lbs.

 

BTW- you mentioned the hypoglycemia. Outside of pregnancy I always tended toward hypoglycemia as well. My dr. says hypoglycemia is actually a pre-cursor to Type II diabetes.

[Momtoamayalilal2]

Have you read the Paleo book by Robb Wolf?

 

He mentions this about Diabetes & other issues. Not sure he mentions it for pregnancy, but I might be wrong. was just thinking how I need to reread this book & rededicate myself to this.

 

 

No, i havent, but I have read several blogs about moms going paleo/primal and have read through a ton of marks daily apple also. I need to pick up Robb Wolfs book though. Thanks for the reminder!

 

I tried to stay pretty primal in my last pregnancy, although in the first trimester I had a thing for gf porridge for some reason. After the first trimester it was fairly easy, although I did need higher carbs, I generally got those from tubers- especially sweet potatoes. I found that by the 3rd trimester though I didn't need as much.

 

This time around I'm not near as strict although I eat considerably less grains than most. But I didn't do porridge the first trimester and actually hardly any grains at all then although I've ate more in the 2nd trimester (rice (a few times a week), gf pasta (maybe 1x a week) and popcorn- sporadically) . Although, I'm 26 weeks now- so closing in on the 3rd trimester and it seems my need for carbs is lessening (thank goodness).

 

I was strictly dairy free with my last pregnancy but have been eating some dairy this time. Generally hard cheeses, yogurt or icecream(which I try not to keep around as I love it too much).

 

I'm not diabetic but I think it can be a great way to eat if you are. However, with primal it can still be easy to get higher carbs then is needed w/ diabetes if you don't count. I tried to keep fairly low carb last time and around a GD diet but have not been as strict this time.

 

I definitely would be keeping to a tighter carb amount and try to follow the GD protocol for amounts as much as possible. I would be eating less than they want me to in terms of carbs though ;)

 

 

My sister got gestational diabetes with her last pregnancy. She tested after everything she ate and within a few weeks ended up on a primal diet because other things (especially dairy - even whipping cream!) gave her a whopping sugar rise.

 

Her son was born so healthy and so strong- he could hold his own head up on the day he was born and could scoot/bounce all of his weight with his legs too!

 

This is encouraging, thanks!!

 

I tried eating paleo/primal this time because I knew from past pregnancies that GD would be a problem and my A1c at the beginning of this pregnancy was high normal.

 

I did great on paleo/primal after morning sickness went away. Then, around 22 weeks my fasting numbers started climbing no matter what I did. (around 100-105) I did some research and increased the carbs at my bedtime snack. That kept the numbers down for a few weeks. Then I started losing weight. I was seeing a perinatologist along with my OB, and he insisted I try Glyburide (oral medication).

 

I started on the lowest dose of Glyburide at 24 weeks. I had to add more carbs just to keep my blood sugar up! However, I realized I needed the carbs. I had been growing more and more fatigued and the extra carbs gave me some needed energy. The "extra" carbs would still be considered "low carb"; I probably went from 50g per day to 120g per day.

 

Just this week I've had some high numbers. I can keep it down if I do strict paleo/primal, but if I lose more weight the Dr. will want me to increase my Glyburide again and increase my carbs. My total weight gain right now is 9lbs and only three of those pounds have been in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. I'm 29 weeks now, so my Dr. thinks the Glyburide should see me through the pregnancy and I can avoid insulin. The fact that I stayed on the same dosage for 6 weeks is unusual. They usually have to raise it every two weeks. I do attribute that to my low carb eating. There is NO WAY I would be doing this well if I ate the carb amounts they told me to eat with my first GD pregnancy many years ago.

 

They are not giving me any other optios besides insulin if my numbers dont go down, so I am trying my hardest to do what I need to. Just seems like its going to take some time to figure out. The amounts they want me to eat are extremely high IMO (225 grms a day!) and just not what seems to be a good amount to me :glare:

[Soror]

The weight gain thing always had me scratching my head. When I was diagnosed with GD the first time (20 years ago!!!), I was sent to a class with other GD moms. They put us all on the same exact diet. At 5'9" tall, I was put on the same diet as the other 2 women in the class who were both around 5'2". None of us were overweight. They both gained a normal 20-30 lbs in that pregnancy. My net gain was ZERO (all I gained was the 11lbs I lost during morning sickness - and that was before my GD diagnosis). After being put on the diet, I gained zero pounds. I buttoned my jeans when my baby was three days old.

 

It wasn't until my 6th pregnancy that my (new) diabetic educator allowed me more food. That pregnancy and my next I gained a normal 25lbs.

 

BTW- you mentioned the hypoglycemia. Outside of pregnancy I always tended toward hypoglycemia as well. My dr. says hypoglycemia is actually a pre-cursor to Type II diabetes.

 

Wow, it sounds like they were starving you! Poor thing!

 

I haven't had hypoglycemic issues hardly since pregnancy 1. I do keep fairly low carb most of the time and am gluten free. I try to keep grains pretty minimal although as I said I haven't been perfect this pregnancy. My g-ma was diabetic though so I tend to be more vigilant in that regard. As I said it is interesting that you needed higher carb numbers in your pregnancy(although not super high).

 

I find I feel good eating a carb before bed and I've found I needed more carbs than when not pregnant. Although w/ sugar and carbs they can be addictive so it is hard to regulate. It seems I feel the best with lower carb in the am, moderate at lunch and bigger carbs in the evening. I've always said I need to actually get a monitor and watch my numbers but I never have, it would be interesting.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

They are not giving me any other optios besides insulin if my numbers dont go down, so I am trying my hardest to do what I need to. Just seems like its going to take some time to figure out. The amounts they want me to eat are extremely high IMO (225 grms a day!) and just not what seems to be a good amount to me :glare:

 

I agree that 225g/day is way high! I'd be on insulin, too, if I ate that much. I think you are doing the right thing eating low carb. I tried my hardest to stay off meds/insulin, but in the end I was having to starve myself. You are probably much younger than I am :), so hopefully you'll have more success than I did.

 

Keep me posted about how you're doing.

 

BTW- I was hesitant about the glyburide, but apparently it's been being used successfully for 10 years with GD. Some Dr.s still don't like it though and only use insulin. I have a research article about glyburide somewhere on my other computer, if you ever want the info to show your OB.

[Katy]

You might try starting with the HAI diet (http://www.fred.net/slowup/haidiet.txt), and test after everything you eat, and walk or bike ride if numbers go up, and avoid that meal or food in the future.

[Momtoamayalilal2]

I agree that 225g/day is way high! I'd be on insulin, too, if I ate that much. I think you are doing the right thing eating low carb. I tried my hardest to stay off meds/insulin, but in the end I was having to starve myself. You are probably much younger than I am :), so hopefully you'll have more success than I did.

 

Keep me posted about how you're doing.

 

BTW- I was hesitant about the glyburide, but apparently it's been being used successfully for 10 years with GD. Some Dr.s still don't like it though and only use insulin. I have a research article about glyburide somewhere on my other computer, if you ever want the info to show your OB.

 

Thanks! Just turned 35 and this is baby #5....so not sure if I am considered young anymore :D

 

I am going to actually try having more carba during the day this week and see if that helps....follow their protocol and tweak it so if it doesnt work I can convince them to let me try lower carb with their blessing instead of them fighting against it. Seems like most if the nutritionists dont like even the word low carb, even though my diet is all whole foods, including lots of veggies and fruits....yk?

 

I will post how things go and am going to try the ice cream sooner rather than later because their combo did not work last night...my numbers were higher this morning. :glare:

[Leanna Tomlinson]

Thanks! Just turned 35 and this is baby #5....so not sure if I am considered young anymore :D

 

I am going to actually try having more carba during the day this week and see if that helps....follow their protocol and tweak it so if it doesnt work I can convince them to let me try lower carb with their blessing instead of them fighting against it. Seems like most if the nutritionists dont like even the word low carb, even though my diet is all whole foods, including lots of veggies and fruits....yk?

 

I will post how things go and am going to try the ice cream sooner rather than later because their combo did not work last night...my numbers were higher this morning. :glare:

 

Well, I'm ten years older than you are. Doesn't that make you feel young! ;)

 

I'm totally with you on the nutritionists. Every one I've been to has promoted ideas that I would NEVER want to adopt. My first one told me that aspartame was completely safe and promoted diet drinks during pregnancy. Another would allow me only skim milk even though I told her that whole milk gave me better numbers. They all tend to espouse the low-fat high-carb diets that have gotten our country into this obesity/diabetes/ fiasco.:glare:

 

Enjoy your ice cream tonight! :)

[ElizaG]

IME, the authors of paleo/primal/LC books are mostly ignorant of the special nutritional needs of children and childbearing women. They might have their own theories and a few anecdotes to back them up, but if you look more closely, there's generally no compelling research basis for any claims they might make on the subject. Some of them even brush the question aside by saying that "obviously" everyone in a family would have eaten the same thing, and that women didn't change their diets during pregnancy. This is ridiculous. Any look at anthropology will show that hunter-gatherer cultures often have special foods and food taboos for different stages of the life cycle. For instance, it's unusual for the women and children to eat large amounts of flesh meat (they tend to have more fat and dairy, along with bugs and stuff :tongue_smilie:), and some cultures forbid women from eating any meat while pregnant. This isn't to say that we should necessarily copy these practices, but it calls into question the authors' overall claims. Sometimes their advice seems to have more to do with ideology than with scientific or historical evidence.

 

My sense is that unless we're following an actual traditional diet -- not a modern "reconstructed" one -- that has a long track record of promoting health for people of our gender, age, activity level, and reproductive state, then we're pretty much on our own, and we need to proceed with some caution. Which is true of most of us, I think.

 

FWIW, I've eaten differently with each of my pregnancies, and don't see any consistent relationship with the children's health. Except that with the one where I was high fat/low carb for most of the time (increasing carbohydrates somewhat in the 3rd trimester), the baby was a bit on the skinny side and just seemed a little "underbaked" to me, compared to the others. Based on this experience, even though I felt very good myself during that pregnancy, I wouldn't personally limit carbohydrates again.

 

Interestingly, that baby from the pregnancy where I ate the most meat and animal fat has grown into a bit of a scrapper, whereas the one where I ate a lot of almonds, honey, and clarified butter (thanks to SCD) gave us a child who's a born peacemaker. This could obviously be a total coincidence, but it fits with some of what I've read from Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.

[ElizaG]

double post

Edited August 15, 2012 by Eleanor

[Soror]

Eleanor- FWIW I stayed on a pretty SCD diet while pregnant w/ #2 and she is my biggest drama queen and not as hardy as the others. Dd2 where I kept fairly primal- higher fat and meat is a very happy child but also very healthy with a lovely palate and bone structure- whereas #2 is a bit narrow in the face. With #1 I ate traditional but followed the Brewer diet, so lots of carbs, gluten, everything. I gained a ton of weight. I didn't feel the best that pregnancy but he is my healthiest, but that diet wasn't good for me as I started having health issues afterwards, I think due to the stress of pregnancy triggering Celiac's.

 

As to info on pregnancy on primal or paleo during pregnancy there really isn't anything out there that I could find. There isn't much about low carb in pregnancy either. I could find lots of fear mongering about too low carb levels but scant in the way of actual research. I do think pregnant women need more than a regular low carb diet. I only know of 1 person online that was able to keep a 100% paleo diet while pregnant. But as to the optimum levels and what exact foods I think that is variable. I think the fact that there were so many different different traditional diets should be a clue to that and the macronutrient profiles of those varied widely as well as the actual content. Some cultures ate tons of dairy and others none.

 

I do think lower carb grows smaller babies. I have also read that bigger babies are healthier but also know that it isn't healthy to grow too big of a baby (for mom or baby). As to size I know both dh and I are small as well. Well, I'm pretty small and dh is average but was pretty small growing up. My girls were still yet 7-7 and 7-9 though so not horribly small and as I said I've gained 35 lbs, even with my lower carb pregnancies. So, where that line is I'm not sure. I do think it obvious as well that a SAD isn't optimum and people today eat way more sugar and refined food than is healthy for anyone, pregnant or not. I also think as well that it not advisable to go super lower carb either. I think optimally it should be somewhere in between- higher than a regular low carb diet but lower than SAD for sure.

[Momtoamayalilal2]

Well, I'm ten years older than you are. Doesn't that make you feel young! ;)

 

I'm totally with you on the nutritionists. Every one I've been to has promoted ideas that I would NEVER want to adopt. My first one told me that aspartame was completely safe and promoted diet drinks during pregnancy. Another would allow me only skim milk even though I told her that whole milk gave me better numbers. They all tend to espouse the low-fat high-carb diets that have gotten our country into this obesity/diabetes/ fiasco.:glare:

 

Enjoy your ice cream tonight! :)

 

 

It is crazy! I actually tried their breakfast this morning and got a really high blood sugar reading...not gonna happen again!

 

 

Didnt get the ice cream yet...still looking for one that I can eat that has less sugar. The one I found today has too much, so going to make some almond flour muffins for tonight to see if that helps instead :)