First, I had gestational hypertension.
Then, I had gestational periodontitis.
And now I seem to have gestational diabetes.
For a person who never saw any doctors and felt great before pregnancy, this is getting a little too much.
And check this out: because of gestational hypertension I’m more likely to have an underweight baby. And because of gestational diabetes I’m more likely to have an overweight baby. So I’m thinking maybe it will all even itself out and I will get a normal-weight baby.
Jokes aside, though, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about this and I’m failing. I’ve been doing online searches and all I’m finding is a collection of variations on the Atkins diet. I think the Atkins diet is evil, and just the idea of trying it makes me unhappy. Nobody will convince me that giving up fruit and fresh fruit juices in favor of diet sodas (like the websites I’m finding suggest) is a good idea.
Or look at this sample diet. Reduced-fat milk, granola, low-fat cheese, margarine, peanut butter – this is all disgusting and, I am convinced, extremely unhealthy. I guess the problem is that I don’t understand the guiding principles behind this way of eating. On the one hand, every website suggests I avoid processed foods. On the other, they all recommend fat-free this and reduced-fat that. This makes me think that I don’t understand the meaning of the word “processed.”
And here are some suggestions from a governmental diabetes website:
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Use mustard instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich.
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Use low-fat or fat-free substitutes such as low-fat mayonnaise or light margarine on bread, rolls, or toast. -
Eat cereal with fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk.
What use are these for me if it would have never occurred to me to put mayonnaise on a sandwich or to eat a sandwich at all? Who on Earth eats sandwiches at my age? (Unless they are a sincere sandwich fanatic). And margarine? How can I take seriously anybody who suggests people eat this nasty poison? When I imagine putting “low-fat mayonnaise or light margarine on bread, rolls, or toast”, I want to vomit. Do people really eat such things? Especially if they are pregnant 37-year-old people? As for cereal, I wouldn’t touch it to save my life, let alone with this tortured kind of milk.
I will eventually get to see a nutrition specialist at the hospital but I don’t believe that specialist will be of any use to me. Nutrition specialists are trained to modify typically US diets in order to make them healthier. I, however, do not eat like an American person.
Discussions about healthy eating always leave me frustrated because I feel like people are speaking a different language.
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