One of my favorite things to eat during the first trimester is bread. It’s bland, it’s safe, and in my opinion, delicious. I am a self-proclaimed “carb bunny” because I can eat all types of carbohydrates all day. While carbs are not the enemy, overeating them or constantly choosing refined carbs (simple carbs) as a part of your diet during pregnancy can lead to unnecessary weight gain. I don’t know about you, but I would like to gain only what is necessary for a healthy pregnancy and the rest can stay on the plate and away from the scale. There is no need for me to make a bigger hill to climb when it comes to losing weight postpartum.
After suffering from gestational diabetes during my first pregnancy, I learned a lot about blood sugar. I had to test my blood sugar levels at least 4 times a day and I was shocked to see how bread was my biggest problem when it came to staying in a homeostatic blood sugar range. To my surprise, even the gluten-free breads didn’t bring much improvement. I learned that I needed to find substitutes for my beloved toast with butter. In this Youtube video I briefly discuss some of those substitutes such as portobello mushrooms as my buns instead of bread.
Another culprit of raising the blood sugar was surprisingly white rice. Sure, I could eat an extremely small amount without much change, but it was less than a quarter of the amount I was used to eating. No one ever told me to be mindful of gluten-free bread and rice during pregnancy, because it could increase my blood sugar levels and cause extra weight gain, among other health issues.
It goes without saying that refined white sugar is not good for you or your baby. And it certainly isn’t good for maintaining weight either. If keeping weight gain in a safe and healthy range during pregnancy is something you are thinking about then consider removing refined carbs from your diet as much as possible for you. I hope this helps! It definitely helped me during my second pregnancy. Good luck!
Foods to Avoid:
Bagels
Wheat bread
White bread
Gluten-free Bread
Too much white rice
Fried foods with breading on top
Refined sugar (candy, cake, and other pastries)
Possible Substitutes:
Portobello Mushrooms (as buns)
Collard Green Leaf (as a wrap)
Quinoa (instead of white rice)
