No Sugar February.... March?? April??

Yep, it's that time of year again... No sugar February! It's been an ongoing tradition with my college roommates since Freshman year... but I don't think I actually jumped ship until my junior year of college. We've evolved it over the years to fit our changing lives a little bit better, so the standing challenge is: You can earn one treat each week if you exercise at least 4 times a week for 20 minutes, and eat 5 servings of fruit and veggies every day that week. It's harder than you think when there are so many treats every where for Valentines.

My pregnancy has kind of thrown a wrench in the works though and is going to be pushing no sugar February until baby comes end of April. I took my glucose test at the doctor last week and it came back high, so last Saturday I had to fast for 8 hours, and then drink a super sugary (nasty) drink and sit at the doctor for three hours while I had my blood drawn every hour... When I left my arms looked like I had been shooting up or something... RESULTS: I have gestational diabetes. It's so random, my mom can't think of a single person in our family that has diabetes, but apparently someone had to of had it down the line, because I have it now.

My new diet= Every meal/snack has to contain these proportions: 2g Carbohydrates: 1g Protein. Because I have diabetes, my body no longer produces enough insulin to balance out my sugar levels after I eat carbs/sugars, and if not dealt with properly, the high sugar levels transfer to the baby, and his body overreacts and will start storing the sugar as fat... resulting in a fat baby, and possible problems during birth. So, I have to manage my sugar levels with diet, and prick my finger 4x's a day to test my blood sugar level... No longer can I eat an apple for a snack, but i have to have an apple and some string cheese with it or some nuts... and I can't eat my favorite cereal/banana breakfast anymore... I have to throw in some ham or an egg. It really makes me not want to eat anymore because it's so much work to think about. But I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.... Luckily, most veggies like broccoli and salad and snap peas etc are fair game because they don't affect my sugar levels at all, so I'll have to fill up on those things. And poor George... I do all the grocery shopping so he is going to be enjoying my diet second hand :)

So anyway, I've decided it's just easier to not eat treats all together because otherwise I have to plan them into my meal and it's just not worth it.... so this will be No Dessert February, March, and April. If you want to join me in my no sugar challenge, you are more than welcome too... it's going to be some serious good times!! And the reward will hopefully be a happy, healthy baby come April :)