When I left my doctor’s office last Tuesday, my OB said, “No news on Thursday is good news.”
She was talking about my Gestational Diabetes test. You know, the one hour test I have never, ever flunked…until now.
As if that weren’t enough, my hemoglobin is at a point where most people wouldn’t be able to drag themselves out of bed, yet I am full of energy. It’s a pattern I’ve come to know well.
These things are the lemons I plan to make lemonade with.
The first thing I did was to ask friends for links and ideas on what I should do next. I also learned that the stress I was under the day of the test due to some unforeseen circumstances could have contributed to a higher result. My OB had also warned me that the older a woman gets, the more likely she is to at least flunk the 1 hour test and quite possibly end up with GD because of how our bodies age and process sugars.
This all made me realize the changes I had been making in my diet earlier in the year, the very ones I had begun to let slip as I got further along in this pregnancy, needed to part of my life…forever.
I actually began a “real food” – “whole food” – “clean eating” type of diet years ago, but I only implemented parts and pieces at a time. We cut out quite a bit of prepackaged foods, began using mostly whole grains, and added in things like sea salt and real butter as part of our regular diet. But, there were many other things I was doing that weren’t helping me one bit. Such as:
- drinking soda
- eating white sugar
- not drinking enough water
And then there were things I’d never even heard of or had heard of, but thought were way too difficult for me to tackle, like:
- soaking grains
- sprouting grains
- using sourdough
- learning how to convert recipes to real food ingredients
So, this is where I am. I’m not trying to cheat the GD test on Tuesday, I’m just trying to make some lasting changes. Changes I’ve been putting off for quite some time.
I wanted to share with you a few of the resources I’m using to help me along the way.
*GNOWFGLINS eCourse – I have a membership to GNOWFGLINS (which stands for God’s Natural Organic Whole Foods Grown Locally In Season). I’m able to access all sorts of information, videos, podcasts, pdfs and more on everything from soaking grains to using sourdough to teaching kids how to help with real food cooking. There is so much information there, I’m having to really take it slow and try a few new things at a time.
What I am most thrilled about with the GNOWFGLINS ecourse is that it is the first time I’ve felt like soaking grains was doable and not nearly as difficult as I had it pictured in my head. I’m still learning, but I finally see how I can implement this in my own kitchen.
*Clean Eating 101 – My friend Jen from Gricefully Homeschooling sent me a ton of links and this was the one that I ended up getting the most goodie out of (I pinned quite a bit from this site on my Real Food Pinterest Board). While I don’t plan to follow everything on this site (I fall more in line with what GNOWFGLINS teaches), there was a lot of great information here to get me started on things like substituting in recipes and cleaning out my pantry.
*Treat Yourself eCookbook – The first thing I thought of when my OB called was the fact that the holiday season is upon us and I LOVE to bake and make candy this time of year. I’ve been searching the internet for healthier versions of some of my favorite holiday treats, but I’m also planning to try some of the recipes in this eCookbook as I wholeheartedly trust Kate’s expertise when it comes to making recipes taste yummy!
*Mercola.com – While I always get the feeling Dr. Mercola is trying to sell me something way out of my budget, he does have tons of good information on his site. In fact, it was this article on what kind of oil to use that convinced me I need to switch over to coconut oil…now! I never could quite get the hang of using coconut oil outside of topical applications, but my plan is to start trying it in things I’m baking and see how they turn out.
Honestly, this isn’t the post I had intended to put up this week. I was looking forward to telling you how 30 weeks feels like the downhill slide for me and how great I’m feeling and how much I’m getting done (I cannot wait to show you baby’s space in my bedroom!), but when that call came, I felt like I needed to really rethink some things; therefore, I couldn’t be flippant and casual with this week’s post.
If you remember, pray for me on Tuesday when I go for my 3 hour GD test and my iron infusion. I just want to come out on the other side of it all feeling as good as I do now, if not better!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Amber says
So sorry you’re having this concern. I have a friend who just had her 10th baby. During her pregnancy for her 9th she had gestational diabetes. She was able to control it by diet and exercising daily, and gave birth to a healthy baby. Not only that but this last pregnancy was far easier for her, I’m pretty sure she didn’t get diabetes at all, and she again gave birth to a healthy baby. I hope this can be some encouragement. I’ve personally struggled w/the hemoglobin count during my last couple pregnancies–not extreme, but not good levels at some points. My energy showed it too on the last one — I was wiped out. It’s so hard to take care of ourselves so we can take care of others, isn’t it? (as I write this at way past any time sensible people are in bed…) I need to work on a healthier lifestyle as well. I said a prayer for you just now.
Amy says
Thank you, Amber. 🙂
Jennifer G says
Hopefully you will pass your 3 hr test and not have to worry about it after that. However, I find that for me, I have to watch ALL carbs, not just the “bad” ones. Even veggies will spike my blood sugar if I don’t watch my portion size, for example, I cannot have rice and peas or potatoes and peas at the same meal…even though combined they are supposed to be a complete protein, because combined they are also way too high in carbs. Oatmeal, even soaked is a HUGE no-no for me, I can only handle about 1/4 c (cooked) at a time. Not even worth the trouble. So work with your Dr, if they don’t automatically send you to one, ask to see a perinatalogist and follow their advice. Their recommendations will be much stricter than anything you see online, but following their “diet” has kept me off insulin for the duration of my pregnancy…I only have about a week left 🙂 And they have said it is a perfect diet for a BF mom (and once the baby is born, my numbers should be a bit easier to control, so I might be able to relax and combine some of those carbs & veggies and maybe even add some fruit back in…and hopefully eat a bowl of oatmeal) 🙂
Jennifer G says
Oh PS…you can do simple things with coconut oil, like using it in place of butter on grilled cheese sandwiches (very tasty), or using it to grill veggies, I even used it to pop popcorn before I had to stop eating popcorn. If you are a coffee drinker, you can even drop a small blob in your coffee (stir and stir and stir some more) and drink it down that way, you can’t even taste it…but it will sit on top if you don’t stir a LOT. It is a little too bland to use in place of butter on regular toast, but it works great for biscuits since they tend to be a bit salty.
Hope this helps 🙂
Danielle B says
Peas are a starchy veggie, so is corn. That!s why you have that issue.
Amy says
Thank you for the recommendations!
Wendy M says
Hi, I have had two children, they are now 13 and 3. When I was pg with the first I ate the standard American diet and almost flunked my glucose test. I also gained 40 pounds and was miserable. With DS #2, I did a low carb pregnancy. Passed the test with flying colors and only gained 20 pounds! I know that low carb might sound scary, but it sounds similar to some of the changes that you are trying to make. I blogged about it here. Hope you find this helpful.
Wendy M says
Hi, I see that my comment hadn’t been approved yet. I wasn’t trying to plug my blog to your readers or anything, sorry if it sounded that way. I am a nobody in the blog world. I have one post on my whole blog. I just wanted to share what helped me. I really hope you will read it. 🙂
I do want to say that I am a moderator of a yahoo group called Pregnant Atkids but I just picked that up about a month ago. We do offer support for expecting moms who are trying to watch what they eat and still have a healthy pregnancy.
I will be looking forward to seeing how your next test goes. 🙂
Amy says
Wendy,
I am just now getting around to approving comments from yesterday because I don’t get on the computer much on Fridays (or the weekends for that matter, but my husband happened to have a meeting this morning and I decided I could spare a little time on here). I didn’t think you were being spammy…I’m just slow. 😉
Thanks for the information! 🙂
Amy says
Doesn’t sound crazy at all. 😉
Suanna says
Here’s an idea that may help a little with the baking dilemma. Have your family members each pick one of their favorite baked goods they want you to make this season. It’s okay if some of them pick the same thing. Then pick a day to bake and just make one thing each week to serve as dessert. Make sure you serve a high protein meal at dinner to help combat the sugar. Leftover desert could be used as a snack or dessert the next day. Another place to look for ideas is in gluten free foods. Many of those have more protein in the baked goods due to the increased number of eggs and use of higher protein flours.
We use coconut oil or butter for almost everything. I like the subtle flavor it adds to my baked goods and we don’t notice the difference when I use it for frying savory foods either.
Amy says
Great idea! Thank you!
Sande says
My first pregnancy I failed the one hour test and passed the 3 hour. I was stressed for the first one too. I will be praying for you!
Also, you will love coconut oil in your baking goods! I think it makes them light. It should help them not mold as quickly too!
Amy says
That’s good to know! I’m excited to try it. 🙂
JY says
Amy, my heart goes out to you…We have four children, I had GD 3x and over the years, I made many changes to our families diet, so when we found out we were pregnant with our fifth child, I was confident that I would not fail the 1st test at 17 weeks. 1 day after the test, I got the dreaded call. I took the 3 hour and failed 3 of the four tests. In addition, I turned 35 which put me in a high risk category anyway. I tried every natural thing I could, nothing has worked. Most of my 4 sugar checks a day were high, eventually I was put on 2 different types of insulin. I highly dislike this. Now three times a day I have to remember to give myself insulin. The only thing that sometimes worked is eating lots of veggies and protein…fruit and any other carb’s in any form make my sugars high. I have had my ups and downs being depressed about it. I never seem to win. The only good thing that I see is that with birth of our 4th child/1st son, because I had to have so many extra doctors appointments, they were able to see that my placenta was blocking my cervix – this was 1 day before I was to be induced. Had I been allowed to go into labor we – our son and myself – may not be here.
I keep this as my focus right now. Though I am tired of the 2x a week appointments (a 1 hour drive each way with the kids), sugar logs and let’s not forget that the cost for all the monthly insulin and test strips is over a $100, I believe it is for our good.
Right now I am 34 weeks and 3 days. Yahuah willing, on December 18th @ 10 AM, I will be having my second c-section.
I read your enjoy your blog posts and hope that by me sharing my trial, that you will be encouraged.
Hillary says
I am 34 weeks myself in my third pregnancy. I had flunked the 3 hr BG tests with my first two kiddos but never had to take insulin…my levels were only slightly high. The third time always seems to be the charm. I flunked this 3 hr BG test and I’m having to keep up testing. No insulin so far. I have cleaned up my snack habits and my eating habits and honestly it is something I needed to do anyway. I hope your three hour test goes okay…we will be praying for you!
Amy says
(HUGS) and prayers for a safe delivery!
Carrie says
I’m right there with you. I have an appointment with my midwife on Monday and we’ll be discussing my blood sugar levels since they’ve been a bit higher than she would like. I’ve been working on making some lasting changes too…eating more vegetables, cutting out a lot of the carbs I’ve been eating. It’s a difficult process, but it feels great knowing I’m making healthy changes. 🙂
Praying for you!
Amy says
That’s what I’m focusing on…this isn’t temporary. 🙂
Brianna says
Don’t worry too much about the 1-hour test results. Even the 3-hour test is just doctors playing with numbers and don’t give the complete picture of what’s going on. I am on my fifth pregnancy. I always pass the 1-hour test. On the 3-hour test, 2 of the numbers have to be ‘too high’ to be diagnosed with GD, but only one of mine ever is (though it’s a different one every time.) For me, the true test that tells me something is bad for baby is that I have big babies. I’ve had a 10lb 4oz boy thinking I didn’t have an issue because I passed the 3-hour. I had gained 35 lbs. He got stuck at the shoulders which was scary and I don’t want to repeat! On the diet I’ve had an 8lb 12oz girl and then 10 lb baby boy. I had only gained 13 lbs! This time around my midwife has encouraged me to freely eat cinnamon, as that is supposed to help my body. She said no cinnamon supplement as that hasn’t been tested in pregnancy, just the normal amount you could have on food. Since most cinnamon foods are high in carb, I fill an empty capsule with the type and amount I may have on oatmeal, and take that. I also take 500 mg of chromium twice a day as a supplement which is supposed to help. My diet consists of 5-6 meals a day, with 15-20 grams of carbohydrates for all meals except dinner which is 35. I also always have protein or fat with my carbohydrate. Exercise is supposed to help, but I tend to get so hungry when I exercise that it’s hard to keep to my diet! One thing I do, though, is when I’ve taken the 3-hour test, develop a nervous twitch to help my body out. The test is extremely fake and many have disputed its reliability, and I’m never sitting still for 3 hours, always up and taking care of my kiddos so I don’t feel bad about it! I’ve found some snacks help me stick to the diet: cheese, olives, mushrooms, celery, kipper snacks (canned herring), tea with heavy whipping cream, stevia to sweeten tea coffee or cocoa, and sparkling water. Also, paleo is even more helpful than gluten free because it uses coconut and almond flour instead of rice, bean, and potato flours which have a ton of carbs. Hope all turns out well! A lot of what I do is healthy anyway so I hope that it’s helpful no matter how your test turns out!
Amy says
I had heard not to sit still…which I’m not sure I can do for 3 hrs anyway! I’ve also heard of cinnamon helping with blood sugars, but wasn’t sure if it had any real validity. Thanks for the info!
Sarah says
Hi Amy,
Being a person who eats whole foods, and grain free for most of the time I really relate. I very much fought against changing my diet because I CRAVED the junk food and it was hard. Tackle one thing at a time and you will start to feel better. I simply started to read the back of ingredients on things and that grossed me out. If I didn’t know what it was, I knew it wasn’t food! I really recommend looking into The Weston A. Price Foundation, and the GAPS diet. Really, small steps at a time and you’ll feel better. I’m glad to hear you say this, because as I’ve read your blog I’ve spotted a lot of food allergy issues (in things you have described) and have been praying for you that God would show you. If you have direct questions you can email me. I won’t have the “follow up comments” coming to my in box (there are to many), so if you reply I won’t know! 🙂
Have a good day,
Sarah.
SkagitBon says
Healthy eating to the rescue! I can tell you about my experience. When my son (first child) was due just after my 30th bday, the doctors freaked out and told me I would probably get GD. I did. The most annoying part was poking so much to get readings. The best part was eating so healthy. Really, it’s rather simple. Think: lots of veggies and protein. NOT the starchy veggies (potatoes aren’t so friendly, corn, peas, no – put “glycemic index” into your search engine and find a list you love…. but there are many that are GREAT. Frozen green beans work as a quick portion when you are tired of taco salad-my “go to” meal!) They told me the issue would be an overweight baby. But the nurses were upset when I didn’t gain as much weight as they wanted and I eventually had easy, small infants born! (I had GB with my daughter 14mos later, too). Instead of arguing with drs because they didn’t make sense, I just ate vegetables and protein. My TREAT was a tiny protein shake, followed by a bit of dark chocolate! The protein balanced out any spiking the dark choc might have done. The protein shake is a friend. If the numbers go up, grab a small glass to keep from spiking. Better yet, plan it out beforehand if you eat ANYTHING you might think could throw you off. My kids are distracting me right now, so I hope I am making sense. I will pray this is a healthy, happy experience for you. It isn’t easy to cut out sugar, because it is EVERYWHERE, especially in the holidays. But honestly, our families don’t need it,either. Other sites you may want to look into are those that tout the Paleo eating plan and Primal eating plans (marksdailyapple.com is a good place to start, just ignore his reference to ape ancestry!). Bottom line: you will get to experiment a little and find out what works for your body. If you keep a food journal, you will know what spikes your blood sugar. Keep that protein powder on hand OR some chicken or turkey breast when you get a spike. You will be fine. My kids came out 5′ 6oz and 5’8oz (results NOT typical, I hear). But I treated my GD like a 3 month science experiment! I love reading your posts and so glad I came upon your site. I will be praying for you.
SkagitBon says
Sorry that took up so much space, and I meant to write that I was to turn thirty FIVE with the due date of my first child. The other comments are all good! I didn’t see them until I had penned my giant one that you may not have needed. Sorry!
Amy says
Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Lauren Mc. says
Dear Amy,
My last pregnancy I had to do the 3 hr test for GD. I passed, barly! Both of my two pregnancies I was told to watch what I ate since I was so close to being GD both times. I am 28 weeks and had my in office GD test and expected a call yesterday telling me I have to go for the 3 hr test. They didn’t have my results yet. Anyways… my down fall much like yours, the season for baking! Three birthdays all within 3 weeks in Sept earned me a 10 pound weight gain! Now many more baking goodies to come. Normally I can have ‘self control’ but sweets is all I seem to crave! For me I had adjusted my diet as follows which worked for the first 20-23 weeks of my pregnancy! Detox from sugars so I ate: Salads, proteins, veggies and fruit. I stayed clear of breads, white potatoes, even whole wheat items! I felt better, my stomach issues were gone and I had energy. The first few days were rough but after the cravings went away. I used Stevia for my 1 cup of coffee. I treated myself to a peanutbutter dessert once in a while which is around 300 calories but I split it with my hubby (it’s on my Pintrest page). Water water water. We don’t buy anything but juice and drink water. Since we are on such a tight budget, I tend to stay away from the juice so we can have it for the boys (which I still water that down for them!). We have chickens for I ate eggs most mornings and ground venicine sausage or veggies. Lunch, salad with chicken, veggies, fruit, anything I had to add I add (still). Sweet potatoe, meat and veggies for dinner. Snacks, apples and bananas. So, this brings me to how much lack of time I have to do things cause I’m cooking three meals a day! BUT, staying away from packaged foods is so much better for everyone. I stock pile pancakes for the boys, I even to a peanut butter pancake so I can have a few (protein) and reheat for breakfast or oatmea or eggs. Lunch I am always making them. Yup, my delema… no time, and homeschool, a hubby that is not home much and animals to tend to. It’s hard. I love your ideas of two cook free meals is possible a day! 🙂 I’m trying to figure out how to pre-cook and package once a week so I can free up time for me to have with my family and things that need to get done! Praying for you and your baby. Praying for great test results and for you have draw strength from God to keep away from the sweets. 😉
God Bless!
Amy says
Thanks so much, Lauren!
Ashley says
Aww! Our family will be praying for you! You are doing great! Changing your diet will make you feel so much better to! I know how hard it is not to slip! I’ll pray for your test, and for strength!
Also I just started cooking with coconut oil, and I love it! I’d recommend going to heavenly homemakers website Laura has great articles, and recipes to use with it!
Have a blessed weekend!
Wendy Hoff says
You’re probably familiar with it but my favorite real food blog is heavenlyhomemakers.com. Helps me a lot!
Amy says
Yes, I am..just haven’t been there in a long time!
maria says
Hi Amy.
Just thought I’d recommend this site: heavenlyhomemakers.com, the author has so many great tips and recipies for cooking from scratch with real, wholefood ingredients. She writes alot about keeping it simple and no-stress too ;-), so very much worth the visit.
blessings to you,
maria says
haha, okay – apparently the two previous commenters had already mentioned this website 🙂
it is popular 😉
Katie Moore says
Great Post! I have a quick question. Would you mind e-mailing me via private e-mail? Thanks!
Amy says
Katie,
You can send an email to amy at raising arrows dot net. I’m slow about answering due to life, but I’ll try to answer as soon as I can. 🙂
willow says
I don’t really ever comment because I usually read RA through my email, but this topic brought me over to the site. I’d REALLY like to recommend the new book “Trim Healthy Mama” by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison (Nancy Campbell’s daughters (from Above Rubies). To be honest while soaking/sprouting/etc. your grains is good nutritionally, it’s not going to help with GD at all. The grains/carbs/sugar ARE the problem. Soaking and sprouting won’t change that, and honestly it’s VERY time consuming and many families who are used to more normal American fare are going to have hard time switching over to it, especially if they are used to lots of sweet things. Unless you have a real “go-getter” high energy personality, you will have a hard time keeping up with all that, if your family eats a grain heavy diet. I know that’s not a popular thing to write since that stuff is “all the rage”, but I have seen *way* too many homeschooling mamas burn out “soaking and sprouting* while their families don’t even like the food! Plus those of us who don’t tolerate carbs well are seriously going to gain weight on a traditional foods diet unless your really watch your carbs. This is exactly what happened to me! I was at a normal healthy weight and when I went from eating low-fat but still whole foods to full-fat traditional foods, I packed the weight on which only makes GD AND regular Type 2 diabetes more likely. For the record I do not have type 2 nor have I had GD with my five pregnancies, but I DO gain weight easily if I am not very careful, especially during pregnancy, and my maternal grandfather and my mother both had/have type 2. Both were/are very overweight.
Serene and Pearl’s book makes what I think is a *seriously* helpful point with regard to healthy eating AND maintaining a healthy weight (which goes a LONG way in preventing GD/Type 2). Their main premise is that you CANNOT double fuel or you will store fat. If you eat carbs AND fat together at a meal or too close together, you are giving your body too much fuel and it will store as fat. This is especially true for anyone who is insulin resistant/carb-sensitive. The book goes into WAY more detail, than I can here, but it really is the best resource I’ve come across and since I am a health/nutrition nut who has been studying this stuff for 14 years that’s saying something! I do not get anything out of recommending this book, it’s just helped me so much that I wanted to share it. My personality is VERY similar to yours, Amy, so I thought you might enjoy it as a resource. It is a huge book – 640 pages with tons of info and recipes. The recipes are very good and very family friendly too. It’s easy to add sides like rice, whole wheat bread or whatever for your family but still eat in a way that helps mama be healthy. Best of all you don’t have to choose between eating good fats, enjoying treats, and even enjoying carb foods, you just learn to do it in a supportive way. I also really like that they emphasize that mamas have different needs than men and growing children, so we cannot expect to eat like they do! I know I needed to hear that. 🙂
Anyway, I know that was way too long, but I really wanted to share my heart on something that’s very personal to me. Here’s a link to the book and to the facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trim-Healthy-Mama/277546472299207?ref=stream
http://www.amazon.com/Trim-Healthy-Mama-Cravings-Energize/dp/193894500X
Hope this helps someone!
Amy says
Thank you! That is very helpful! 🙂
Trooppetrie says
praying for you and this blessing.
Diana says
Hi, Amy!
If this turns into a serious issue for you, I would – like some other commenters – recommend a very-high-protein and very-low-carb diet. In other words, nixing all sugars, fruits, beans, and grains. This is the ONLY way I have been able to lose baby weight, and it is also working marvels for my blood sugar stability. It’s hard to get used to, but easy to maintain once you learn it. As someone else suggested, I would recommend the GAPS book and the Weston A. Price materials as well.
Good luck!!!
Diana
Jen G ~ Gricefully Homeschooling says
Thanks for the shout out! I really hope you are able to find the eating plan that works for you and your family. Praying the rest of your pregnancy is uneventful. 🙂
Beth says
Thanks for all the information!!! I am really into natural health and want to incorporate more whole food cooking into our diet!
Tiffany Ballard says
My iron has given me alot of problems . what was your iron level?? If your really low then taking Floradix will help. It is awsome and is very fast at getting your levels up!! here is the link
http://www.vitacost.com/flora-floradix-floravital-iron-and-herb-yeast-free-17-fl-oz
hth!
Amy says
I’ve taken Floradix, but because of how close I am to delivering, they want to be a little more proactive (I did ask if I could try to fix it on my own which came back w/ a resounding no. 😉 )
Susan Alexander says
Hang in there! I’ve been pregnant 3 times now. Had to take the 1 hour AND 3 hour the first time, the 1 hour, then the 1 hour again and then the 3 hour again the second time, and only the 1 hour the third time! I’ve never had GD. So, my experience is that failing the 1 hour doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Good luck!
Kari says
We’ll be praying for you! Dietary changes aren’t easy for me to make. However, when I was pregnant with my last child, I did have GD and made the necessary changes to have a healthy pregnancy and child. That was twenty-one years ago and I need to reinstate many of those changes. Thank you for the links you shared!
Jen S. says
Just a quick post but, for low iron, I have heard wonders about Floridex – an all natural supplement that helps boost up your iron. I took it once after an exceptionally heavy monthly visit and thought it tasted really good. A good friend of mine (the one who gave to me), took it after a birth. While she needed it, it tasted good. After a while she took some more, and it tasted like rusty nails!! Anyway, just thought I’d throw that out there for you. Hope all goes well!!! And I echo what I saw someone say about not worrying about the 1 hour. It sucks having to do the 3 hour but I bet you’ll get through it. That said, good eating habits are always a good thing.
Deo Juvante, Jen
NeKisha says
I will pray for you! I just wanted to warn you that the liquid they give you for three hour test is awful stuff. I thought I could surely handle it, but it took all I had not to vomit afterwards. It is strong, terrible stuff.
Try not to vomit though, LOL, or you have to drink that stuff all over again! That was my only motivation 😉
Amy says
Yes, I told my husband I CANNOT get sick b/c there is no way I want to go through this again! lol
CMiller says
I found a blog a while back that has some great ideas for both adults and children…100daysofrealfood.com! Good luck 🙂
Amy says
I’ve printed off a lot of stuff from there too!
Christine says
I just started reading Trim Healthy Mama by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett. So far what I am getting is that we need to have a good source of protein at every meal, and to eat whole grains, but carefully, and not always with a lot of fat. Too many carbs, even good ones, eventually make us produce too much insulin. The protein makes our body produce glucagon, which counteracts the insulin. I think. Just getting into chapter 1, but so far I am really enjoying it. It is on amazon and also at the above rubies web site. I know there are different guidelines if one is trying to lose weight, maintain weight, or pregnant.
Amy says
I saw that book in their latest magazine and thought about picking it up. thanks for the review. 🙂
Nicole says
Coconut oil is absolutely amazing and completely interchangeable for any other oils you are used to using. You will not find a single reason to “go back.” Best wishes in your food changes! You and your entire family will benefit!!
Toni says
I failed my 1 hr test miserably, but passed the 3 hr with flying colors! The lab tech said the first test must have just been on a weird day for me. I hope you pass, too!
Amy says
thanks!
Jana says
I love Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It’s a beautiful cookbook full of traditional foods. I also enjoy Make it Paleo cookbook. Beautiful photos of every recipe.
Amy says
I do own Nourishing Traditions…need to pull it back out and review. 😉
Danielle B says
I echo the heavenlyhomemakers blog, and in addition passionatehomemaking.com
Melissa S says
I came to this site from a friends’ link on Facebook. I wanted to let you in on a little secret, because, honestly, I have no idea how it could EVER get back to my husband. He hates coconut. I believe it’s a relic from his past of eating some nasty concoction that has unsweetened coconut shreds in it or something. But he cringes when I bring out that jar of coconut oil, says he can’t stand the smell of it cooking or the taste in the food.
Anyway – I made pumpkin muffins a few weeks ago, with a cream cheese center. And the entire 1 3/4 cups of fat it called for – in coconut oil!!! It made 24 muffins. I know for a fact that he ate at minimum 1/4 of the batch. “Oh honey, keep this recipe!” “They were delicious!” I may have forgotten to mention the fact that I put an awesome oil/fat into them, so if you find me – I’ll slap you silly if you tell my man! 🙂 I’m finding more and more ways to apply it to my everyday cooking – you will too!
Amy says
Oh, please do share the recipe! (and my lips are sealed 😉 )
Serenity says
I flunked my one hour test with my last baby (number 5). When I went to take my three hour test I was feeling so rotten that the staff treated me like a queen. They actually put me in a little room by myself and let me sleep the entire time!!!! The staff was a gift from God and in the end I did not even have GD 🙂 I will pray that your test goes well and you and baby are in great health!
PS: I thanked them for their care by baking them a sweet treat….ironic, huh?
Amy says
LOL – I love that you baked them something sweet. 😉
Myfawnwy Stephenson says
Amy,
I always fail the 1 hr. and pass the 3 hr. with flying results.Praying you have the same results.
Blessings,Muffy
Amy says
That’s what I’m hoping for! And it sounds like I definitely need to get that book!
Myfawnwy Stephenson says
Amy,
I just bought the book Trim and Healthy Mama through Far Above Rubies. They have some great recipes and tons of good info for us mamas.
Blessings,Muffy
Shanna says
I also failed my 1 hour for the first time this last time (#4). I didn’t do anything extreme, just tried to eat healthy and passed my 3 hour with no problem. 🙂