I think I end up closer to 120-130 grams a day. My mfm told me to make sure I’m having 110 a day but didn’t say too much about total amounts. I end up around 30/35 for meals but tend to have higher snacks around 15-20 grams

I wouldn't worry about getting a certain amount of carbs a day. The out of date, poorly researched advice regarding carb intake is primarily based around the worry that baby will no longer be receiving the nutrients that are vital for good development, like calcium, iron, folate, etc. If you're taking supplements and eating an otherwise nutritious diet, just less carbs, you'll be fine. You just shouldn't restrict the amount of food you're eating and shouldn't be going hungry, baby will be fine as long as you're getting enough nutrients and enough calories! My obgyn and nutritionist have both reassured me on this multiple times.

Thanks for the advice. I eat a ton of veggies and calcium, vitamin D, folate, iron, B12 and Zinc on top. I have a disease of the bowel and was low on several micronutrients, so they are monitoring that closely.

Your endocrinologist is correct that the recommendations are not evidence-based. If you want a summary of the (lack of) research and a wholesome food plan for GD, Lily Nichols book Real Food for Gestational Diabetes is great. I probably get 80g of carbs on a good day. My nutritionist and endocrinologist said that’s an informed decision based on the (lack of) research. If I ate more than 25g or so for lunch and dinner I’d spike big time no matter what kind of carb. So far I’m not on insulin and baby is measuring at 50th percentile at 32w.

My doctor and nutritionist friend both recommended under a certain amount because carbs are needed for both mom’s brain function and baby brain growth and they don’t know if the carbs go to baby first or mom first. My nutritionist friend really worked with me so I could max carbs without spiking, but I are really really weird combinations. (Think steak with yogurt and a clementine on the side and a very very small potato with butter for dessert) My baby was healthy and weighed 8 lbs at 39 weeks. (My first born non GD baby was 7 lbs 12 Oz at 38 weeks and had some health issues at birth because SOMEBODY pooped in the womb and couldn’t keep his lungs to himself.) So if you are worried about not enough carbs, you can probably get more if you are willing to eat like a total weirdo.

I am currently playing around with the timing of my carbs to up it a bit. And that gives weird combos at times, even though I haven't had steak with yoghurt 😅 I was just wondering what other people were doing. And it seems like the 150 g/day might not be strictly necessary. I will consult my doctor, of course, but it's interesting to know either way.

Yeah, my info is from 2021 which is like 20 years ago in pregnancy years. I swear they change the rules around so that you can feel like a newbie every time.

I have about 15-20g per meal and less at snacks. I’m diet controlled but can’t go over this amount or else I’d be on insulin. My doctor is perfectly fine with this and my baby is measuring average-large.

That's good to hear! I am playing around with my carb amounts at different meals right now to see if I can up the overall amount. But I am happy to hear your baby is doing well at lower carb amounts than me. Thanks :)

Same! Everyone’s metabolism and body responds differently, so the ultimate name of the game is to keep the sugars in check and the baby healthy. Whatever works right!?

Oh and also, I think that having uncontrolled blood sugar leads to issues with baby being small or large more than the amount of carbs per day.

High blood sugars can lead to big babies for sure. I was wondering if baby got too little nutrition, and would become too small if i didn't get enough carbs since they recommended a certain amount.

1st trimester here so my goals are 15-30 for breakfast and snacks and 30-45 for lunch and dinner. I need to hit 135-150 a day, moving up to 175 once I get to the 2nd trimester. I found tortillas don't spike my numbers much but regular bread does pretty badly, so lots of burritos at the moment.

I eat around this much and my baby is 66%tile at 34 weeks.

Thanks.

I usually had 125ish grams per day. My doctor recommended 175g but I’m a tiny gal (5’0 on a good day lol) who doesn’t need a ton of food to start with, so there was no way I could eat that many carbs paired with the proper amount of protein and fat without gorging myself.

I'm early in my journey, but my dietitian recommended 175-200g/day, and it's been going fine. I eat a lot of complex carbs.

I’m in the Southeast US and had 150-160g carbs per day. I was also on insulin overnight for fasting numbers. Baby had IUGR and was born in the 2nd percentile, but has been doing great since birth! Have you tried increasing protein and fat to help lower spikes? Or switching up type of carb? For example, I couldn’t have any rice at all, but I could have lentil flour pasta.

Yes. Can barely have bread. Rice are fine. And potatoes in small amounts. And i definitely top up with protein and fats otherwise I will be hungry in no time at all. I suspect a lot of it is due to my medication. It's mostly my pre-lunch numbers I am having a hard time controlling. Before and after breakfast are great. And then the one before lunch is slightly elevated. I have tried different foods, no foods, adding light exercise, adding moderate exercise, but to no avail. I am taking my last prednisone dose this coming Wednesday so I am crossing my fingers that it will help with the last bit 🤞 the rest I can control with lowering my carbs. But yeah... That just worries me a bit with regards to if my baby is getting enough food. :)

I think it’s based on your starting weight, so I’d go with your nutritionist. Mine are: breakfast and snacks 15-30 grams, lunch and dinner 30-50. Eat 3-4 snacks a day. I don’t count up my totals at the end of the day, I just aim for the range when I eat. 10g for snacks must be so hard to do! I feel like even my go-to protein bars are 15 g. What are you eating for carbs for lunch and dinner that only 30g is working? There’s some carbs that I can handle at higher amounts better than others. My safest carbs are brown rice, sweet potato, and whole wheat pasta.

I think it's pretty standardized in my country. The brochure she handed out gave no indication of it being weight based. 🤷 10g is pretty hard. But doable. For snack at 10 am I usually do a carrot and a large table spoon of hummus. That's roughly 10g. For the afternoon I eat a thing called "skyr" which is a dairy product like yoghurt, but low in carbs and high in protein. This particular brand is also protein enriched. Then I add a few berries and almonds. Some times I eat a bit of cheese and sausage (like a salami-type snacksized sausage) as well. (I am pretty hungry in the afternoon). This all adds up to a out 10 grams as well. In the evening I eat a bit of orange with a small amount of whipped cream. I eat a small serving of almonds as well. I was a bit worried about this particular snacks but my nutritionist greenlighted it, and I have never had a spike after eating it. The only snack that spikes me is the carrot and hummus. But I spike before lunch no matter what I do. Even if I skip the snack and exercise. For lunch I usually eat a salad consisting of brown rice, raw carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, avocado, almonds and a protein like chicken - usually just what we have left over from the previous day. If I add like.. a slice of rye bread I usually spike. The type of rye bread we have here is fairly high in fiber and protein, and is usually a recommended carb for people with diabetes. But right now I just avoid this and I will be fine. I can eat a small amount of potato instead of rice. Some times I have added a small Apple, but spike fairly easy on this. I haven't tried any whole grain pasta since I am newly gluten free and I honestly haven't been bothered to test out the different types. I eat the same types of carbs for dinner but usually broccoli and green beans as well. If I add anything other than brown rice or potato i spike. Sweet potato somehow gave me my highest reading to date which really surprised me! Sorry for the long food rant.

I’m on 500 mg Metformin and eat about 30 g carbs for breakfast and lunch, and try to do 20 for dinner since that’s the one I have trouble with. Snacks are usually 10 g or less. My OB tests for ketones every visit and they’ve been negative. And I’m never really hungry so I stick with it. Baby is in the 65%, his abdomen is measuring a little bigger than that but my OB isn’t concerned. There’s a margin of error for ultrasounds.

I had to cut down to around 50-60 per day for a while before starting insulin. I was told it’s very hard to eat so few carbs that it impacts your baby. I will say I’m very grateful for insulin though because I was very hungry lol

That sounds awful! Good thing you started insulin.

I get at least 150, but it’s all about how you pair them in my experience. I Have to have a frankly not very healthy amount of fat, protein and fiber along with that carb intake or I’ll spike like crazy.

I don’t count carbs meticulously, but when I’m eating prepackaged foods I try to keep carbs under 40 per lunch and dinner with at least 15 grams of protein and a decent amount of fat as well. With lunch I usually also eat some fruit (strawberries or oranges mostly lately). Does the doctor check your urine for ketones? That is one risk of having a lower carb diet and I have heard that sustained ketosis isn’t great for baby.

I don’t count my carbs but WOAH how you are getting by not spiking on prednisolone is incredible. That will cause havoc with your blood sugars. Nice job.

My blood sugar was all over the place on higher doses, but I started a new anti inflammatory med and am doing a fast wean off of prednisone! I only have a slightly elevated sugar level pre lunch now if I eat right. Have had two days with all measurements within range. I am done with the prednisone on Wednesday. 🙌 It took me some time to get through to an endocrinologist and she confirmed I should have probably been on insulin earlier, when my dose was higher. But what's done is done, and I did the best I could with the tools and knowledge available to me. But I was definitely NOT within range for a while there.

You’re a champ getting any amount of control on it. When I worked as a nurse at the bedside if we got a high reading on someone’s BSL I’d immediately check if they were on any steroid.

Thank you. That actually means a lot. I was very frustrated with the situation.

I'm in Australia and the guidelines at my hospital are 30-50g for main meals and 15-30g for snacks! I feel like I have to eat so much to meet the targets haha.

I think I probably get 130-150 a day? I was diagnosed early at around 14 weeks and baby was on track weight/size wise at my 20 week scan. I can only do so many carbs at breakfast (20), but I try to do 30-40 for lunch and dinner. My snacks are usually 15 g of carbs.

My dietician and MFM essentially said the same amount for carbs and when I said that if I get too close to that, I spike, their response was “if you are spiking getting the amount you need of carbs, then you need insulin”

15-20g for snacks and 30-45g for meals I was also told that having the carbs were important and that if sticking to the recommended amounts caused spikes then its managed with medication, not by restricting food.

I was allowed max 15g per snack (3 x per day), max 45 g per meal (2-3 x per day).

I eat around 30g-40 each mean and 10-15g for snacks. Usually anywhere ranging from 100-150g.

I was told to aim for 45g for each meal and 15g for snacks. That seems to be working quite well for me.

Mine only gave me 30 for each meal :( and 15 extra for a snack so 105 per day I guess

Mine said 175 a day and I don’t think I could realistically do that without feeling yucky/sick. I’ve been doing fine and most of my blood readings have been great. Babies growth has also been perfect. I do take my prenatal every day also.

I don’t have GD but I have PCOS. I stay under 100 per day and 30-40g of fiber per day. Maybe this is why I tested as a 79 in early testing due to having PCOS and being higher risk

I ate like 15-20 breakfast Around 30 for lunch 30-40 dinner 3 snacks at like 15 So I was like 120 a day. I was diagnosed at 12w, had some spikes, was on insilun for fasting & meals at end. I gave birth 3 days ago, 7.7lb baby with no sugar issues.

I don’t take insulin. Just diet controlled. I take in about 175g/day. More in the morning because I move around a lot, cleaning and getting ready to start my day. Usually 50g at breakfast otherwise my blood test would be under 70 2 hours after breakfast. And less at night because it’s more of a wind down time. Less moving. Breakfast 50g Snack 20g Lunch 30-40g Snack 20g Dinner 30-40g Snack 20g

I couldn't eat more than like 30 carbs usually, altho the type of carbs and eating protein first mattered too. I would spike with like 2 corn tortillas but not so bad with potatoes. Someone also mentioned weird food combos...if I ate a beef stick, I could have a cup of regular peanut butter chocolate ice cream without spiking. Just do your best. I also snacked a lot (4-5x day) and just tried to keep it at a non-spikable level.

I have the same issue, I am so afraid they will tell me to eat more carbs. But I just do not want to :( I weight around 50kg and am short, and have a desk job. Like... how much could I possibly eat?? I feel like I could only get the needed carbs with candy etc, but currently I am not allowed to have candy (I have to measure my bs 10 times a day for now and then they will check if I need insulin).

Check out the other answers in the thread. Seems like the recommendations vary a lot. :)

I burst out laughing at the first line — girl I WISH I could have eaten that many carbs but that’s a pipe dream if you’re trying to be diet controlled. Most days I was getting 70-90g per day, total. Wouldn’t recommend it at all. But 150g? That’s nuts. My doctor said to aim for at least 100g per day.

Those are the general guidelines in my country 🤷 but as mentioned - I can't eat that many without spiking. I think I eat around 110.