Gestational Diabetes Diet
Get a starting estimate for your daily calories and a simple way to spread carbs across 3 meals and 3 snacks. Your care team's plan always comes first.
General information only, not medical advice. Ask your doctor or midwife.
How this works
Formula: Calories = Mifflin-St Jeor (10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age − 161) × activity + trimester extra (0 / 340 / 452 kcal). Carbs: at least 175 g a day.
- Resting energy is estimated with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplied by your activity level.
- Pregnancy adds about 340 kcal a day in the second trimester and 452 kcal in the third (Institute of Medicine).
- The Institute of Medicine sets at least 175 g of carbohydrate a day in pregnancy. You choose a daily total from 175 g up.
- The carbs are spread so no single meal is heavy: a smaller breakfast, larger lunch and dinner, and three small snacks. Your dietitian may set a different split.
- The plate method helps at each meal: half non-starchy vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter carbohydrate food.
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Questions
What blood sugar numbers should I aim for?
Commonly used targets are under 95 mg/dL fasting, under 140 mg/dL one hour after a meal, or under 120 mg/dL two hours after. Your care team may give you different targets; follow theirs.
Should I cut out carbs completely?
No. You and your baby need carbohydrate. The aim is to spread it out and choose slower carbs, not to cut it out.
Why a smaller breakfast?
Many people with gestational diabetes find blood sugar rises more easily in the morning, so breakfast is often kept lighter. Check what works with your own readings.