Gestational Diabetes: Managing as a Wedding Photographer
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links where I may receive a small commission on purchases made. Typically this helps support my hobbies and planner supplies because who doesn’t love stickers?! Also, I am NOT a doctor and none of this should be construed as medical advice. It is all personal experience.
“You have gestational diabetes”. These dreaded words were first spoken by my OB in 2010 when I was pregnant with Emi. At the time, I didn’t know anything about managing gestational diabetes and it was BORING. I spent months eating the same things every day, just to control my blood sugars. While I was told it was possible not to have it during other pregnancies, I’ve had it with all four of mine! It’s not the end of the world though, even if you’re a wedding photographer. Today I’m sharing my tips below.
Gestational Diabetes Times Four
During my third pregnancy, I shot nine weddings while successfully managing my gestational diabetes with diet. There were a few things that made the wedding season easier (my favorite being carrying my own cooler of snacks!) and today I’m sharing those with you. Not everything about my experience with gestational diabetes has been a walk in the park though. There were plenty of times were advocating was necessary and sometimes even saying “no” to favorite treats was hard. In the end though, it helped to remember that I wasn’t just doing this for me… It was for my babies too.
Real Food for Gestational Diabetes by Lily Nichols
My number one tip is to read Meal Planning with Real Food
The hardest part of managing has been all the planning. Weddings where I’d be gone from my house all day, and typically didn’t have control or say over what was served at the reception made planning tough. I found that planning my meals when I could control them, helped to keep the spikes on wedding days to a minimum. The constant on my feet exercise helped too of course. Thankfully with the help of Lily’s book above, I was able to eat more than one breakfast item! Favorites became scrambled eggs, toast with peanut butter and even yogurt on occasion. Sticking to these basics helped make my meal plans quick and easy. I found sticking with a few meals I knew my body could tolerate, worked really well for planning around wedding days. My favorite meals: This was a serious challenge! Wedding menus seem to always include those comfort foods: rolls, potatoes, and other delicious carbs that spike blood sugar. Not to mention the cake or dessert table. My best plan of action was to stick with the proteins and veggies that were served. I would fill my plate with these and choose one tiny serving of a carb that was offered. In all honesty, Mexican was always my favorite buffet, but it really served me well at those 2019 weddings. Beans and rice were a perfect pair for keeping my blood sugar in check. Of course, because I carried my cooler (Our The last thing that really helped me out was finding additional support. Thankfully, Dr. Lacey Chittle offered advice on supplements to help support my pregnancy and manage my gestational diabetes. She is a wonderful resource if you’re in need of some extra support for your life journey; be it pregnancy, sweatin’ for the wedding or just surviving your next busy season. Managing gestational diabetes as a wedding photographer, took some work. It’s totally do-able with a little planning. And these tips aren’t just for during weddings. At the beginning of March, this pregnancy got a bit rough between stress and iron deficiency. I was temporarily put on medication to help manage my gestational diabetes, but going back to the guidelines above (and getting several iron infusions) resulted in coming off the meds. It’s not typical, but rather a pleasant surprise. (P.S. you can use those snacks to keep your energy up on your own wedding day as well!)
Scrambled eggs with sweet potato and pesto
Zucchini Noodles, Chicken Meatballs (made with Epic Pork Rinds) and pesto
Breakfast sausages with Dutch baby
Taco salad
Charcuterie Plates (Give me all the meats and cheeses!)
Navigating Wedding Menus
