Meet Titi: How Gestational Diabetes Helped Her Reclaim Food, Pregnancy, and Confidence

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during each of my three pregnancies. The first time, I was 33 years old, in excellent shape, eating well, and I was devastated. I couldn't understand how this had happened to me. What made it harder was watching friends who were also pregnant eat freely while I navigated a strict diet and exercise routine, all while being regularly reminded by medical staff of the complications that could follow if I didn't manage it carefully. As a first-time expectant mom, I had to grieve the easy pregnancy I had imagined for myself.

My biggest challenge was food. I needed meals and snacks that tasted good, wouldn't spike my glucose, and would actually keep me full, because pregnancy hunger is real. I had to learn quickly how to incorporate more protein, rethink my portions, and still feel like myself at the table.

By my third pregnancy, at 40, I had figured it out. Over the years I had carefully documented the meals that worked, dishes rooted in my heritage, my childhood, and the meals I'd fallen in love with through my travels. I took the food I already loved and made it GDM-friendly. That approach kept me sane and satiated. I did need metformin to support my fasting sugars during my third pregnancy, but I delivered a healthy baby girl with no complications and I'm proud of that.

What carried me through was reframing the diagnosis. I saw it as a necessary commitment. I stopped seeing it as a terrible constraint and started seeing it as a commitment to a healthy pregnancy, and an unexpected gift to myself. I felt better. I ate more intentionally. And those habits followed me well beyond my pregnancies.

My advice to any woman newly diagnosed with GDM: Research meal ideas before you're desperate and hungry. Tweak foods you already love and find ways to make them work for you. And if you need extra support, there is no shame in asking for it.