All pregnant women miss some foods and drink that are on the verboten list such as sushi, wine and cold sandwiches. I miss those things too, but I have an even longer list of “wish I could haves.” Here are just a few I’ve been thinking about.

In addition to the raw fish aspect of sushi I can’t even work in a California roll because of the white rice that would spike my blood sugar. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. I also haven’t really been able to eat other Asian foods – Thai especially is too carb heavy, and I can manage Chinese if I just do steamed veggies and a non-fried meat dish (much less tasty than what I’m really craving – I’ll tell you that!).

I am a huge fan of Mexican food, and miss grazing chips and salsa, cheese or guacamole (not to mention a big ole margarita – bad for me now both for the alcohol and the massive sugar bomb). Even tacos are ixnayed in my GD diet plan. I can get the flavors by eating a big taco salad with a few chip strips mixed in, but it’s not the same. (And as an aside – how much does it suck that beans count as a carb? SO MUCH!)

Sandwiches were a go-to meal before my pregnancy – something my preschooler will happily eat and are easy to slap together. With carb restrictions I’ve had to start eating mine on lighter sandwich rounds, and to avoid any possibility of listeria from lunch meat I also have learned to tolerate toasted sandwiches so the meat is steaming.

Of course I love candy, cookies, ice cream, cake and pie – anything sweet. Even in my pre-pregnancy diet these were not things I ate a lot, but occasionally of course I would, whether at a birthday party or church potluck. I’ve really missed the flexibility to have a real sweet treat (or even a sugar-free sweet treat!), although I also know myself to be perfectly capable of overdoing it and heading down a sugar spiral as a one-time treat turns into an ongoing sugar-fest.

I read an article in the February 2016 issue of Real Simple about how hard it is to just make a big change and stick to it. I absolutely agree, although I’m “proof” it can happen, at least temporarily when there’s a good enough incentive (in this case the health of my unborn daughter). Food has become fuel as I’ve followed the GD diet, although I know my unhealthy relationship with food is far from permanently changed. I don’t know how closely I’ll stick with the GD diet after my baby is born, but I’m hoping I don’t swing too far the other direction with my eating as to increase my risk of Type 2 diabetes even further.