Breakfast

[Catsmother]

Unbelievable as it seems, I am now six weeks into my new life with Type 2 and mostly it appears to be going well.
I've been testing quite regularly to see how I react to different foods and by reducing my carb portions and switching to things like wholewheat spaghetti and brown basmati rice have been able to keep my levels mostly in single figures. The problem I have, however, is with breakfast.
For years before diagnosis breakfast consisted of a slice of my home-made bread (10% wholemeal with mixed seeds - delicious!) toasted, with a scrape of butter and marmalade, plus a glass of fruit juice. Well, this simply will not do! I've adjusted the bread recipe so that it is now 70% wholemeal, swapped marmalade for Marmite and ditched the fruit juice but an hour after breakfast is my only 'spike' of the day.
I have experimented with porridge but I don't like it much and it left me with hunger pangs like I haven't felt for years. It still gave me a spike anyway, so I don't think it's the answer. I've also tried a poached egg on toast which was a bit better, but I'm not very good with eggs at the best of times (and the Metformin seems to make the effect worse!).
Any ideas or suggestions gratefully received.

 

[Northerner]

Breakfast is frequently a problem for people, chiefly for a couple of reasons: your liver will often release extra glucose into your blood as you wake to give you a 'boost' of energy for the day - fine if you have a fully-functioning pancreas, but not so good if you have diabetes. Secondly, people tend to be at their most insulin-resistant earlier in the day and this generally improves as the day progresses and you become more active. As a result of this, any carbs you eat for breakfast are likely to exacerbate the situation. I know some people manage OK with some natural yoghurt with added chopped nuts and berries - would this be an option? It's a shame you are not keen on eggs as they can be so versatile and would be ideal, especially accompanied by mushrooms and tomatoes, maybe some bacon as well! 🙂

Well done on your efforts so far - it sounds like you are doing really well! 🙂

 

[Cleo]

hi catsmother
well done for all the hard work you've put in do far !
as northerner said, some people are more insulin resistant in the morning. I'm having this problem right now actually. Porridge usually works a treat but (perhaps due to pregnancy hormones) its not really working for me right now. Have you tried Burgen Soy and Linseed bread maybe with a slice of cheese ? It tastes nice and its filling. Its low GI so *in theory* should work.....
good luck !

 

[Cleo]

PS - dont know how keen you are on cooking / baking etc but you could also try homemade jam / or marmalade using fructose (think its fructose?!). Its low GI so shouldnt spike your sugars the way store bought jams / marmalade can

 

[itsallgood]

Normally I'll have a green banana about 8:30am when I get to work but if I'm starving when I get up I have a small slice of pre-made crustless quiche, made from eggs, cheese, ham and veg. Its filling and with no alarming spike in BG.

Porridge is a nightmare for me

 

[AlisonM]

I'm fine with porridge, it's other cereals I can't handle. My favourite breakfasts are either nuts or berries with home made yoghurt or, a slice of wholegrain toast with grilled mushrooms or tomatoes. I tend to avoid fruit juice in the mornings as it seems to spike me, whereas I might get away with it later in the day, I do drink loads of tea though.

 

[DeusXM]

Personally I would look at eliminating carbs as much as possible from your breakfast - tiptoeing around wholemeal breads and jams doesn't really impact on the problem.

I would actually look at getting out of the 'traditional' idea of a breakfast. One of the reasons people find breakfast difficult is because breakfast is one of the most prescriptive meals of the day - it is almost always either cereal, bread or eggs.

The answer is to go more left-field. Breakfast can be anything you want it to be. Why not have a small portion of leftovers from last night's evening meal? Why not some slices of ham, or sausage, and cubes of cheese? Or a salad? Or soup? I usually have a miso soup for breakfast, or few tablespoons of Greek yoghurt with a few berries.

Its low GI so shouldnt spike your sugars the way store bought jams / marmalade can

True, but in the long run, fructose increases insulin resistance and promotes fat storage, so increasing fructose is not a good long-term strategy for anyone. There's a reason why mammals eat lots of fruit in autumn before hibernating!