Breakfast Woes

[Lynne1]

HI all -

I'm still having trouble figuring out what to eat for breakfast that I can cover properly. So far I've tried:

1. Whole grain cereal w/fiber - premeal bg 131; 1 hours post 219 :confused:
2. Two eggs with 2 slices of bread - 158 before; 164 2 hours post meal w/correction for 158 taken with bolus. Hmmm.

Has anyone tried toast w/egg whites?

Thanks Everyone!

[Penny]

Don't know what to tell you, I thought I had it figured out, and the last week it's all messed up. This morning fasting BS 112: 1 slice low carb bread with spray margerine, 1 hard boiled egg, a bite (maybe 2 inches) of a banana.....4 hours later, 203! It gets soooooo frustrating!

[Cinnabon]

Keep ur carb ratio in mind, I love egg whites! they have 0 carbs, check the bread (per slice) and add on.
Me as a T1, which I know its different, Lets say I was having 30 carbs and I was at 158 before the meal, my ratio is 10:1 ans correction is 1 unit for 50 pnts.I would give 1 unit for correction, bringing me down to 108 and count my food from there. This is just an example for me (my metabolism, ratio, correction, and T1).

[Lynne1]

Keep ur carb ratio in mind, I love egg whites! they have 0 carbs, check the bread (per slice) and add on.
Me as a T1, which I know its different, Lets say I was having 30 carbs and I was at 158 before the meal, my ratio is 10:1 ans correction is 1 unit for 50 pnts.I would give 1 unit for correction, bringing me down to 108 and count my food from there. This is just an example for me (my metabolism, ratio, correction, and T1).

I'm going to try eggs whites with one slice of toast tomorrow. Do you find you have to dual wave bolus for whole eggs?

[seacomp]

dual wave bolus for whole eggs?
I don't have that setting on my microwave.:cool:

[playgtar]

Although kind of high in carbs, Oatmeal lends itself to pretty predictable results. I unually have oatmeal and a low carb yogurt. I usually also have a low carb milk, 16oz or so.

My other mainstay meal is sausage substitute (veggie) & egg beaters (store brand). I make it like an omlet and then wrap it in 2 low carb tortillas instead of bread. I'm almost always in my target range when I test for lunch 4 hrs later.

Do you have a nutritional scale? Mine has really helped me.

[Lynne1]

Although kind of high in carbs, Oatmeal lends itself to pretty predictable results. I unually have oatmeal and a low carb yogurt. I usually also have a low carb milk, 16oz or so.

My other mainstay meal is sausage substitute (veggie) & egg beaters (store brand). I make it like an omlet and then wrap it in 2 low carb tortillas instead of bread. I'm almost always in my target range when I test for lunch 4 hrs later.

Do you have a nutritional scale? Mine has really helped me.
My 3 & 4 hour numbers are ok...it's the huge spike in the 1 hours I'm worried about. Started at 131 and went to 219. Will try your other suggestions though. They sound good!

[Cyborg]

Yogurt
1 Slice toast w/cream cheese
Breakfast bar


I'm a creature of habit for breakfast. I go with 1 of the above usually during the week.

[rzrbks]

My 3 & 4 hour numbers are ok...it's the huge spike in the 1 hours I'm worried about. Started at 131 and went to 219.

Went to my CDE with similar concern, her recommendation.......if 3 hour #s are OK, why worry?

:banghead: :argh: :aetsch:



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I, do something similar to Cinnabon. If I'm above 120/6.6(rarely) when it's time to eat I do something like, have 48 carbs and cover for 60 so instead of injecting 3 units at 1:15 to cover the 48 carbs, I inject 4 units at 1:15 and thus I bolus for high and eating at the same time.

[Jaclyn]

Yogurt
1 Slice toast w/cream cheese
Breakfast bar


I'm a creature of habit for breakfast. I go with 1 of the above usually during the week.


Which kind of breakfast bars do you eat? I used to love those havent had any in some time.

[Cyborg]

Which kind of breakfast bars do you eat? I used to love those havent had any in some time.

I'm hooked on the South Beach High Protein Cereal Bars right now. I've only tried the peanut butter and the chocolate, but they have a few other flavors. I can get a box of 24 for about 11$ at Sam's.

[trailrunner]

I am an oatmeal girl. 1/2 cup with a spash of skim milk, a pat of butter, lite maple syrup and cinnomen . OOH soooo good! I usually go from 124 fasting to about 170ish post meal. Any other carbs usually send me spiking.

[poodlebone]

I'm hooked on the South Beach High Protein Cereal Bars right now. I've only tried the peanut butter and the chocolate, but they have a few other flavors. I can get a box of 24 for about 11$ at Sam's.

I second the SB Peanut Butter/Chocolate recommendation. They are very tasty and actually quite filling. I have them only when I'm really running late in the morning. I grab one and eat it on the bus to work.

I'm also addicted to egg beaters. Even if I have cereal or yogurt for breakfast I'll have a side of 2-3 servings of egg beaters just for the extra protein. I'm Type 1, so I can go carb crazy if I want but I don't do it very often. I stick to really high fiber cereals like All Bran, or even better, All Bran Extra Fiber. I have it with skim milk or soy milk and fresh fruit. Plus a side of egg beaters.

One of my favorite breakfasts is:
Thomas' Light Wholegrain English Muffin, toasted & spread with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese. Either one whole large egg or a serving of Egg Beaters, nuked in a small bowl in the microwave and a slice of ham or a veggie sausage patty. Makes a great breakfast sandwich without all the evil stuff in the fast food kind.

[Jaclyn]

I'm hooked on the South Beach High Protein Cereal Bars right now. I've only tried the peanut butter and the chocolate, but they have a few other flavors. I can get a box of 24 for about 11$ at Sam's.



I've seen those (Sold in singles) while waitng in line at Wal-mart. Yes, they did have some good flavors....Im going to have to go get some for that price.

Thanks!

Jaclyn

[Cyborg]

I've seen those (Sold in singles) while waitng in line at Wal-mart. Yes, they did have some good flavors....Im going to have to go get some for that price.

Thanks!

Jaclyn

I bet they are almost 2$ each sold singlely. I examined similiar type bars at the pharmacy last week and nearly every one of them was almost 2$ each, unreal... The nice thing to discover was that none of them had only 12g carbs (after subtracting the fiber), while still having a good amount of protein and low amount of fat.

[kgm0612]

Have you tried Special K Protein Plus cereal? It's very good and doesn't taste like cardboard. I use Hood's Carb Countdown Milk with it. It's a total of 17g of carbs for 3/4 cups of cereal and 8oz of milk.

Also........Thomas's light English Muffins.........22g of carbs with 8g of fiber. They are also excellent!

I have no problem eating omelets or scrambled eggs. It's staying away from the hash brown potatoes and ketchup that I have a problem with.....LOL

Karen

[Cyborg]

Also........Thomas's light English Muffins.........22g of carbs with 8g of fiber. They are also excellent!

Throw a little cream cheese on there and now your talkin!

[Kelly1984]

i like to eat a half whole wheat english muffin with natural peanut butter and a quarter banana sliced on top. if im still hungry i try to get a dairy group in by having a cup of non-fat milk or nf yogurt. the protein will help your bg from spiking after you eat carbs and of course the fiber slows down the absorption of glucose in the body. so basically, whatever you choose attempt to pick something with protein and fiber included.

[Cyborg]

i like to eat a half whole wheat english muffin with natural peanut butter and a quarter banana sliced on top. if im still hungry i try to get a dairy group in by having a cup of non-fat milk or nf yogurt. the protein will help your bg from spiking after you eat carbs and of course the fiber slows down the absorption of glucose in the body. so basically, whatever you choose attempt to pick something with protein and fiber included.

I didn't know that fiber slowed down absorbtion of glucose. I knew that fat slowed down the digestion of food and subsequently the absorbtion of glucose. I'd much rather introduce fiber than fat if it will do the same thing.

[sydneya]

Also........Thomas's light English Muffins.........22g of carbs with 8g of fiber. They are also excellent!

I have no problem eating omelets or scrambled eggs. It's staying away from the hash brown potatoes and ketchup that I have a problem with.....LOL

Karen

I've had the hardest time with low carb breakfast lately. I just got sick of yogart and toast. I have to stay away with eggs because they must have hash browns with ketchup on top of the egg. Guess I should go the the scrambled eggs in the Enflish Muffis. Why do I want what I shouldn't have. Didn't even like sweets until I was diagnosed. Guess I'm just a rebellious senior citizen.:wink: Thanks for the tips.

[Kelly1984]

yep...fiber causes gel formation in the gi tract which slows down gastric emptying, reducing the digestive functions and thus delaying the absorption of glucose. basically keeping your bg from spiking after breakfast.

[Cyborg]

yep...fiber causes gel formation in the gi tract which slows down gastric emptying, reducing the digestive functions and thus delaying the absorption of glucose. basically keeping your bg from spiking after breakfast.

Very cool... So a high fiber cereal would be a good option. Or anything high fiber for that matter. :star:

[Jaclyn]

Well I went and bought some south beach bars. There quit delicious and big, coulnt eat a whole one. thx for the tip Cyborg! I too liked the peanut butter/chocolate one.

Jaclyn

[Lynne1]

Well I went and bought some south beach bars. There quit delicious and big, coulnt eat a whole one. thx for the tip Cyborg! I too liked the peanut butter/chocolate one.

Jaclyn
There are very good. I bought the pb/choc also and it was quite tasty!

[Cyborg]

Well I went and bought some south beach bars. There quit delicious and big, coulnt eat a whole one. thx for the tip Cyborg! I too liked the peanut butter/chocolate one.

Jaclyn

Every once in awhile I get lucky... They make for good snacks too. They satisfy my sweet tooth. :)

[Tigger]

In the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens Diabetes Living, they've got some really great breakfast recipes.

I can report the Blueberry Oat Bran Pancakes are quite yummy!! :D

[lesley]

for me, sadly, any type of breakfast cereal, including rolled oats shoots my blood glucose sky high! I find that most bread sends me higher than I want, but occasionally have one slice of soy/linseed toast with two microwaved tomatoes, yum! Often have two lightly boiled eggs (free range or organic, none of that poor confined chicken stuffed full of junk and antibiotics for me!) I usually have them without toast. Baked beans, no toast, although my readings are higher than with the other breakfasts. I find it very restrictive, but have found that I really don't have any choice if I want to keep the levels at a reasonable level. I think that yoghurt would be okay, can't face it in the morning, especially in the winter!.

I think that you need to try and then test, and find what works for you.

[Brenda A]

HI all -

I'm still having trouble figuring out what to eat for breakfast that I can cover properly. So far I've tried:

1. Whole grain cereal w/fiber - premeal bg 131; 1 hours post 219 :confused:
2. Two eggs with 2 slices of bread - 158 before; 164 2 hours post meal w/correction for 158 taken with bolus. Hmmm.

Has anyone tried toast w/egg whites?

Thanks Everyone!

Have you tried balance, 7g protien for every 15 carb, this really has been perfect for me. I am type 2 insulin and symlin. I do well as long as I keep equal balance. If I have cereal, I use double protien milk ( 1 pkg dry powdered milk added to 1/2 gal liquid milk). Cereal really is not worth it to me as you get so little in a serving, and it makes me hungry later. If I have 1 fruit and 1 bread I bal with 1oz cheese and 1 egg etc. I always try to get extra protien if I am hungry but I always bal 7 Pro to 15 Carb. It is basic glysemic bal. if I don't bal it never works out good for me. My body over reacts to carbs, I have 1 egg, 1/2 slice toast, 1 oz cheese, tomato or V8 juice. If I need more 1/2 fruit. This may or may not help you.

[RickLV]

Lynne,

My BG would go thru the roof as well if I ate cereal or bread. I'm not interested in that and have pretty good luck being bread free.

[Georgia]

Bread in the morning spikes my bs also. I now have 2 ryvita with light philadelphia spread & this works a treat :five:

[poodlebone]

Well I went and bought some south beach bars. There quit delicious and big, coulnt eat a whole one. thx for the tip Cyborg! I too liked the peanut butter/chocolate one.

Jaclyn

I had bought a box of those as well (PB+ chocolate). I'd have one for breakfast when I didn't have time for anything else. I'd stick it in my bag and eat it on the bus going to work. I was amazed that they were actually quite filling. Not as good as a real breakfast, but better than some other options.

I've been doing so much better with cereal lately, even my #1 favorite, Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. The past three days I've mixed 1 serving of the Special K high protein/low carb cereal with 1 serving of All Bran Extra Fiber and added some freeze dried strawberries plus 1 cup of fat free vanilla soy milk. Total carbs = 33 (after subtracting fiber). I've had mixed results so far. Day 1 I was high at 2 hours (194) but I just now realize I had banana that time, not the strawberries. Day 2 (yesterday) I was high at 2 hours, and realized that stupid me forgot to do a fixed prime when I changed my infusion set yesterday. So, even though I bolused 2 units for the breakfast I only got 1.3 units. .7 units filled the empty space in the cannula. Aaarrgghh!
Day 3 (this morning) I got everything right. Mixed the two cereals, weighed out my freeze dried strawberries, measured out my cup of milk, took my insulin. 2 hours later I was 89. Had a cup of low carb, fat free instant hot cocoa to tide me over until lunch.

[Brenda A]

Throw a little cream cheese on there and now your talkin!


Oh Man, I use to love to toast 1/2 english muffin, spread a layer of cream cheese, add very thin slices of strawberry, banana, kiwi, sometimes even pineapple. A tiny fruit salad on toast you might say. Have a cup of double protein milk. The rest of the fruit does well in a air tight baggie for the future.
Brenda :thumbsup:

[Roy Gardiner]

Lynne,

My BG would go thru the roof as well if I ate cereal or bread. I'm not interested in that and have pretty good luck being bread free.
Bread in the morning spikes my bs also. I now have 2 ryvita with light philadelphia spread & this works a treat :five: I too am finding bread a problem in the morning.

But I get breakfast at work and everything is bread-based, it seems! I might try cereal and milk, but being new to this I don't know how good or bad cereals are. I like Corn Flakes (not sugared, obviously) and rice krispies, any other suggestions?

[DeusXM]

Shredded wheat is also supposed to be good. Have you considered maybe yogurt or fruit if they're available?

[poodlebone]

I too am finding bread a problem in the morning.

But I get breakfast at work and everything is bread-based, it seems! I might try cereal and milk, but being new to this I don't know how good or bad cereals are. I like Corn Flakes (not sugared, obviously) and rice krispies, any other suggestions?

What about a bran cereal? I don't know what's available in England but here in the USA we have several cereals that have tons of fiber and low net carbs. They don't taste the best on their own but with fruit they're very good. Strawberries (and other berries) are a good choice but you can eat a fair amount of them for not a lot of carbs.

Look for cereals with low added sugar and lots of fiber.

[Roy Gardiner]

Thank you deusXM and poodlebone. Bran cereal or shredded wheat, yoghurt and fruit would do me fine, BUT I think fruit boosts my BG. Well grapes and oranges, so far, seem to.

Just a minute, bit of basic knowledge may be missing here. AFAIK BG is boosted 60 minutes or so post-prandial; does that include fairly light snacks, too? So the boost I measured could be an expected one?

Say 'yes', please; I love fruit and could live on it!

[T2 Trucker]

Thanks for the heads up on the South Beach Bars. This was a great addition to my never-ending search of good alternatives for snacks. I'm sure I'll use it for a breakfast occasionally when I don't have any bananas handy for my usual morning meal.

Good stuff and very diet/diabetic friendly !! All the components are in there.

[RickLV]

Thank you deusXM and poodlebone. Bran cereal or shredded wheat, yoghurt and fruit would do me fine, BUT I think fruit boosts my BG. Well grapes and oranges, so far, seem to.

Just a minute, bit of basic knowledge may be missing here. AFAIK BG is boosted 60 minutes or so post-prandial; does that include fairly light snacks, too? So the boost I measured could be an expected one?

Say 'yes', please; I love fruit and could live on it!
Roy,

For info on how/when Phase I and Phase II response works, see page 247 (includes a chart) in Glucose Homeostasis and Fuel Metabolism (http://www.fleshandbones.com/readingroom/pdf/274.pdf).

I take no meds and keep my carbs for breakfast at 6-ish grams. So, for me, high carb grains and fruits are poison. Those who follow ADA recommendations may disagree. (IMHO, ADA guidelines assure a requirement for meds and continuing diabetic complications.)

[Roy Gardiner]

Roy,

For info on how/when Phase I and Phase II response works, see page 247 (includes a chart) in Glucose Homeostasis and Fuel Metabolism (http://www.fleshandbones.com/readingroom/pdf/274.pdf).Thanks for that, although I think I may have to grow a new brain...!I take no meds and keep my carbs for breakfast at 6-ish grams. So, for me, high carb grains and fruits are poison. Those who follow ADA recommendations may disagree. (IMHO, ADA guidelines assure a requirement for meds and continuing diabetic complications.) I am strongly getting the impression that the ADA are not viewed very positively here; is this view correct?

I very much want to stay away from meds, as you do, and will take such steps as necessary to do so (if I can).

[sugarfree76]

"What's Breakfast?'', asks the Dawn Phenom

[Roy Gardiner]

RickLV,

I read your sig: 62 yo, T-II, started LC'ng 4/8/06. BG was 350's
(6/21) avg7Day = 101.5, aFBG = 107, Wt loss 28.6 lbs. (8.4 to go) No Meds

You seem to have done incredibly well to control things without meds, well done. And that weight loss is something, just more than 2lb a week?

What's LC'ng mean? Measuring BG I guess, but what's it stand for?

I have hope, then, as my BG has never measured over 250 and mostly under 200 with no control at all.

On the other hand I have less scope for improvement than many; I'm not overweight ( I weigh 80kg (176lb) and stand 183.5cm (6' 1/2") BFI around 17%, so I only need to lose 5kg (11lb) really), don't eat sweets hardly at all, have a pretty good diet (although not until now diabetes-aware).