And I'm back!--Breakfast question
 

A lot has changed since the last time I've been here. I'm back to working towards a healthier me! I also dont have much of a choice as I am diabetic and my sugars are out of control.

The thing I struggle with the most with is breakfast. What are some of your favorite breakfast meals?

Moni

I love breakfast! I'd have it every meal of the day if I could :D Here are some of my regulars:

muesli and low fat milk or yoghurt
toast with poached egg and flax seed oil
porridge (1 cup milk, 1/2 cup oats, 2 tsp brown sugar)
toast with egg (scrambled with some fresh basil) and flax seed oil
banana smoothie- banana, milk, sometimes a sneaky bit of ice cream, whatever else i think would be good like berries, vanilla essence
cereal with milk (i just love all cereals, i have to be careful xD)

That kind of depends on the type of diabetes that a person has and what their management plan is, doesnt it?

Generally, it's not much different. Whether you are type I and produce no insulin yourself, or type II and are resistant to the levels your body produces you still have a need for outside insulin to control your sugars. Unless you are of the lucky few type IIs who can be re-sensitized with metformin and similar agents, at which point you don't need the insulin but still should watch your sugars.

All diabetics need to be mindful of their carb intake. They don't have to remove carbs entirely and of course should be sticking to their management plan proscribed by their doctor. However, I have yet to encounter a plan that does not involve reduction in simple or processed carbs. Large amounts of such carbs (and sometimes small portions of carb-loaded stuff) can cause spikes in sugar so fast that it can become difficult to get insulin into your system fast enough to maintain a balanced sugar, and then you risk over calculating the insulin and lowering your sugar too far - you can begin to feel like your whole day has been a roller coaster of dealing with your sugars. And that's if you're on fast acting, goodness knows the long acting insulin is a whole 'nother beast.

EDIT: for the record I am not diabetic but have several years of second hand experience with it through a boyfriend. And the reason you want steady levels of sugars is to avoid organ damage from high sugars and loss of function or other damage from low sugars. Balance is key to limiting damage to ones body.

Im in the same boat--I was diagnosed as diabetic and I HAD to make changes. Its the best thing that ever happened to me honestly. I feel better than I have in years!

If she were type I then she would essentially have no working pancreas to give a break.

If she were type II on insulin, or type I, and had been taught carb counting and knew how to adjust her insulin, she wouldnt need to limit her carb intake any more than we would in order to have a healthy diet, as she would be able to calculate the carbs in the food and then give the right number of units of insulin for it. I'm sure some carbs would raise your blood sugar very fast, like fromthebox said, but you can calculate the carbs before you eat it, if you have it sitting in front of you. I guess then you just have to hope you have got the calculation right and have something on hand in case you havent >.<

If she was type II and not on insulin or didnt know how to carb count/had decided not to carb count or whatever, then she would need to be careful about how much carbohydrate she was having and limit it to whatever her management plan enables her to have or what her doctor has told her she should be aiming for.

I like how fromthebox said that all diabetics have to be mindful of their carb intake- i think thats exactly it, the movement here in NZ seems to be, especially for people who are type I or type II on insulin, that anyone with diabetes can have a flexible unlimited diet, which would ideally be as balanced and healthy as the next non diabetic's diet.

Source: immersion in working in a diabetes clinic :lol: If ive got this wrong, the dietitions are going to shoot me

I love eggs! Love, love, love eggs. So I make a lot of egg dishes for breakfast. Scrambled with veggies, scrambled with ham, fried, poached, etc. etc. etc. I could eggs all the time and never get tired. Ahh... eggs..

Anyway! I also am starting to try new things to keep my metabolism guessing, like oatmeal with fruit or whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter and fruit.

I am hoping this works, as I am at the dreaded plateau, but I do love breakfast. I hope this helps!

I'm not sure what you mean by this. You mean like just from eating more?

I think you misunderstood what I said about being unlimited- here my understanding is that, as in anyone, a balanced diet is encouraged for everyone including diabetics, but diabetics arent always encouraged to be low carb. So for example, a diabetic person who was carb counting would be encouraged to have a balanced, healthy diet where they are counting carbs and taking the appropriate amount of insulin, but if they wanted to go out to eat or have some birthday cake or something then they could, just like anyone else could, provided that they calculated the carbs and took the insulin to cover it. Or if they decided they wanted toast for breakfast instead of eggs, then they could as long as they calculated the carbs and took the right amount of insulin. So what I meant was its unlimited...in terms of how flexible they can be. Not in terms of "eat whatever and all will be fine as long as you take a **** ton of insulin" :lol: I realise thats not healthy for anyone.

Sorry, sometimes in the morning my brain borks and im not as clear as i would like :dizzy:

I realy like the "hot pocket style" breakfast from smart ones. It has egg and turkey bacon in it, it's pretty quick. I always look forward to it.

I've been a type 2 diabetic for 10 years (17 when diagnosed with prediabetes). It sounds like you're mostly struggling with high sugar readings?

That being said, a lot of the suggestions are pretty sound, but if I were you, I would go see a nutritionist, a registered dietician. They can guide you in what is going to be the best route.

My personal opinion and what works for me??
PROTEIN. I don't mean an Atkins diet or anything crazy like that. But make sure any time you have a carb you eat protein. For example, if you eat toast, have an egg or some sliced lean ham with it. Protein help you process carbs, and prevent the spikes in blood sugar that carbs can cause. Another good AM breakfast for me is oatmeal. As you probably know, diabetes leads to other problems including high cholesterol and blood pressure. Steel cut oats help to lower those bad cholesterols, combine it with either low fat peanut butter or protein power for a protein punch to help it last longer.

I don't know if you are on oral meds yet or injectables, but your doc should have had you go to an RD. My RD recommended a few things that did not really work for me. I have altered some of the things, including eliminating processed carbs where I can, and that helps immensely!!

Good luck, and remember, diabetes is NOT a death sentence as long as you are proactive :)