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Diet

lindyloodev

lindyloodev

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I have not long been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and on medication and still adjusting to a diet . I need to have a breakfast but not keen on eggs. Is there a cereal I can have ? Someone said sheddied wheat is ok .is this ok ?
 
Well, quite a few of us skip breakfast entirely. So that's an option. And nobody says you have to eat breakfasty foods, you could just have something you'd have at lunch as well, or leftovers from dinner. Other options include full fat greek yoghurt, with something like a few berries if your blood sugars tolerate those, or cacaopowder for flavour... Crushed nuts are nice too. https://www.dietdoctor.com/search?s=breakfast includes a lot of egg-based things, but not exclusively, so you might want to go over those...?

As for cereals, well... Most of them are loaded with sugar. And even without, it's not usually a good choice, as wheat, shredded or otherwise is still pretty carby. There's keto muesli recipes out there, I do believe. But your meter'll tell you whether shredded wheat works for you or not. We're all different, and who knows what you can tolerate? (Test before a meal and two hours after the first bite. You're looking for a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l. If it's more, maybe skip it.)

Good luck!
Jo
 
Welcome @lindyloodev
All cereals are high in carbohydrates and not the best breakfast choice for people with T2.
Look at the nutritional information on the back of the package, it's the total carbohydrates we need to look for, forget the of which are sugar's bit, that's irrelevant to us because all carbs turn to glucose when digested.
Sugar is just another form of carbohydrate, one teaspoon full is about 5 grams of carbs. A 45g serving of shredded wheat is 30g of carbs. That's roughly the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar, add to that the carbs in the milk that you would have with the cereal and you could be having the equivalent to 8 teaspoons or sugar for breakfast.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes/breakfasts/egg-free
 
I believe that the amount of fibre in the cereal effects things as well. For example, I can't eat weetabix (well, I can, but they spike my blood sugar too high). I can eat all-bran, which has more carbs, sugar and fibre that weetabix, though without the spike. If I add psyllium husk -- another fibre that is not digested, although gut microbes might digest some -- I can eat most cereals except weetabix and silly stuff like fruit loops without a significant spike. I'm on insulin though, so your mileage may vary (and probably will)
 
In my first month I'm eating full fat Greek yogurt with flax seed, and broken up pecan and walnut
To be honest it keeps me going till about 13.00
You can always make a keto mug bread. I sometimes have that with smoked fish or meat
It all seems to work well for me
 
Apart from other proteins such as cheese, bacon, etc. there are lowish carb options such as Puriton.

I make up my own cereal. I use 2 heaped spoons of milled flaxseed to a flat spoon of chia seeds and a little chopped nuts and seeds. Add cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Cook for 2 min in about 200ml boiling water. then stir in a spoonful of coconut milk, plus a little sweetener if needed. Serve with a drizzle of double cream.
When I started I used to add a flat spoon of oatbran until I got used to the flavour.
 
plantae said:
I believe that the amount of fibre in the cereal effects things as well. For example, I can't eat weetabix (well, I can, but they spike my blood sugar too high). I can eat all-bran, which has more carbs, sugar and fibre that weetabix, though without the spike. If I add psyllium husk -- another fibre that is not digested, although gut microbes might digest some -- I can eat most cereals except weetabix and silly stuff like fruit loops without a significant spike. I'm on insulin though, so your mileage may vary (and probably will)
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Unfortunately there is a big difference between those of us like you and me who are insulin deficient (and can inject more) and those who are insulin resistant (and possibly over producing insulin) and have to process the carbs with their own insulin. However, metabolisms all vary, so I still think that the best advice is for @lindyloodev to use a meter to see whether they can manage a particular meal.
 
Hi & hmmmm,


Apart from the nutritional value carb wise this form of cereal.

The lactose in the milk it swims in could also be worth consideration. Lactose, pending on the amount of fat in the milk? Can come back a fair while later & bite (BG wise.) in the bum..

Do you posses a BG meter @lindyloodev ?
 
Hi

I'd personally say none, but we're all different.

So testing for yourself is the only way to truly know.

A point on 'servings'.

Pre T2D..
I loved a BIG bowl of cornflakes etc

Well I mean, I loved a bowl of cornflakes, because that's the normal serving size, right ?

Filled to the brim.
All that lovely cereal crackling as the milks pours in ...nom nom nom.

Just for 'fun' I measured and weighed food when I went LCHF just so I'd 'know' what a portion looked like .

30g of cereal...makes for a pitiful breakfast in comparison. :arghh:

Just saying....:cool:

Anyway.
If it helps I got used to checking the supermarket websites for nutritional values of named brands


Now bear in mind the CARB count for many over a full day will range from under 20g to around 150g depending.

So it's like budgeting and getting the most bang for your buck.

Good luck finding a way that works for you.
 
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EllieM said:
Unfortunately there is a big difference between those of us like you and me who are insulin deficient (and can inject more) and those who are insulin resistant (and possibly over producing insulin) and have to process the carbs with their own insulin. However, metabolisms all vary, so I still think that the best advice is for @lindyloodev to use a meter to see whether they can manage a particular meal.
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I think I understand what you're saying and agree with using a meter. But in a way I'm in the same boat because I'm on a fixed dose of insulin; i.e. whatever I eat for breakfast has to be "covered" by that dose. What I was trying to say, but probably didn't say very well, is that for example I can't eat corn flakes without a huge spike. But if I add fibre (I use psyllium husk) to the corn flakes the spike is much lower and acceptable. So I can only assume that the fibre is doing something to my digestion because the insulin I have hasn't changed, only the amount of fibre...
 
plantae said:
I think I understand what you're saying and agree with using a meter. But in a way I'm in the same boat because I'm on a fixed dose of insulin; i.e. whatever I eat for breakfast has to be "covered" by that dose. What I was trying to say, but probably didn't say very well, is that for example I can't eat corn flakes without a huge spike. But if I add fibre (I use psyllium husk) to the corn flakes the spike is much lower and acceptable. So I can only assume that the fibre is doing something to my digestion because the insulin I have hasn't changed, only the amount of fibre...
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Odds are you don't spike, but your blood sugars stay up longer than they normally would. As in, the rise isn't anywhere near as steep (fibers do slow down the uptake, and fats more so), but your body does have to deal with the carbs, it just does it slower. So where you'd be back to pre-meal numbers 3 hours after, now it might be four, for instance.

Just an educated guess though, we're all different, so your meter'll know.
 
lindyloodev said:
Thank you for the advice , it will be hard but with support I will get there
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You're going to be fine. get yourself a meter, and like @catinahat said, keep an eye on total carbs, not just sugars. You'll figure it out. In the meantime, just try going for anything full fat, low carb, or protein-ey. Oh, and if you want to go grocery shopping, go over your list, if you haven't done that yet. Just check nutritional info online if you don't have the packaging at home anymore, and check what goes, what can be replaced with another brand, etc. Will save you spending ages in the supermarket and coming home with just one head of lettuce and lots of tears for dressing. ;)

(And yeah. Cats know. They're amazing like that)
 
JoKalsbeek said:
Odds are you don't spike, but your blood sugars stay up longer than they normally would. As in, the rise isn't anywhere near as steep (fibers do slow down the uptake, and fats more so), but your body does have to deal with the carbs, it just does it slower. So where you'd be back to pre-meal numbers 3 hours after, now it might be four, for instance.

Just an educated guess though, we're all different, so your meter'll know.
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Yes, that's what I've been trying to say without expressing myself very well. Clearly my total blood sugar for the day remains the same[1], I'm just "flattening the curve" (gosh I hate that phrase, but that's what's happening I think). So, yes, instead of a big peak that drops just as suddenly I have a slow rise that stays flat for longer before falling.... stretching everything out because, as you say, the fibre slows things down. So, in terms of numbers I stay in range a lot more. But whether that's a good thing or a bad thing I don't know. I do confirm with libre and my contour next how different foods effect me

[1] Indirectly it may reduce my daily blood sugars because I don't have to have a mid-morning snack because breakfast "wore off" so quickly. So I avoid one snack by stretching things out. That's my theory anyway :D and likely doesn't apply to lindyloodev because they can just avoid the snack anyway because they're not on insulin. Unless of course they're having a snack because their blood sugars drop and they're hungry then maybe it'd apply (?) Probably not
 
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plantae said:
Yes, that's what I've been trying to say without expressing myself very well. Clearly my total blood sugar for the day remains the same[1], I'm just "flattening the curve" (gosh I hate that phrase, but that's what's happening I think). So, yes, instead of a big peak that drops just as suddenly I have a slow rise that stays flat for longer before falling.... stretching everything out because, as you say, the fibre slows things down. So, in terms of numbers I stay in range a lot more. But whether that's a good thing or a bad thing I don't know. I do confirm with libre and my contour next how different foods effect me

[1] Indirectly it may reduce my daily blood sugars because I don't have to have a mid-morning snack because breakfast "wore off" so quickly. So I avoid one snack by stretching things out. That's my theory anyway :D and likely doesn't apply to lindyloodev because they can just avoid the snack anyway because they're not on insulin. Unless of course they're having a snack because their blood sugars drop and they're hungry then maybe it'd apply (?) Probably not
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Thing is, you don't have to stretch out carbs to keep going. For a while there I thrived on a carnivore diet, which meant zero carbs: just protein and fats. No carbs at all, none. (Which gets really costly, but it does illustrate my point). Believe me, I did not go hungry. That did mean 4 eggs with bacon, (goat) cheese and ham would start my day, and double or triple portions of meat/poultry/fish in the evening. No cravings to snack in between, and just two meals a day would keep me going. It was a bit extreme, but I'm back to keto now, so about 20 grams of carbs a day, give or take, having gone back to veggies as well. Once you're "fat adapted", as in, your body stops running on carbs and starts burning fats instead, the whole point of stretching carbs out becomes moot. (And even then... Carbs demand carbs, so when you start running low on those, you get hungry again. That's the cycle to break!). The longer you go low carb, the less hungry you get.

And, another thing... No spikes are excellent of course, but having slightly elevated bloodsugars for longer periods of time does mean your pancreas is working all the time, putting out insulin. Which you're a little insensitive to. Make the pancreas work less, have less insulin in your system, get better insulin sensitivity in the long run. I am oversimplifying things, but that's what it comes down to. It's entirely your choice though. If you feel things are fine the way they are, then yay. Do whatever makes this sustainable for you. Experiment, ask questions, test... Figure out what works for your body, and your life.
 
JoKalsbeek said:
Thing is, you don't have to stretch out carbs to keep going.
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Thing is, I do otherwise I'd go hypo being on a fixed dose of insulin. Clearly this doesn't apply to @lindyloodev but they'd like to know if they can have cereal. If adding fibre to that cereal allows them to stretch the carbs out and maybe skip a mid-morning snack then I'd say if you must have, or want, cereal then at least make sure it's high in fibre (or add it). I mean, if you really want to eat cereal, then why not stretch it out to get the best bang for your buck, so to speak?
 
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@lindyloodev welcome to the forum. There are lot of helpful people on this forum who have made good suggestion.

First I would say don't panic. You can learn to deal with diabetes and it takes time to find out what works for you.
As you haven't said how high your HbA1c was at diagnosis, I find it difficult to make suggestions. It makes a difference if it is 100 (like mine was) or if you are below 60. if the latter only small adjustments might be needed. What medicine do you take? is it metformin? do you tolerate it?

To be able to understand how food affects your blood sugar you want to get a meter (finger pricks). Unfortunately NHS doesn't prescribe them by default, it depends on your GP, you can also try to insist. If you don't get them, you can buy them yourself. There are people here who can give you tips of how to keep the cost down. Once you have a meter, you can find out yourself what foods you can tolerate.
For breakfast I binned cereals as most of these have added sugars. I make my own muesli with oats, full fat yoghurt (natural/ Greek) and berries yoghurt or a few berries or half a small apple chopped in. I can tolerate this without huge spikes, but others don't so have reduced their carb intake to very low levels. I also like egg-based stuff so vary breakfast a bit. I have also banned anything low-fat from my fridge as it usually contains sugar and is tasteless anyway. Fat also has the benefit that it satiates you better.
Best wishes on your journey and keep asking when you have questions
 
plantae said:
Thing is, I do otherwise I'd go hypo being on a fixed dose of insulin. Clearly this doesn't apply to @lindyloodev but they'd like to know if they can have cereal. If adding fibre to that cereal allows them to stretch the carbs out and maybe skip a mid-morning snack then I'd say if you must have, or want, cereal then at least make sure it's high in fibre (or add it). I mean, if you really want to eat cereal, then why not stretch it out to get the best bang for your buck, so to speak?
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Haven't been on here in a bit, and one of the things that makes that horribly clear is forgetting that I really, REALLY need to check over and over again what meds/regime someone is on before I open my mouth. Sorry!
 
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