Don't want to give up my toast for breakfast, but...

[asparagusp]

For a lot on here that is way too many. I try to limit mine to less than 10gr carbs per meal and snacks under 5gr per snack and I try not to snack much either. Everyone is different though thats why they say eat to your meter.

But how much can you trust your meter? I have two and there is a three points difference in readings!

 

[4ratbags]

Why would you even confuse yourself by using 2 meters though, you are setting yourself up for failure. All meters have a margin of error, it would be best to choose 1 and stick with it. If you're not going to trust your meter then why are you bothering to be honest.

 

[asparagusp]

I tend to use one only. Occasionally I use the second if a reading is too high! You make a valid point though!

 

[Robbity]

@BeadieJay: 40g is a fair few carbs if you're trying to eat low carb - it's almost all my total daily allowance.

So try cream in your coffee, plenty of butter on just one small slice of toast maybe? In LCHF fat is your friend. And nobody says you have to have a cooked breakfast - it's just a recommendation for a good LCHF meal.

But there are alternative lower carb breads available and you can also bake your own, as already suggested. I use both a commercial low carb bread mix and also use my own sesame flour and flaxseed recipe, and they both contain less carbs in a whole loaf than in one of your slices of toast.

Hum - from Google -
How many carbs should a diabetic have in a day?
If you eat 2,000 calories a day, you should consume about 250 grams of complex carbohydrates per day. A good starting place for people with diabetes is to have roughly 45 to 60 grams of carbs per meal and 15 to 30 grams for snacks.

Hum - you can't believe everything you read on Google, nor recommend such (mis)information particularly if you are in the low carb section of our forum discussing how to reduce glucose spikes caused by eating high carb food.

Carbs cause high glucose levels, which we are trying to avoid so it makes no sense at all to suggest that someone eats a diet high in carbs. Do you tell coeliacs they should eat wheat and gluten, or those with a peanut allergy to feast on those nuts? I think - and sincerely hope - not!

In spite of what has been the "party line" in recent years, it's been known since the late 1700s that a low carb diet is the way to control high glucose levels in diabetics, and was the main way of treating diabetes in pre-insulin days. But we're now hopefully but slowly getting back on track with correct dietary advice - particularly for diet controlled type 2s.

Robbity

 

[ellagy]

No one has mentioned Dr Schar bread, gluten and dairy free, 500g loaf... 11 g carb per slice and I used to get it from the Co-op. Not cheap though. Now I prefer the Lidl rolls.

 

[asparagusp]

I was merely questioning the information I found.

 

[debrasue]

@BeadieJay: 40g is a fair few carbs if you're trying to eat low carb - it's almost all my total daily allowance.

So try cream in your coffee, plenty of butter on just one small slice of toast maybe? In LCHF fat is your friend. And nobody says you have to have a cooked breakfast - it's just a recommendation for a good LCHF meal.

But there are alternative lower carb breads available and you can also bake your own, as already suggested. I use both a commercial low carb bread mix and also use my own sesame flour and flaxseed recipe, and they both contain less carbs in a whole loaf than in one of your slices of toast.


Hum - you can't believe everything you read on Google, nor recommend such (mis)information particularly if you are in the low carb section of our forum discussing how to reduce glucose spikes caused by eating high carb food.

Carbs cause high glucose levels, which we are trying to avoid so it makes no sense at all to suggest that someone eats a diet high in carbs. Do you tell coeliacs they should eat wheat and gluten, or those with a peanut allergy to feast on those nuts? I think - and sincerely hope - not!

In spite of what has been the "party line" in recent years, it's been known since the late 1700s that a low carb diet is the way to control high glucose levels in diabetics, and was the main way of treating diabetes in pre-insulin days. But we're now hopefully but slowly getting back on track with correct dietary advice - particularly for diet controlled type 2s.

Robbity

Think you might have got the wrong end of the stick here Robbity - I don't think that was what the poster was trying to convey...

 

[chalup]

Also remember that most of us are at our most insulin resistant first thing in the morning. If you are going to have a meal with a few more carbs in it, breakfast is the absolute worst time to do it.

 

[BeadieJay]

Hey! You are NOT an idiot! A diagnosis of diabetes can sweep the feet out from anyone and it has thrown very many of us into turmoil at first. You have taken the bull by the horns and started to make lifestyle changes, and you have identified a problem and taken it to a place where you know you can find some answers. What's wrong with any of that?
You deserve a pat on the back for taking control of your life and your health - millions of people never get that far.
Well done! You are on the road to a better, healthier future.

Thank you so much That means a lot.

 

[BeadieJay]

how about only eating toast on sundays...?

I've thought of doing that, but that still leaves the problem of what to eat the rest of the week! Have tried a lower carb bread today, 11 carbs per slice - I'm a night owl so breakfast is at lunchtime, still waiting for the 2 hour to test, but am feeling hopeful!

 

[Nicksu]

If I do eat carbs it tends to be Nairns plain oatcakes on their own. They are lovely! I have recently tried their three seeded organic ones and they too are lovely. Once you toast bread it loses B vitamins but yes nice!

I'm an oatcake muncher too - if I get the need to munch that's my go-to.

 

[asparagusp]

Do try the Nairns organic seeded if you can find them. I buy them in Wholefoods but maybe Waitrose will have the seeded ones. If not, contact Head Office and suggest they stock them.

 

[Neohdiver]

Hum - from Google -
How many carbs should a diabetic have in a day?
If you eat 2,000 calories a day, you should consume about 250 grams of complex carbohydrates per day. A good starting place for people with diabetes is to have roughly 45 to 60 grams of carbs per meal and 15 to 30 grams for snacks.

That's the standard medical and American Diabetic Association advice, and it's been keeping diabetics sick for decades.

 

[Nicksu]

Absolutely crazy advice!

 

[AndBreathe]

I've thought of doing that, but that still leaves the problem of what to eat the rest of the week! Have tried a lower carb bread today, 11 carbs per slice - I'm a night owl so breakfast is at lunchtime, still waiting for the 2 hour to test, but am feeling hopeful!

BeadieJay, forgive me if I have missed someone else asking this, but, as a matter of interest, are you very hungry at your breakfast time, or do you have your toast because you consider breakfast to be important?

 

[BeadieJay]

BeadieJay, forgive me if I have missed someone else asking this, but, as a matter of interest, are you very hungry at your breakfast time, or do you have your toast because you consider breakfast to be important?

Good question! I definitely believe breakfast is important, but some days I guess I don't feel very hungry, so it's more of a habit. When I skipped breakfast a week ago because my fasting bloods were so high, my BS just rose & rose (I was testing every half hour or so to try and see when would be a good time to eat!) I don't understand why it was going higher and not lower, as I was being more active.

As a side note, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia over 30 years ago and got into the habit of always having something to eat before leaving the house, so I guess that's why breakfast became so important to me. If I have to go out early (I don't work, so if I have an early appointment somewhere, or am going to the gym) I still rely on breakfast as a mental crutch (if that makes sense).

I suppose I could try skipping breakfast on the days when I don't have to go out. Just have a coffee and wait for the BS to come down. If you have any thoughts on what I've shared, I'd be very grateful to hear them. Thanks

 

[asparagusp]

At I understand it sugar levels go up as the morning progresses even if you don't eat!

I have been reading about the diet many here are following and see that the Swedish government advocates it! - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/hea...et-be-better-for-diabetics.html#disqus_thread

 

[AndBreathe]

Good question! I definitely believe breakfast is important, but some days I guess I don't feel very hungry, so it's more of a habit. When I skipped breakfast a week ago because my fasting bloods were so high, my BS just rose & rose (I was testing every half hour or so to try and see when would be a good time to eat!) I don't understand why it was going higher and not lower, as I was being more active.

As a side note, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia over 30 years ago and got into the habit of always having something to eat before leaving the house, so I guess that's why breakfast became so important to me. If I have to go out early (I don't work, so if I have an early appointment somewhere, or am going to the gym) I still rely on breakfast as a mental crutch (if that makes sense).

I suppose I could try skipping breakfast on the days when I don't have to go out. Just have a coffee and wait for the BS to come down. If you have any thoughts on what I've shared, I'd be very grateful to hear them. Thanks

If you have coffee, and would usually have milk in it, do give cream a whirl, even if you used watered down cream. Milk, by it's processing mechanisms contains more carbs per ml than cream, with sim-skimmed and skimmed options, each having more.

Much of our eating and drinking routines are habit, although we do need nourishment along the way, obviously. Most days, I just know I need a cup of tea when I get up, but in reality, the days when I have fasting bloods done some time after getting up, or have to get on my way without even my tea, I manage perfectly well, and am more likely to feel thirsty (nobody ask if I have even been known to mouth breathe or snore), than need to eat.

Dawn phenomenon (DP) is pesky, and fortunately, I have never had it in extreme. Indeed, until I used a Freestyle Libre, I would have wagered all my pocket money that it didn't happen to me, but trial and error will help you understand what gives with it.

In reality, as I am not taking medication (or if I was taking more gentle meds like Metformin), I would be unconcerned. The glucose released into your system around waking comes from your liver (hence the vernacular, "liver dump"). It's to prepare you for getting up. In reality, DP is a dipping into your reserves, so it's a bit like running on battery. As soon as you eat, the first glucose your body generates (from whatever you have eaten) goes to replenishing those stores. It's a bit like cycling rechargeable batteries in my simple, visualising brain.

For most people producing their own insulin, whilst looking at the bigger numbers is annoying, it doesn't represent any danger.

 

[BeadieJay]

If you have coffee, and would usually have milk in it, do give cream a whirl, even if you used watered down cream. Milk, by it's processing mechanisms contains more carbs per ml than cream, with sim-skimmed and skimmed options, each having more.

Much of our eating and drinking routines are habit, although we do need nourishment along the way, obviously. Most days, I just know I need a cup of tea when I get up, but in reality, the days when I have fasting bloods done some time after getting up, or have to get on my way without even my tea, I manage perfectly well, and am more likely to feel thirsty (nobody ask if I have even been known to mouth breathe or snore), than need to eat.

Dawn phenomenon (DP) is pesky, and fortunately, I have never had it in extreme. Indeed, until I used a Freestyle Libre, I would have wagered all my pocket money that it didn't happen to me, but trial and error will help you understand what gives with it.

In reality, as I am not taking medication (or if I was taking more gentle meds like Metformin), I would be unconcerned. The glucose released into your system around waking comes from your liver (hence the vernacular, "liver dump"). It's to prepare you for getting up. In reality, DP is a dipping into your reserves, so it's a bit like running on battery. As soon as you eat, the first glucose your body generates (from whatever you have eaten) goes to replenishing those stores. It's a bit like cycling rechargeable batteries in my simple, visualising brain.

For most people producing their own insulin, whilst looking at the bigger numbers is annoying, it doesn't represent any danger.

Thanks, that makes sense. I think it's something that I need to continue experimenting with. Got an early appointment tomorrow, so toast as normal (but the lower carb, which did actually reduce my bs a little from the norm), but day after I'll see how I feel when I get up. As for black coffee - it's funny, after years & years of white coffee, I'm not missing the milk at all so I'm not going to try it with cream, as it's just one more thing to knock off the shopping list!!

Thanks everyone for the input & suggestions - all greatly appreciated

 

[AndBreathe]

Thanks, that makes sense. I think it's something that I need to continue experimenting with. Got an early appointment tomorrow, so toast as normal (but the lower carb, which did actually reduce my bs a little from the norm), but day after I'll see how I feel when I get up. As for black coffee - it's funny, after years & years of white coffee, I'm not missing the milk at all so I'm not going to try it with cream, as it's just one more thing to knock off the shopping list!!

Thanks everyone for the input & suggestions - all greatly appreciated

The idea of the cream can, for many, be shown to slow or even halt the rise during the morning, without a more traditional breakfast. Black coffee gives you nothing to help with that, and in fact, for some people the impact of the caffeinne encourages them to dump more glucose, due to their bodies being further stimulate, so that may get you over any peckishness, but it may not be kind on the numbers on your meter screen.

Fingers crossed for you.