Alternatives to weetabix??

L

Lucy's mummy

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10
Hi all.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas about low carb/low sugar breakfast cereals? Lucy has always eaten 1 and half weetabix for breakfast but this makes her levels shoot up really high and stay high for a good part of the morning. This isnt too much of a problem during the school term as she burns it off quicker during the walk to school and running around at school during the morning. But, we have been really stuggling with high levels mid-morning during the school holidays and at weekends as the routine is different and shes not always so active so early in the day.

We have changed over to scrambled eggs on toast or cheese on toast for breakfast which is working much better, but she's really missing her cereal, so i'm just wondering what cereals your children have for breakfast and what works well??

Shes still in the honeymoon phase and only has one injection of insulin in the morning so I cant adjust her dose to cover breakfast as her current dose works well for the rest of the day and night, its just these mid-morning highs we are struggling with.

Grateful for any advice!
 
L

leggott

Well-Known Member
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533
porridge will give you a slower more steady release of sugar although is not low carb. museli with nuts might be another suggestion although I know it is a bit of an acquired texture amongst kids.

My daughter likes yogurt or beans on toast for breakfast, again, not low carb but an alternative and something that will release more slowly.

have you tired a chopped banana with the weetabix as this may slow it down a little.
 
L

Lucy's mummy

Member
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10
Thank you both. I will definitely look at porridge.

leggot - Lucy is always begging me for bananas but in the past i found they shot her levels up really high (i didnt realise how much sugar they contained!). I'm sure she would love a bit on her weetabix, but how do they slow the absorption down? Please forgive my ignorance, i still have so much to learn, especially on the food side! :?
 
L

leggott

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533
We find that although bananas are higher in carb than a lot of fruit they tend to release their energy more slowly. My daughter would only have about half a small banana chopped up with one weetabix and for her it does slow things down a little. It might be worth trying it and see, everyone is different so it might be that this does not help things for your dAugheter. As she is also on one injection it makes things more rigid for you, whereas I can vary the amount of carb more easily for my kids as they are using pumps.
 
L

leggott

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533
I forgot to say that a ripe banana will release more quickly than a more unripe banana. Are you carb counting each meal?
 
L

Lucy's mummy

Member
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10
Ah, ok, thank you. I will definitely give it a try as she really does love her weetabix but i hate seeing her feeling so rotten mid morning when her BG is so high (it can often be in the high teens before it drops before lunch).

Yes, i find it very difficult managing the whole day on one dose of insulin. She has 12 units of Insulutard in the morning (and correct with novorapid if shes over 15 before breakfast, lunch or dinner which we do very occasionally). So, I try and keep each day as similar as i can as she doesnt get her next insulin dose until the next day. Apart from the weetabix each morning, she has 30-35g of carbs for lunch (half a wrap, salad, low carb crisps or cereal bar, 5g carb fruit - usually strawberries/apple/blueberries), often a 10-15g snack mid afternoon if running lower, and between 30-40g for dinner and pudding (depending on her pre-meal BG). She also has a carby snack and milk before bed to get her through the night. This is purely a pattern we have fallen into and generally works with the insulin dose that she has....apart from these mid morning highs...grrr. I have no idea if this is a 'normal' amount of carbs for a T1 4 year old to have?

Although it's lovely for her (and me) to only have one injection a day, part of me will be happier when she comes out of the honeymoon phase as I will hopefully gain a bit more control on her diabetes. I find that one injection a day makes things very ridgid and inflexible, for her and all of my little family. At least when she is on two, and eventually MDI, life will be more flexible and we can adjust as we go along rather than work within those 12 units that she has for the 24 hours that they cover. Hope that makes sense?!
 
L

leggott

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533
Yes, I do understand. Both my kids were on the mixed insulin when first diagnosed, but like you, we too found it very inflexible and we were correcting a lot with the novorapid. We soon moved over to MDI but it was hard to change as you get used to one thing and then have to change to something which throws everything up in the air again and you're back to adjusting doses and trying to get back on track. It can all be so hard at times and frustrating when you are trying to please a small child. I hope some of the other breakfast options appeal to your daughter so she can enjoy her breakfast and you get the results you're looking for.
 
L

Lucy's mummy

Member
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10
I guess its a long road and I know i still have so much to learn and many bumpy times ahead. I find it exhausting at times so I can't begin to imagine what its like with two. I see that you use the pump now. Has that made things much easier for your children?

Thank you for your advice.....i'm ridiculously excited about telling lucy that we will try weetabix with a bit of banana in the morning!! Its the little things.... :D
 
L

leggott

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533
yes, pumping for us has been life changing, although being on MDI for a few years enabled us to get to grips with carb adjustments and really understanding where MDI had its limitations. it's still hard work and not a magic answer, but does make things easier and my children can sometimes give their own insulin without any supervision!!

I hope your daughter enjoys her breakfast and that the results are better. Let us know how you get on.
 
noblehead

noblehead

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Traditional porridge is great and fills you up for the morning, as an alternative to banana try adding some berries to the porridge such as blueberry's, they are quite low-carb and highly nutritious.
 
H

hanadr

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How about an egg?
a scrambled egg takes less than 2 minutes in a microwave!
Hana
 
L

LaughingHyena

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Strangly one of the cereals which I seem to get on best with is wheetos, yes the chocolate hoops :crazy: Mind you I only have a small bowl as they are a bit too sickly for me in the morning. I prefer a handfull of them dry as a snack.

There are also some oat based wheetabix, I haven't tried them but oats are supposed to be slower releasing so they may be worth experimenting with.

What kind of milk do you use, the extra bit of fat in the full fat might help even things out.

My usual breakfast is peanut butter on toast which again seems to work out for me.
 
L

Lotstar

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I'm having the same problem with my baby, we always mix his weetabix up with banana and he still goes sky high, I've also tried rolled porridge oats with banana, he went up to 23 this morning after that! I'm giving up on ceral for the time being and going to try wholemeal toast and scrambled eggs tomorrow...
 
O

o1d-timer

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Have you tried Oat Crisp cereal by Quaker Oats. Big bowl only 18 carbs so could even have a small banana as well.
Weetabix Oaty bars are really nice breakfast bars. Packaging is aimed at the younger market and a bar is only 12 carbs so good for in the lunch box.
Hope this helps.
 
Engineer88

Engineer88

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Hi Guys,

I dont know if this is a good suggestion or not but have you tried using lactofree on the weetabix rather than normal milk? Ive recently become lactose free and am amazed to find no difference between that and normal milk - only super low sugar! I know this is obvious when you think about it but it might help? they do full fat and I wouldn't recommend for before bed as a boosting snack.

Goodluck
 
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