How to prevent the post breakfast spike

[Mrs SLD]

Hi all, I am 2 months post diagnosis, 42f with assumed type 2, normal BMI. On Metformin and diet I have brought my BG numbers down to 5-7 90% of the time (I have a libre 2 plus which has been so helpful). However, I consistently get a spike post breakfast, regardless of what I eat. It is my only spike of the day most days.
Usual breakfast - 2 protein Weetabix with milk or 1 slice wholemeal bread with no added sugar peanut butter or some unsweetened plain yoghurt with berries and coconut flakes.

It just feels like my body cannot cope with breakfast. I don't see anywhere near the same numbers the rest of the day.

Any tips for getting ahead of this spike? Am I eating the wrong things for breakfast?

Thanks

 

[Taighnamona]

Hi all, I am 2 months post diagnosis, 42f with assumed type 2, normal BMI. On Metformin and diet I have brought my BG numbers down to 5-7 90% of the time (I have a libre 2 plus which has been so helpful). However, I consistently get a spike post breakfast, regardless of what I eat. It is my only spike of the day most days.
Usual breakfast - 2 protein Weetabix with milk or 1 slice wholemeal bread with no added sugar peanut butter or some unsweetened plain yoghurt with berries and coconut flakes.

It just feels like my body cannot cope with breakfast. I don't see anywhere near the same numbers the rest of the day.

Any tips for getting ahead of this spike? Am I eating the wrong things for breakfast?

Thanks

Well done on being pro active in bringing your numbers down and working to take control of your diabetes.
What was your HbA1c at diagnosis? Keeping your daily numbers within range will help reduce that number.
Anything we eat will cause a normal, natural rise in blood glucose. But with type 2 our bodies cannot deal with high carbs as effectively as a non diabetic. It’s not just the spike but the length of it that affects our organs long term. Rises (not excessively high) and returns within two hours are a sign your body is coping.
There’s lots of information on this site about how people approach changing their lifestyle. A CGM is helpful in letting you see which foods your body has trouble dealing with.
For me, I avoid any carbs in the morning as my body can’t cope. I take eggs most mornings in various ways. I take small amounts of carbs later in the day but try to keep my carb intake below 80. I am essentially carnivore.
But you have to find what works for you. Best wishes.

 

[lessci]

For me your breakfast would definitely give me a huge spike. I'm most insulin resistant in the morning, and have a strong Dawn Phenomenon too. Breakfast for me is (usually) just coffee. But if I am hungry in the am, I go for a German type breakfast of cold meat/cheese, eggs in some form or for special occasion a cooked breakfast, (Bacon, sausage , egg, mushrooms)

 

[Mrs SLD]

Well done on being pro active in bringing your numbers down and working to take control of your diabetes.
What was your HbA1c at diagnosis? Keeping your daily numbers within range will help reduce that number.
Anything we eat will cause a normal, natural rise in blood glucose. But with type 2 our bodies cannot deal with high carbs as effectively as a non diabetic. It’s not just the spike but the length of it that affects our organs long term. Rises (not excessively high) and returns within two hours are a sign your body is coping.
There’s lots of information on this site about how people approach changing their lifestyle. A CGM is helpful in letting you see which foods your body has trouble dealing with.
For me, I avoid any carbs in the morning as my body can’t cope. I take eggs most mornings in various ways. I take small amounts of carbs later in the day but try to keep my carb intake below 80. I am essentially carnivore.
But you have to find what works for you. Best wishes.

Thank you very much. My hbA1c was 107, came out of nowhere so was a huge shock. I think I am understanding I need to avoid carbs completely in the morning.

 

[Mrs SLD]

For me your breakfast would definitely give me a huge spike. I'm most insulin resistant in the morning, and have a strong Dawn Phenomenon too. Breakfast for me is (usually) just coffee. But if I am hungry in the am, I go for a German type breakfast of cold meat/cheese, eggs in some form or for special occasion a cooked breakfast, (Bacon, sausage , egg, mushrooms)

Thanks that is really helpful. I do always feel so hungry in the morning, I will look at options like you mention.

 

[grantg]

what are the spikes from and to and indeed how long. you may not necessary have to avoid carbs for breakfast...

mixing with fats some protine should help flatten the curve... a little if that is your desired outcome.

 

[Mrs SLD]

what are the spikes from and to and indeed how long. you may not necessary have to avoid carbs for breakfast...

mixing with fats some protine should help flatten the curve... a little if that is your desired outcome.

I usually start the day around 6-7 and it climbs up to 11-12. It usually comes back down between 2-3 hours later

 

[grantg]

pretty simular to me, its not uncommon for even a non diabetic to have spikes. the general rule is 2-3mmol after 2hours is 'acceptable' by nhs purposes.

wheatabix (protein) spikes more for me than regular wheatabix. sometimes depending on what i've been doing in the morning (brush mop kitchen floor, laundry put on, hoover floor) followed by a walk i will tend to not go above 10. (i do swim very very shortly after usually). If i sat about and done nothing what so ever.. i would spike to 13-14 mark. although for a fairly short duration. I've also found faster spike if use likes of semi-skimmed milk. full fat seems to lesson initial spike but tend for slightly longer period. plain yogurt with it seems to extend it the most, whilst at same token lowering the max interestrial fluid glucose reading that it gets upto. couple of chopped berries on top occassionally

edit: forgot to say usually morning starting somewhere between 4.6 to 5.4 usually...

 

[peterb999]

That is interesting to me. I too have a libre 2 plus on trial and am going to decide whether I self fund it permanently as I have found it very useful.

On a morning I have 3 eggs and two slices of toast (wholemeal with 10g carbs per slice). Overnight I am around 5.2 -5.5 and when I have the breakfast it takes me to about 6.2. When I eat lunch etc. the most I go to is about 9.6 and then come down to 5.2-5.5 within about two hours.

What I find that helps is going for a 15 minute walk after breakfast as that quickly brings down the spike (as opposed to not walking).

It's all very new to me too so I don't even though if my numbers are good. My H1bac was original 110 in 2023 but I got it down to 38 by Jan 2025.

 

[Mrs SLD]

pretty simular to me, its not uncommon for even a non diabetic to have spikes. the general rule is 2-3mmol after 2hours is 'acceptable' by nhs purposes.

wheatabix (protein) spikes more for me than regular wheatabix. sometimes depending on what i've been doing in the morning (brush mop kitchen floor, laundry put on, hoover floor) followed by a walk i will tend to not go above 10. (i do swim very very shortly after usually). If i sat about and done nothing what so ever.. i would spike to 13-14 mark. although for a fairly short duration. I've also found faster spike if use likes of semi-skimmed milk. full fat seems to lesson initial spike but tend for slightly longer period. plain yogurt with it seems to extend it the most, whilst at same token lowering the max interestrial fluid glucose reading that it gets upto. couple of chopped berries on top occassionally

edit: forgot to say usually morning starting somewhere between 4.6 to 5.4 usually...

Thank you so much, this is really useful to know. I work full time so most mornings I am walking for at least 15 mins after breakfast but I will try up it a bit. Really interesting about the protein Weetabix, that does seem to be the one that spikes it the most. I think I will avoid that for now. Good to know on the milk too, I didn't even consider trying whole milk, I always use semi. Thanks for sharing! I feel like I am learning every day

 

[Mrs SLD]

That is interesting to me. I too have a libre 2 plus on trial and am going to decide whether I self fund it permanently as I have found it very useful.

On a morning I have 3 eggs and two slices of toast (wholemeal with 10g carbs per slice). Overnight I am around 5.2 -5.5 and when I have the breakfast it takes me to about 6.2. When I eat lunch etc. the most I go to is about 9.6 and then come down to 5.2-5.5 within about two hours.

What I find that helps is going for a 15 minute walk after breakfast as that quickly brings down the spike (as opposed to not walking).

It's all very new to me too so I don't even though if my numbers are good. My H1bac was original 110 in 2023 but I got it down to 38 by Jan 2025.

That is encouraging to know, thank you. I too tried the free trial and then have funded for a few more weeks as it has helped me understand my patterns so well. That is great news on your figures, I am only two months in but hoping for some reduction from 107 given that my BGs have gone from 20+ to 5-7 range. Best wishes with everything!

 

[grantg]

That is interesting to me. I too have a libre 2 plus on trial and am going to decide whether I self fund it permanently as I have found it very useful.

bit of pen and paper jot down what worked well for you and at the same token what doesnt appear to work well, a good/ in moderation list alongside an avoid list can be worked out i'd be experimenting with various foods during the trial to try take full advantage of it. personally wish nhs would prescribe to everyone at least intermitantly. gl

you should check high and lows against a fingerprick even with cgm. another thing to consider if it is telling you high/low is that can change right in front of your eyes it would appear uses a little prediction ... so 10-15 minutes later that low/high it once showed could change, they are most accurate when within range. despite quirks would highly recremmend.

if you have a list of your normal diet and foods you would like to try ... why not go for another free trial? you can get a dexcom1+ trial (thats 10 days only) which results in 25 days of data or if did dexcom.. can get libre sample i've posted links below

https://www.dexcom.com/en-GB/one-plus-campaign-sample? 10 day trial
https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/getting-started/sampling.html 15 day trial

 

[peterb999]

That is encouraging to know, thank you. I too tried the free trial and then have funded for a few more weeks as it has helped me understand my patterns so well. That is great news on your figures, I am only two months in but hoping for some reduction from 107 given that my BGs have gone from 20+ to 5-7 range. Best wishes with everything!

I'm quite glad that someone else is at the same stage of using the Libre like me. It is a little bit of a learning curve. For example, today it has gone up to 6.1 mmol even though I've not eaten since lunchtime. Maybe it's because I was on an hour and a half journey and then an hour and a half back after 2 hours. It's all very interesting.

Have you seen the predicted A1C result option in the app? I check it every day and it always says there is not enough data to calculate. However, today it has now given a figure. It is saying I am 31 mmol which I think is really good as I was 38 on my last testing. Obviously it is only an estimated one but it's certainly made me a little bit happy.

Good luck with your use of the Libre, if you can, please keep updating the thread with your progress on it as it is very interesting. I've ordered the dexcom trial as well and will use that. I've also found another one on Amazon that is £31 but apparantly that "phones home" with your results to China. It has been that useful for me that I am defintely thinking of carrying on with it.

 

[Mrs SLD]

Yes after 6 days it started predicting my hbA1c. Mine was 107 on diagnosis and it is predicting 48 now, which I am pleased with after only two months. Obviously I hope to get it lower long term though, and of course, it is just an estimate.

With regards to using the libre, I am not sure if you use Reddit but I found the freestylelibre subreddit really useful for people sharing tips etc

I'm quite glad that someone else is at the same stage of using the Libre like me. It is a little bit of a learning curve. For example, today it has gone up to 6.1 mmol even though I've not eaten since lunchtime. Maybe it's because I was on an hour and a half journey and then an hour and a half back after 2 hours. It's all very interesting.

Have you seen the predicted A1C result option in the app? I check it every day and it always says there is not enough data to calculate. However, today it has now given a figure. It is saying I am 31 mmol which I think is really good as I was 38 on my last testing. Obviously it is only an estimated one but it's certainly made me a little bit happy.

Good luck with your use of the Libre, if you can, please keep updating the thread with your progress on it as it is very interesting. I've ordered the dexcom trial as well and will use that. I've also found another one on Amazon that is £31 but apparantly that "phones home" with your results to China. It has been that useful for me that I am defintely thinking of carrying on with it

 

[peterb999]

That is an amazing reduction if it is anywhere near accurate. I took nearly two years to get down to 48 (I got divorced in July 2024 and my ex-wife used to do all the cooking, as soon as I cooked for myself my figures plummeted).

It sounds to me like you are certainly on the right path, and thanks for the recommendation of the subreddit, I'll have a look into that.

 

[Mrs SLD]

That is an amazing reduction if it is anywhere near accurate. I took nearly two years to get down to 48 (I got divorced in July 2024 and my ex-wife used to do all the cooking, as soon as I cooked for myself my figures plummeted).

It sounds to me like you are certainly on the right path, and thanks for the recommendation of the subreddit, I'll have a look into that.

Thank you so much! Best of luck with everything!