Newly Diagnosed - Bread/Snack Food Help Please

[Brookesy]

Hello,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and have started the medication. I’m pretty strong willed and I’m confident I can simply drop the sweet/carbs snacks.

Where I’m going to struggle is the savoury carbs (bread / pasta / rice etc). I can swap all pasta and rice for brown / wholewheat and that’s fine.

But I’m struggling bread wise. I bought Warburton’s Seeded and Hovis 7 Super Seed - but apparently these are both high carb / sugar options. have some recipes for almond and wholewheat bread, but could do with knowing an off the shelf option.

I’m also looking for ‘safe snacks’ things I don’t need to worry about.

So in short:
a) What’s a reasonably safe, off the shelf easy to find bread?
b) What are safe snacks?

thank-you in advance, I’ve done plenty of reading but am getting contradictory information and it’s all a bit overwhelming.

 

[bulkbiker]

I can swap all pasta and rice for brown / wholewheat and that’s fine.

It won't be fine for your blood sugars though.. there are just as many carbs in brown as in white.. afraid you'll be far better off ditching them completely.

 

[bulkbiker]

a) What’s a reasonably safe, off the shelf easy to find bread?
b) What are safe snacks?

a/ doesn't really exist just give up bread completely
b/ my go to for snacks would be pork scratchings but I'd recommend eating proper full meals and try to ditch the snacking habit.

 

[Tophat1900]

Hello,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and have started the medication. I’m pretty strong willed and I’m confident I can simply drop the sweet/carbs snacks.

Where I’m going to struggle is the savoury carbs (bread / pasta / rice etc). I can swap all pasta and rice for brown / wholewheat and that’s fine.

But I’m struggling bread wise. I bought Warburton’s Seeded and Hovis 7 Super Seed - but apparently these are both high carb / sugar options. have some recipes for almond and wholewheat bread, but could do with knowing an off the shelf option.

I’m also looking for ‘safe snacks’ things I don’t need to worry about.

So in short:
a) What’s a reasonably safe, off the shelf easy to find bread?
b) What are safe snacks?

thank-you in advance, I’ve done plenty of reading but am getting contradictory information and it’s all a bit overwhelming.

Welcome!

What medication have you started?

As far as bread goes, you can google keto bread recipes and see how they go. They are usually made with coconut or almond flour and not inflammatory wheat. Personally, I didn't find them to be much worth it, very dense, but ok.

You could do well to check out this link below for dietary advice. It's what a lot of us recommend.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

And also www.dietdoctor.com for a lot of info on Type 2 and recipes, snack ideas you might like.

I don't bother snacking anymore, I just eat a meal until full. You can make cauliflower rice, substitute spaghetti with spaghetti squash. You find recipes for that too.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hello,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and have started the medication. I’m pretty strong willed and I’m confident I can simply drop the sweet/carbs snacks.

Where I’m going to struggle is the savoury carbs (bread / pasta / rice etc). I can swap all pasta and rice for brown / wholewheat and that’s fine.

But I’m struggling bread wise. I bought Warburton’s Seeded and Hovis 7 Super Seed - but apparently these are both high carb / sugar options. have some recipes for almond and wholewheat bread, but could do with knowing an off the shelf option.

I’m also looking for ‘safe snacks’ things I don’t need to worry about.

So in short:
a) What’s a reasonably safe, off the shelf easy to find bread?
b) What are safe snacks?

thank-you in advance, I’ve done plenty of reading but am getting contradictory information and it’s all a bit overwhelming.

When there's a lot of contradictory stuff around, look to your meter for information. It won't try to sell you on a diet or dogma, it'll just tell you what works for you. Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite, you should see a rise of no more than 2.0 mmo/l. I can spoiler this for you: Wholemeal and brown'll get virtually the same glucose spike as white/processed carbs will. Google keto mug bread. Not the same, far from it, but in some instances, it works just fine. I have it twice a month or so. As for snacks.... Every time you eat, you solicit an insulin response. Which is not good if you're trying to improve your insulin sensitivity. So try and stick with the not snacking, or have a snack immediately with your proper meal, so it goes along with the same response. If that makes any sense. (Have a headache this morning so i might not be entirely clear here and there)

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help some, but all in all... Get yourself the Diabetes Code by Dr. Jason Fung. It'll help give some insight in the whole condition. You'll be fine. Being strong willed is going to get you through this.
Good luck,
Jo

 

[Flora123]

If you are absolutely desperate LivLife Seriously Seeded bread (Waitrose or Ocado) is lovely and 3.8g a small slice. I can’t tolerate it these days but used to be able to. Makes lovely toast too.

 

[EllieM]

When there's a lot of contradictory stuff around, look to your meter for information. It won't try to sell you on a diet or dogma, it'll just tell you what works for you.

Look, some people can tolerate much higher carb levels than others, some can attain normal blood sugars on 150g a day, others need to for less than 30g. So feel free to delay dropping your favourites (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice) but your meter will tell whether you can tolerate them (in small or large quantities).

And be aware that though T2 is far more likely than T1, many adult T1s get initially misdiagnosed as T2, just because of their age and/or weight. Ask your GP for the tests (GAD and c-peptide) unless they've already been done or you have excess weight and a strong T2 family history. T1 and T2 are entirely different diseases, though T2 is far more common it's scary that so many adult diagnosed T1s get an initial T2 misdiagnosis.

 

[PenguinMum]

Hello,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and have started the medication. I’m pretty strong willed and I’m confident I can simply drop the sweet/carbs snacks.

Where I’m going to struggle is the savoury carbs (bread / pasta / rice etc). I can swap all pasta and rice for brown / wholewheat and that’s fine.

But I’m struggling bread wise. I bought Warburton’s Seeded and Hovis 7 Super Seed - but apparently these are both high carb / sugar options. have some recipes for almond and wholewheat bread, but could do with knowing an off the shelf option.

I’m also looking for ‘safe snacks’ things I don’t need to worry about.

So in short:
a) What’s a reasonably safe, off the shelf easy to find bread?
b) What are safe snacks?

thank-you in advance, I’ve done plenty of reading but am getting contradictory information and it’s all a bit overwhelming.

I cannot start the day with anything other than a slice of toast, just one. I buy HiLo seeded bread from Sainsburys, 5g a slice, and it hits the spot will thick grass fed butter. You should test two hours later. I find it reduces my Dawn Phenominum by 0.3 two hours later. I have maintained my Hba1c between 33 and 36 for the past three years.

 

[jjraak]

Hello,

I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and have started the medication. I’m pretty strong willed and I’m confident I can simply drop the sweet/carbs snacks.

Where I’m going to struggle is the savoury carbs (bread / pasta / rice etc). I can swap all pasta and rice for brown / wholewheat and that’s fine.

But I’m struggling bread wise. I bought Warburton’s Seeded and Hovis 7 Super Seed - but apparently these are both high carb / sugar options. have some recipes for almond and wholewheat bread, but could do with knowing an off the shelf option.

I’m also looking for ‘safe snacks’ things I don’t need to worry about.

So in short:
a) What’s a reasonably safe, off the shelf easy to find bread?
b) What are safe snacks?

thank-you in advance, I’ve done plenty of reading but am getting contradictory information and it’s all a bit overwhelming.

Hi @Brookesy .

Sorry for the DX.
But welcome to the team.

I agree the snacking isn't good for us.
And all the pasta rice, no matter what variety hits me the same

I had it likened to a small regiment of soldiers (insulin) being called out everytime we eat,
And so we should limit those call outs to as few as possible.

I'd go with @Tophat1900 idea of eating until full,
Rather then eating less, then being hungry in between meals.

I too went all out in those early week n months.
I thought I was determined, but now realise part of this, for me, was Sustainability.

While I enjoyed my food (lchf) I missed the bread part.

I too use. Hilo (Sainsbury's) bread, like @PenguinMum.
At 5-6 carb, I found a ryvita cracker offered some of the crunch and taste I missed, skipping bread entirely.

While some are right It's best to avoid as much as possible , we each have our own balances and need to be realistic about what we can do, without persecuting ourselves.

For those early days, until I found that balance of sustainable foods V T2D management,
I found the ryvita, and then Hilo..(still eat now) a useful crutch, to help me once I realised such a big step was too much for me.
But as you know, we are all different, what suits one may not suit the many.

It did help me shift from a lifetime of eating a certain way, to transitioning to LCHF.

If it helps, using the above I went from 57 - 40, over several months. Aug 2018- June 2019

Good luck finding the way & foods that
works for you.

 

[Daphne917]

@Brookesy I have Hovis Pumpkin and sunflower seed or Tesco high protein bread which are both 10 carbs per slice or Hovis seeded bread (in the Orange wrapper) which is 13 carb per slice. If you have a meter test bread and see what effect it has on your BS. Re Pasta unfortunately wholewheat has the same effect as ordinary on BS however I have found that if I cook, chill and reheat my pasta it lessens the effect.

 

[Brookesy]

@Brookesy I have Hovis Pumpkin and sunflower seed or Tesco high protein bread which are both 10 carbs per slice or Hovis seeded bread (in the Orange wrapper) which is 13 carb per slice. If you have a meter test bread and see what effect it has on your BS. Re Pasta unfortunately wholewheat has the same effect as ordinary on BS however I have found that if I cook, chill and reheat my pasta it lessens the effect.

Thank-you. This is where I’m not sure what is best (other than small portion or avoidance). So, let’s take spaghetti. There is whole wheat spaghetti, which is high carb (62g per 100g) but is higher in fibre (7.5g) and protein (14g) or I found a ‘love life’ spaghetti which is half the carb, but almost no fibre and very little protein. Sorry, I’m just so confused as to how one balances with the other.

 

[HSSS]

Thank-you. This is where I’m not sure what is best (other than small portion or avoidance). So, let’s take spaghetti. There is whole wheat spaghetti, which is high carb (62g per 100g) but is higher in fibre (7.5g) and protein (14g) or I found a ‘love life’ spaghetti which is half the carb, but almost no fibre and very little protein. Sorry, I’m just so confused as to how one balances with the other.

Carbs are the issue with diabetes so always go for the lowest carb option.

Protein can be gained from many other sources. Fibre isn’t as big a deal as it seems. And it too can be gained from veg or things like chia or flax if you really do find you need it. We don’t need to get it all from the same items.

I’m curious if you’re thinking of the American way of labelling whereby they include fibER in their total carb count and then need to deduct it for net carbs. In the U.K. all carbs are listed as net carbs anyway and fibre is already separated out for us, so don’t deduct it again or you’ll get artificially low carb amounts.

 

[Daphne917]

Thank-you. This is where I’m not sure what is best (other than small portion or avoidance). So, let’s take spaghetti. There is whole wheat spaghetti, which is high carb (62g per 100g) but is higher in fibre (7.5g) and protein (14g) or I found a ‘love life’ spaghetti which is half the carb, but almost no fibre and very little protein. Sorry, I’m just so confused as to how one balances with the other.

You need to test your reaction to foods particularly in the early days and that way you will learn what you can or should not eat. Too many carbs are not good for T2 diabetics however we are all individuals and have different tolerances. Foods that still send my BS higher than I would like I tend to avoid or have very occasionally - Scampi is still my nemesis! I am also lucky in that I eat more carbs than many on this forum and still manage to maintain a non diabetic Hba1c on an average of 100 - 130 carbs per day. To be honest being diet controlled I’ve never worried about the balance between carbs, protein and fats - I look at the carb content and will sometimes experiment but if there are too many carbs in it it stays on the shelf however, if it has a fairly high carb content but I will only be having a small amount of it such as jam, pickle or sugar I have some.

 

[Robbity]

If you are absolutely desperate LivLife Seriously Seeded bread (Waitrose or Ocado) is lovely and 3.8g a small slice..

I've bought LivLife occasionally and while it tasted fine for me it was a bit like chewing rubber bands. Carbzone is another brand name you could investigate but more expensive than LivLife. There are also commercial low carb bread type mixes available - e.g. Sukrin or the weirdly named Ugg!

If I fancy something breadlike I generally to make my own using nut or seed flour/meal - I don't care much for eggs so baking is one way of including them in my low carb diet.

Carbs are a quick fix short term fuel so snacks are often required, but if you eat an LCHF diet, the fats will replace the carbs as your main fuel source and these are much more energy dense so you'll feel fuller longer and shouldn't need constant topping up with snacks. But if you want to, then eat fattier rather than carby stuff: nuts, pork crackling, a piece of high % cocoa dark chocolate, a piece of cheese, etc.

And finally, don't be fooled, carbs are still carbs whatever their colour!

 

[type2_2020]

Cut coffee, bread, biscuits out. Avoid Flour or anything made with flour. Try to ditch snacking and eat 3 full meals a day. I use to snack but now I don't miss it. Look into a low carb diet. You'll be amazed of all the foods you can eat which are delicious and healthy for you. Ditch red meat also and always avoid alcohol.

 

[HSSS]

Cut coffee, bread, biscuits out. Avoid Flour or anything made with flour. Try to ditch snacking and eat 3 full meals a day. I use to snack but now I don't miss it. Look into a low carb diet. You'll be amazed of all the foods you can eat which are delicious and healthy for you. Ditch red meat also and always avoid alcohol.

Agree with lots of this but why ditch the red meat?

 

[Hotpepper20000]

Cut coffee, bread, biscuits out. Avoid Flour or anything made with flour. Try to ditch snacking and eat 3 full meals a day. I use to snack but now I don't miss it. Look into a low carb diet. You'll be amazed of all the foods you can eat which are delicious and healthy for you. Ditch red meat also and always avoid alcohol.

What’s wrong with coffee? 2 meals or one meal a day is ok too.

 

[type2_2020]

Agree with lots of this but why ditch the red meat?

When I got diagnosed, I did a lot of research into the complications of our shared problem, I came across an article which linked red meat to cancer and heart problems and that it doesn't digest in a timely manner. There's a lot of protein in plants and fish and chicken / turkey. I've not ate red meat since as well as pork and have stuck strictly to just white meat

 

[type2_2020]

What’s wrong with coffee? 2 meals or one meal a day is ok too.

Decaf Coffee is fine, but Caffeinated Coffee will raise your BG levels. I agree 2 or one meal a day is fine also if you're fasting or intermittent fasting, but aiming for 3 solid meals mainly of a balanced diet will keep you full.

I'm on a low carb diet so my plate is normally filled with vegetables. Mushrooms instead of potatoes etc... my normal range is between 4 and 5 BG. When I use to drink coffee my BG would spike. as described by this article. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/coffee-and-diabetes.html

 

[LaoDan]

I do fine with coffee, especially with a little bit of coconut oil, or full coconut cream.