Let’s talk breakfast
Have you ever seen that famous video of the Navy admiral saying that making your bed in the morning is the first thing you should do to set yourself up for success every day?
I definitely butchered that, but I’m loosely paraphrasing here.
Anyways, I totally agree with his message, and since then, I make my bed every single day.
Not the point.
I digress.
As a diabetic, it is incredibly important for me to eat smart—but especially in the morning. For me, breakfast is the diabetes equivalent of making my bed. If I start the morning off well, I feel like I’m setting myself up for a much better day blood-sugar-wise.
If I eat something sugary in the morning, I can end up struggling to balance my numbers for what feels like the entire day. It puts me in a TERRIBLE mood—one, because hyperglycaemia tends to do that to me, but also because I’m trying to be productive and now I’m dealing with a high, getting frustrated, giving myself too much insulin to correct it and...
Now I’m low.
Great.
This was exactly how I spent my morning the other day.
I admit it: I let my weakness for a little bit of sugar take over my better judgment.
I travel a lot for my job, which means staying in hotels and being subject to whatever the hotel is serving for all three meals. I still find it extremely difficult to keep my blood sugar balanced when I’m not in control of what is being made or exactly what is in my food—but that’s another topic for another day.
Luckily, this particular hotel had plenty of breakfast options: fresh scrambled eggs, bacon, cold meats, cheese and bread. Basically, all the things I would eat at home anyway.
But then there was the flavoured yogurt and the sugary cereal.
At home, I normally stick to plain Greek yogurt because it generally has much less added sugar than flavoured options. But I saw the cereal and thought, Well, if I take a little more insulin, I can have a couple of spoonfuls of this delicious chocolate cereal and satisfy the craving.
BOY, was I wrong.
I seriously only had a few spoonfuls, but my body can be incredibly sensitive to fast-digesting carbs in the morning. That little bit of cereal was enough to send my blood sugar shooting up.
After 14 years of living with diabetes, you’d think I would be able to rationalize with myself over a few spoonfuls of chocolate cereal.
Apparently not.
All that is to say: for me, a good savoury breakfast with protein, fat, fibre and a manageable amount of carbs is one of the best ways to start my day.
And luckily, I genuinely LOVE my usual breakfast.
I pretty much eat the same delicious thing every single day. I switch up the extras every now and then to keep things interesting, but my ideal breakfast looks something like this:
1 piece of sourdough toast (2 if I’m going out on the bike)
Half an avocado (literally the best thing ever)
Fresh lemon squeezed on top—and do NOT leave out the Everything but the Bagel seasoning
Fresh whipped goat cheese—a recent addition and, honestly, yum
1–2 eggs, cooked however you like them
A little plain Greek yogurt if I’m going to have an active morning or spend the day out on the hill
Because skiing means cold, cold means burning more energy, and more energy means I need more food.
Otherwise, I get hangry.
And nobody wants that.
My Recent Niche Breakfast Obsession
I live in France, so this one might feel a little niche, but I promise it is easy and DELICIOUS if you put your mind to it:
Savoury buckwheat crêpes—or galettes.
The ones I eat have only 14 g of carbs and 1.5 g of fibre per galette, which I consider pretty low-carb for an entire breakfast base. Win-win!
Then I fill mine with:
Egg. Cheese. Ham.
That’s it.
You’ve got a relatively small amount of carbs from the galette, paired with the egg, cheese and ham to make a filling savoury breakfast.
And it is seriously delicious.
So, after yet another morning spent watching my Dexcom graph climb, rage-correcting, and then dealing with the consequences, I have once again learned a lesson I apparently need to keep relearning:
Sometimes the breakfast you know works for your body really is the best way to start the day.
Although I refuse to call avocado toast with whipped goat cheese boring.
Your diabuddy,
Camille