Comments on: carb counting

By: colin_140

colin_140 — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 05:24:25 +0000

<<
I eat almost all my meals on the road and I just don’t know how to tell
what
is in that chili or soup or salad or pasta. I just am not good at telling
how much a cup is. >>
Catie: Jan posted an estimation list which works quite well to determine
size. Consider on the road chili as 2 starches/1meat/2fat - if you are
eating 1 cup worth….serving size from most diners is somewhere between 2-3
cups. Adding crackers increases carb counts well.
Soup - creamed - higher in fat and carb so consider portion control.
Noodle soups..high fat and carb
salads….greens…no guilt
tomatoes - 1/2 cup = 1 vegetable/starch serving
cukes - no guilt
beans - 1/2 cup = 1 vegetable/starch

so a nice mixed greens salad with a moderate amount of add-ons tomato,
carrot, chick peas, red beans with a low fat dressing - honeymustard is nice
- also include in card count….much less guilt than noodle soup.
a nice piece of chicken, turkey, fish, and a nice medium sized baked potato -
with just a little butter or better yet, use honeymustard dressing - quite
tasty…..get the idea I like to cook? It can be intimidating I know, but
not too hard once you get started…..Joan:))))

By: Krystal Jesica

Krystal Jesica — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 18:11:08 +0000

BLUEGRASS??? me too!!
fp

By: Dane Karlene

Dane Karlene — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:05:13 +0000

Well I could just order REALLY THICK soups.
I want to hear some of the bluegrass, my favorite music.

Catie, one way to estimate is think of a "serving" (which in most cases is 15
carb grams) as a handful. Obviously this won’t hold true for certains foods,
such as desserts, but works great for foods such as potatos, etc.

Might be a little messy to measure soup this way, though!
Patrick
The NC bluegrass pickin’ pumper

By: Martin Washington

Martin Washington — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 11:30:55 +0000

I personally don’t use any object to estimate the carbohydrates amounts
on anything. To me that’s more confusing and I don’t trust it to be
accurate.
I use a handy reference called "The Doctor’s Pocket Calorie, Fat and
Carbohydrates Counter". It’s small enough to fit in my purse and it has
information on fast-food and restaurants. I find out the amount of
carbs on each serving I am having and then I bolus accordingly. For
me, I require 1 unit per every 10g of carbs.
This is different for everyone, so you should have your pump trainer,
nutritionist or doctor help you figure this out. With the guidance of
my pump trainer, I spend 2 weeks writing down (carb counting)
everything I ate, and would test 30 to 60 minutes before and after
eating. This help determine my insulin requirements before I went on
the pump.
Keep in mind that foods with more protein, fat, and fiber will not have

high carbohydrates counts, so it will affect the insulin requirement.
If I am eating things with more fiber (like vegetables) I use a bit
less for my bolus. Foods like pizza have some of everything were so
bad for me that I had decided not to eat it. It will cause my glucose
levels to go over 300 even with using the 1-10 bolus ratio. But later
I learned that with the Minimed 508 the square wave will help, so I
feel better about pizza!
Some its trial-an-error, and how are your glucose levels before you
eat. That’s why its also important to test. You will know what to do
with time. I know that at the beginning it seems like a lot of work,
but believe me its worth it. Plus it will help you be more stable and
less anxious about your sugar levels.

Lymari

By: patience_15

patience_15 — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:02:03 +0000

<< Mary thank you so much for the book suggestions I was just going to post
and ask everyone how they did the carb counting.

I eat almost all my meals on the road and I just don’t know how to tell what
is in that chili or soup or salad or pasta. I just am not good at telling
how much a cup is.

For me I take 1 unit of insulin for every 15 grams of carbohydrate. So I add
up my numbers and divide them by 15 and that tells me exactly how much
insulin to take. Now when eating out I look in my Carb Counting book. I
still have to guess somewhat because of the serving size. I can only guess
or try to approximate how much is 1 cup etc. Also in restaraunts you dont
know ALL the ingredients. There could be some added sugar or something you
may be aware of. I just guess and then check my sugar about 30min to 1 hr
later. if its high I just bolus. Id rather take too little insulin rather

than too much. I think its easier to treat a high than a low. Hope this
helps. Chrissy

By: Jennie Mui

Jennie Mui — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:40:07 +0000

It works pretty well with foods I’m familiar with. Pizza for example, takes
about a four hour square bolus. Some foods take less time. Kind of trial
and error until you see how different foods affect you.. Good luck.. Jeana Ü
—– Original Message —–
>
> how does this work for you?

By: judith600

judith600 — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 06:11:56 +0000

> My doc also said to take 1/2 unit of
> insulin per 1 protein exchange.

how does this work for you? i am thinking of starting a square wave when i
eat lots of protein and dividing the grams in half and then using my 1:15
carb ratio to decide the bolus…. that would be the same as the half a unit
since they say up to 52% of protein gets slowly digested……. so that’s
about half……
how does this work out for you? how long do you square it?

By: Jennie Mui

Jennie Mui — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 00:17:05 +0000

The best way for me to count carbs is to look at the food as servings from
the exchange lists. Since I’ve been doing that since I was 8 yrs old I can
pretty much tell a serving size. Maybe you could practice measuring some
foods to get back in practice. My doc advised me to give 1 unit of insulin
per 10 carbs. Usually there are about 10 to 15 carbs in one serving of
fruit, bread or milk exchange . My doc also said to take 1/2 unit of
insulin per 1 protein exchange. If something is a combination of protein,
carb and fat, then I use the square bolus. If the food has fiber, subtract
the grams of fiber from the total carbs and then give the units to match. I
think the ADA puts out a booklet about counting carbs. A dietician should
be able to get you one. Okay I just now checked their site at
www.diabetes.org and looked in their store section. They have the three
booklet set for $6.00. It’s called the Counting Carbohydrates: Starter Pack
. Actually Booklet 3 is the one that tells how to adjust insulin to match
the carbs. HTH, Jeana Ü

—– Original Message —–

> Mary thank you so much for the book suggestions I was just going to post
and ask everyone how they did the carb counting.

By: judith600

judith600 — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:56:35 +0000

a great book with almost everything you could imagine listed, including
fast food, is the Doctor’s Pocket Guide to……. you can find it on
calorieking.com……… they sell it at borders and barnes and
nobles…….. i have like 7 counter books and this one is the latest one
with the most stuff in it!

By: colin_140

colin_140 — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 18:12:30 +0000

Catie:
B-D the insulin syringe company, has a nice Fast Food Guide that you can get
for free….BD.com I believe.
It breaks down by carb, fat, protein, cholesterol, and sodium. After a
little reading, you will see the light of day…Joan:))