What do you guys carb count?

[CelalDari]

The dietary recommendation is not to count:
- Vegetables excluding starchy ones like potatoes
- Legumes and beans

However when I carb count I factor in all carbs so I just wanted to ask what do you guys count and what don’t you?

I find that if I have only had protein e.g. fish and non-starchy veg such as broccoli then my blood sugar drops lower than it should because I bolus for the broccoli which is slowly digested but surely the carbs within it become glucose in the blood?

I try to balance my meals by including a rapid acting carb source along with intermediate or long acting carb source because I don’t want an insulin peak before a glucose peak.

Any tips from people who have been doing it for years? I’ve only been doing it for a month and a half now

 

[Abo2000]

Hey! I’ll begin by being honest and saying I’ve been doing this for a month but perhaps you’ll find my findings useful:
1. I’ve been recommended to not count proteins and vegetables and beans as you said (other than potato and I think onions, maybe they’re quite sweet). I’ve found similar in that i don’t go up when I eat these things and therefore I don’t inject so that I don’t go too low.
2. I’ve found that whenever I inject my novorapid before my meal, my BG often ends up having a peak a couple hours later and I get the impression that the injection was therefore not so useful.
Concerning point number 2, do people recommend injecting novorapid AFTER the meal instead?

 

[xfieldok]

Novorapid 20 minutes before food.

 

[LooperCat]

I carb count absolutely everything and take my Novorapid mealtime bolus as I sit down to eat.

 

[Japes]

If I'm mostly sedentary - I carb count everything and probably up insulin ratios a bit as well.

If I'm being reasonably active I don't bother with counting veg as I mostly eat low-carb veg anyway but do count beans/pulses.

If I'm being very active I'll cut back on insulin ratios for fast-acting and once we're out of lockdown and I'm back in my usual regime, I'll be cutting back my current basal by 25%.

 

[Ushthetaff]

I count all carbs and depending on type of carbs eg pasta And long acting carbs I tend to take my Novorapid after I’ve eaten sometimes hour and a half after , I’ve also split doses , it’s a bit of trial and error and lots of label reading but eventually you get to know what works for you .but as with everything what works for one may or may not work for another.

 

[Borobob]

I wouldn't bother counting most vegetables unless they are tinned baked beans (sugary sauce). I find carb counting is for carbs and sugary foods/drinks.
I've had type 1 diabetes for 42 years so started weighing food when I was very young so can just look at a pile of food now and weigh up the complex carbs/normal carbs/non carb. ratios. My hb1c varies from 6.5-6.9 ish so seems to work. I think maybe see a dietitian and do the daphne course with your diebetic care provider (I've heard its good).

 

[Roggg]

I think it all depends on what you're trying to do by counting. I'm trying to follow a keto way of eating, so it may be different from what you're trying to do. So for me, I don't always track my eating but when I do, "count" net carbs. Typically that's total carbs minus fibre for everything I eat, with a goal of being under 50g and under 10% of calories, whichever is lower. I also subtract certain non-nutritive sweeteners as well. Erythritol in particular shows up as a "carb" in most apps and labels, but it's not absorbed so it shouldn't really count.

[I'm just realizing I missed the "bolus" part. This is a T1 discussion, and my post contributes nothing. Carry on. ]

 

[ArtemisBow]

It depends on the meal as a whole for me - if I’m having some kind of veggie pasta for instance, I would just count the pasta. If I was having just meat and veg, I would count the veg.

Generally I bolus 5 mins before, sometimes with a multi wave depending on the meal (ie for pasta).

It’s all trial and error, and I’m sure what’s working for me would not for someone else! So just test test test and learn from each meal. I found the mySugr app very useful in the early days because I could look up when I’d last had that meal and see what I’d taken and the results, and then adjust.

 

[michita]

I eat low carb and I don’t count carbs. I only eat food with low carb content and I just guess by the volume and from experience. This method suites me because I’m just too lazy to count carbs but also I’m very detailed and don’t like the inaccuracy involving carb counting

 

[UK T1]

It will be trial and error for you I think. Like many, I count almost everything. Total carbonydrate. I say 'almost' because for example, if I'm having an active day and eating a low carb salad then I wouldn't bolus, but on a very sedentary day I'll find the same salad causes a raise in blood glucose levels (I don't use shop bought salad dressings so am talking about the veg). When I look into it, 2-3g of carbs here and there adds up. I am also vegetarian so if I followed the dieticians advice not to bolus for any veg (yes, she actually told me that - don't worry I made my case!) then I'd constantly be high.

Similar as a post above, my ratios also change if I have a few days more sedentary or more active than others, so generally if I am more sedentary, I have to count the carbs more closely to still have stable sugars. I also notice if I am more sedentary I have to bolus novorapid earlier - up to 30mins before I'm expecting the meal to be digested. When the meal is expected to be digested will depend on complexity inc fat content of the meal, as mentioned above. I have the libre sensor and this has helped me time bolus and eating have almost no peaks around meals now - which I sometimes still can't quite believe!

I've been counting total carbs for almost 14 years, my friends say listing the total carbs of random foods is my weird party trick but I've found it essentail to allow me to eat what I want and live how I want to. There are apps which can help too, but I mainly use the label on the food and kitchen scales. If you experiment a bit you'll get used to serving sizes and carb values for those so you quickly get to a stage where you don't have to weigh everything.

 

[becca59]

As others have said it depends on what I am eating. Today had fish and above ground veg and a peach so counted all veg plus the peach. Took 20 mins before. If I’m eating something more carby don’t count veg and bolus 30 mins before. If eating beans (nothing in sugary sauce ) will bolus for them but 30 mins to an hour later. All trial and error and tailor made for me. Which is what we have to do.
And that doesn’t take into account meals that I split bolus with one, two or even three injections usually for something carby and fatty.