Type 1 Diabetes & counting

[B583]

This may seem confusing or inappropriate to start, though having done what I'm discussing before with success, still carb counting. ,,,,,,,,,I'm wanting to commit to this fully, this time round!! Please continue reading to get a better understanding!!

I've registered & begun attending a Weight Watchers program this evening & they have Pro Points for each food group, having an amount of points to consume each day. As I'm carb counting, this contradicts this Pro Points system & I don't know how to contribute these points to the quantity of insulin required; as carb counting & calculating Pro points will become confusing??

Previously I never calculated the Pro points, just reduced my carb intake & ate healthily NOW I'm thinking of incorporating the Pro points, but unsure how to calculate it with my insulin dosage?? Or whether to remain on what I did previously, concentrating on low quantity foods/meals for the benefit of losing weight, until I get my BGs better controlled & insulin dosages down (being on Humalog & TouJeo).

Any suggestions, further questions or personal experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks all

 

[AndBreathe]

This may seem confusing or inappropriate to start, though having done what I'm discussing before with success, still carb counting. ,,,,,,,,,I'm wanting to commit to this fully, this time round!! Please continue reading to get a better understanding!!

I've registered & begun attending a Weight Watchers program this evening & they have Pro Points for each food group, having an amount of points to consume each day. As I'm carb counting, this contradicts this Pro Points system & I don't know how to contribute these points to the quantity of insulin required; as carb counting & calculating Pro points will become confusing??

Previously I never calculated the Pro points, just reduced my carb intake & ate healthily NOW I'm thinking of incorporating the Pro points, but unsure how to calculate it with my insulin dosage?? Or whether to remain on what I did previously, concentrating on low quantity foods/meals for the benefit of losing weight, until I get my BGs better controlled & insulin dosages down (being on Humalog & TouJeo).

Any suggestions, further questions or personal experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks all

Hi B583 - I'm not T1, and nor have I ever attended WW, so pro points might as well be nuclear fusion for all I know.

I don't know if any of our current members have encountered this WW programme, but could it be worthwhile to give us an example of a meal or foodstuff expressed both in carb content and pro points score? That might help give a sense of how close or far away they may be from each other. Are pro points the only way they work?

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly, but good luck with it all. It sounds like you have a bit of juggling to look forward to.

 

[noblehead]

Any suggestions, further questions or personal experiences would be appreciated.

Just looked on the WW website and see that ProPoints was replaced with SmartPoints, but the site says you don't have to follow the SmartPoints method and can opt for the No Count approach instead:

https://www.weightwatchers.com/uk/how-it-works/no-count-know-how

I wouldn't imagine it would be too difficult to carb count on the plan, we've had type 1 members follow Slimming World with great success.

 

[B583]

@AndBreathe These are just some of the items I've managed to get hold of with info for both points & carbohydrate quantities (or not!)

Bite size shredded wheat with skimmed milk 0pts/19g per 30g serving
Creme Frais 1pt/2.4g per 100ml
Semi skimmed milk 3pts/0.7g per 250ml

PP are what the team leader thrives on!! Ignoring me when I told her I carb count for my insulin dosage each meal/item.

 

[DaftThoughts]

@AndBreathe These are just some of the items I've managed to get hold of with info for both points & carbohydrate quantities (or not!)

Bite size shredded wheat with skimmed milk 0pts/19g per 30g serving
Creme Frais 1pt/2.4g per 100ml
Semi skimmed milk 3pts/0.7g per 250ml

PP are what the team leader thrives on!! Ignoring me when I told her I carb count for my insulin dosage each meal/item.

I would be alarmed by a professional in this area ignoring your specific needs as a diabetic. Is there a higher-up you can get in touch with to let them know? Insulin dependent diabetics should be worked with, not ignored with potentially disastrous results. (Not everyone is as capable as you in making the right decision in this area unfortunately.)

I am confused though - what's the issue between the points and the carb counting? Can you not count them separately and inject for what you're eating by looking up how many carbs it has, while sticking to the point limit?

 

[B583]

@DaftThoughts That's what I meant by becoming confused with calculating the two together. At the moment I give the quantity of insulin required for the amount of carbs consumed, whereas calculating PP's too I'll get confused what i've eaten, quantities & how much insulin to give, when!! Also swapping the points for carbs is possible however the amounts of daily points is small (36 per day), though this can be adjusted somehow I'll give it a week until the next meeting, then ask her again of doing the plan with diabetes (even Type 2)

 

[DaftThoughts]

@DaftThoughts That's what I meant by becoming confused with calculating the two together. At the moment I give the quantity of insulin required for the amount of carbs consumed, whereas calculating PP's too I'll get confused what i've eaten, quantities & how much insulin to give, when!! Also swapping the points for carbs is possible however the amounts of daily points is small (36 per day), though this can be adjusted somehow I'll give it a week until the next meeting, then ask her again of doing the plan with diabetes (even Type 2)

Do you make use of an app or something to keep track of your insulin?

I use MySugr, I log my carbs and insulin in it, but it also has room for a comment field. You could just write down how many points that meal has, what the meal is, and keep the points, carbs and insulin separate while having a nice overview for a total. At the end of the day you can just check your logs and see how many points you have. Would that work?

 

[B583]

I am having to make a few changes for this to work, as making a diary of foods, drinks, exercise, moods etc seems a lot to do around a busy day, especially as work is picking up now. I'll do my best to be persistent with it until I get used to the foods I can have & those that are "No Count" foods (0pts).

I have downloaded the weight watcher's app now, that gives you portion sizes, some nutrition info & keeps a diary of the meals too....using battery life & data As well as recording my insulin & BGs in a manual diary too.
Thanks for the help on this

 

[B583]

You could just write down how many points that meal has, what the meal is, and keep the points, carbs and insulin separate while having a nice overview for a total. At the end of the day you can just check your logs and see how many points you have. Would that work?

Feeling Humiliated from my own disbelief in myself, for the last 3 days I have logged carbs, insulin & points separately & not make mistakes with it yet. Also keeping diary of what I've eaten for each meal to give the insulin required. Thanks @DaftThoughts for the suggestion!! I'll keep with it, being annoying, logging all these each day & see how I get on with my weight loss

 

[DaftThoughts]

Feeling Humiliated from my own disbelief in myself, for the last 3 days I have logged carbs, insulin & points separately & not make mistakes with it yet. Also keeping diary of what I've eaten for each meal to give the insulin required. Thanks @DaftThoughts for the suggestion!! I'll keep with it, being annoying, logging all these each day & see how I get on with my weight loss

Great job!! It can be a very annoying chore! But if you keep some consistency among your meals (like 3 days a week you eat the same stuff regularly) it's going to be much easier because you'll remember how much something is and it speeds everything along.

Keep it up!