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I shall have cake..

AndyS

AndyS

Well-Known Member
Messages
783
Location
Cambridge
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
So here is the problem I faced today. We have really excellent caterers at work, everything is cooked fresh every day from local ingredients. They are not really able to do a carb count for me though this is largely since they don't work from set recipes and don't weigh all ingredients. But since I mostly tend to bring my own lunch in it is never a huge issue.

Today though they have an especially great looking vanilla mouse cake.
My thoughts were, to hell with it I fancy some cake.

While I admit that the carb content is largely a guess if I am over estimating then I will need some Lucozade sweets later this afternoon. If I am underestimating then I will correct at dinner and all will be good again.

What swayed my decision was remembering something the dietician on my DAFNE course said about sweets and cakes as a food group and why they are important. They are important to eat occasionally otherwise you will just be miserable!

Here here... so today I am (right this moment) eating some cake!

What is your no idea of the carbs treat that you will fix later?
 
Not sure I agree about them being important, but if you fancy a piece of cake from time to time and you are confident at blousing for it then there's no reason not to, but I would see it as a treat rather than something you would eat everyday.

As for bolusing for such items, better to underestimate the carb content and do a correction later than overestimate and go low postpradial.
 
AndyS said:
What swayed my decision was remembering something the dietician on my DAFNE course said about sweets and cakes as a food group and why they are important. They are important to eat occasionally otherwise you will just be miserable!
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That's why I think I'd find it very hard to sit through a DAFNE course. It's also important that people with peanut allergies eat peanuts occasionally otherwise they will just be miserable too. Oh, wait a minute...
 
noblehead said:
Not sure I agree about them being important, but if you fancy a piece of cake from time to time and you are confident at blousing for it then there's no reason not to, but I would see it as a treat rather than something you would eat everyday.

As for bolusing for such items, better to underestimate the carb content and do a correction later than overestimate and go low postpradial.
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Occasional treat is definietly the thing. Can't even remember the last time I had a nice clice of cake.

@Dillinger, I didn't say I actually learned much at the DAFNE course largely because I taught myself from information here and the BDEC online course. About the only thing that was new to me back when I did it was sick day rules. The comment about the ditetician was largely because it surprised me back then since I think we are all used to HCP's telling us all the things we SHOULDN'T do rather than being practical about it all :)
 
AndyS said:
Occasional treat is definietly the thing. Can't even remember the last time I had a nice clice of cake
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Nor me Andy, I don't have a sweet tooth so it makes no difference if the cake has 30g of carbs a slice or 3g :)
 
I must admit biltong tends to be the snack of choice though even then in moderation since it does make you just a tad thirsty :)
 
As a new T1 I am glad to read about people eating 'conventional' food, I find my self on a guilt trip if I eat something which is considered to be on the forbidden list. I am aware of everything in moderation...but it givesme confidence when I read about cake, fish and cips and macdonalds.

Although I do not intend having them all at once.
 
Cakes and sweets are important ???????
Unbelievable. Yes, an occasional treat is fine but sweets and cakes are certainly not important. Thing is though, all the time you believe you are being deprived of certain foods, you won't be happy. Try to change your way of thinking, change what you consider a treat. You'll soon be glad you ditched the junk.
 
dannyw said:
Cakes and sweets are important ???????
Unbelievable. Yes, an occasional treat is fine but sweets and cakes are certainly not important. Thing is though, all the time you believe you are being deprived of certain foods, you won't be happy. Try to change your way of thinking, change what you consider a treat. You'll soon be glad you ditched the junk.
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She did say it with a smirk. I think she was trying to get across that you do not have to deprive yourself of it completely and it does in fact have a place in your diet in moderation and as long as you count it.
 
Mouse cake!! Is that even legal? Just kidding. I'm type 2, but if it were me I'd keep a small kitchen scale at my office and weigh the cake, then use www.calorieking.com to estimate the amount of carbs. It might be slightly better than a complete guess. The occasional treat is not so bad, especially if it is not processed factory food.
 
mikeg1964 said:
As a new T1 I am glad to read about people eating 'conventional' food, I find my self on a guilt trip if I eat something which is considered to be on the forbidden list. I am aware of everything in moderation...but it givesme confidence when I read about cake, fish and cips and macdonalds.

Although I do not intend having them all at once.
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JMO ..ideally you are having a similar amount of carbs per main meal, as you get use to insulin and carb ratios and having nice numbers at 2hr.
If I wanted a cake, I would have a low carb main course and transfer those carbs to the desert..so the end result is that I am still having the similar amount of carbs.
 
Good philosophy! But remember you don't have to wait until dinner to correct.

Whenever i am unsure about what i eat i try to catch it early, and check at the 2 hour mark to see how things are looking, if my sugars are in the teens then i usually give a correction based on knowing what i have left onboard, and how high the reading, then check again at 4 hours to see how it all worked out.

I am sure this isn't for everyone, but personally i would rather not spend 4-6 hours of my afternoon with my sugars up over 11 lol I'd rather give 1 or 2 units extra halfway through my bolus to maybe edge them down, or at least stop them from raising even higher. If your up over 11 at the halfway mark depending on what you have left in you, you can make a fairly good call on a safe dose to bring them back a bit.
 
Diamattic said:
Good philosophy! But remember you don't have to wait until dinner to correct.

Whenever i am unsure about what i eat i try to catch it early, and check at the 2 hour mark to see how things are looking, if my sugars are in the teens then i usually give a correction based on knowing what i have left onboard, and how high the reading, then check again at 4 hours to see how it all worked out.

I am sure this isn't for everyone, but personally i would rather not spend 4-6 hours of my afternoon with my sugars up over 11 lol I'd rather give 1 or 2 units extra halfway through my bolus to maybe edge them down, or at least stop them from raising even higher. If your up over 11 at the halfway mark depending on what you have left in you, you can make a fairly good call on a safe dose to bring them back a bit.
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I find that the 2 hour mark I am almost always high so it becomes a pointless test for me. Another hour or so later and I am right back down to a proper level, that's why I leave it till the next meal otherwise I am chasing my sugars and end up hypo.
 
Yeah I have to think thank I am not deprived...and interesting to hear that Diamatic that you take an extra few units if high !
Hopefully soon this will be all second nature to me!
 
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