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Please sign my petition - it could make your life easier!

Absolutely great idea. I'm a keen cook myself and when I daydream about running my own restaurant - this is a feature of the menus:)
 
Great idea. Please make sure M&B get a copy. Grrr. The restaurants around here are staffed by students with a worrying inability to differentiate carb from calorie and when I mention it is not the diet section of the menu I want I get the gluten free. My choice then is to ask politely if I can have a cheese omelette and leave of my own free will or get escorted out. They put a seasoned flour on steaks and salads are a minefield. Omelettes do not seem to be on the menu most places. Of course real diabetics get medications so can eat normally so i am just on a fashionista fad. Bit worrying when Cosmo is the most helpful place in a city the size of Coventry with 2 major universities.
 
Sorry, I disagree and won't be signing this.

How exactly would this work in the real world? Small businesses are already buckling under a weight of petty regulations and bye-laws.

What's your plan for how they arrive at the carb count? Do they just whip out Carbs & Cals, which is useful, but, as we all know, has limitations and sometimes needs to be taken with a pinch of salt?

Or do they need to send sample meals to a lab to be tested, at who knows what cost?

And then how do you know the meal served to you is the same as the test one sent to the lab?

Will local authorities be given the power to employ testers to do spot checks? Will this increase council tax?

Will there be civil liability if your sugars end up higher than expected even though a million and one other things can increase it besides an inaccurate menu carb listing?

Will you trust the carb count, or will you do what we all do anyway, which is make our own judgment calls over any meal? As that's normally the case, what's the point in forcing small businesses to comply with another rule?

By the way, it's important not to overstate your case. Your petition says that an extremely low blood sugar could lead to a sufferer going into a coma or dying. Sure, that could happen in extremis, but, erm, if I miscalc on a sit out meal, a few glucotabs sorts it. Dying? I've never really let it get that far. Even if your petition otherwise has merit, it loses credibility to suggest that we're facing death or coma because heartless small businesses inbetween negotiating supplies, overdrafts, staff rotas etc. etc. can't do a carb count as well.
 
No sorry I will not sign it either diabetics are just a small minority of those who eat out so why should we expect any special treatment other illnesses do not get it
Surely you know what you can eat or not so when you are out it should not be a problem. I can't see all restaurants going to the trouble of listing the carbs in everything they cook and as said that is not as simple as it sounds and I don't think we should expect it
 
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Pinkorchid said:
No sorry I will not sign it either diabetics are just a small minority of those who eat out so why should we expect any special treatment other illnesses do not get it
Surely you know what you can eat or not so when you are out it should not be a problem. I can't see all restaurants going to the trouble of listing the carbs in everything they cook and as said that is not as simple as it sounds and I don't think we should expect it
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Diabetics are not the only ones who eat low carb diets. I think carb content would be more useful than calorie content.
 
Scott-C said:
Sorry, I disagree and won't be signing this.

How exactly would this work in the real world? Small businesses are already buckling under a weight of petty regulations and bye-laws.

What's your plan for how they arrive at the carb count? Do they just whip out Carbs & Cals, which is useful, but, as we all know, has limitations and sometimes needs to be taken with a pinch of salt?

Or do they need to send sample meals to a lab to be tested, at who knows what cost?

And then how do you know the meal served to you is the same as the test one sent to the lab?

Will local authorities be given the power to employ testers to do spot checks? Will this increase council tax?

Will there be civil liability if your sugars end up higher than expected even though a million and one other things can increase it besides an inaccurate menu carb listing?

Will you trust the carb count, or will you do what we all do anyway, which is make our own judgment calls over any meal? As that's normally the case, what's the point in forcing small businesses to comply with another rule?

By the way, it's important not to overstate your case. Your petition says that an extremely low blood sugar could lead to a sufferer going into a coma or dying. Sure, that could happen in extremis, but, erm, if I miscalc on a sit out meal, a few glucotabs sorts it. Dying? I've never really let it get that far. Even if your petition otherwise has merit, it loses credibility to suggest that we're facing death or coma because heartless small businesses inbetween negotiating supplies, overdrafts, staff rotas etc. etc. can't do a carb count as well.
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I agree with a lot of your points @Scott-C; the more I read your post, the more I feel that you're exactly right.

It would be great to go in for a meal and have the nutritional info stamped on the menu; similar to Wetherspoon's - although they lack carb content.

A facility like this would be very handy, although I agree now that making it compulsory would be a little extreme and not all that easy for some small business owners. It would be easier for corporate chains, as most of their food is pre-prepped and reheated.

What I would like to see though are more business displaying nutritional info of their meals; if they can include carbs then excellent! Teaches me for not reading things properly first thing in the morning I suppose. It's still an excellent idea, but pretty hard to implement across the board for the reasons you've stated.
 
Scott-C said:
Sorry, I disagree and won't be signing this.

How exactly would this work in the real world? Small businesses are already buckling under a weight of petty regulations and bye-laws.

What's your plan for how they arrive at the carb count? Do they just whip out Carbs & Cals, which is useful, but, as we all know, has limitations and sometimes needs to be taken with a pinch of salt?

Or do they need to send sample meals to a lab to be tested, at who knows what cost?

And then how do you know the meal served to you is the same as the test one sent to the lab?

Will local authorities be given the power to employ testers to do spot checks? Will this increase council tax?

Will there be civil liability if your sugars end up higher than expected even though a million and one other things can increase it besides an inaccurate menu carb listing?

Will you trust the carb count, or will you do what we all do anyway, which is make our own judgment calls over any meal? As that's normally the case, what's the point in forcing small businesses to comply with another rule?

By the way, it's important not to overstate your case. Your petition says that an extremely low blood sugar could lead to a sufferer going into a coma or dying. Sure, that could happen in extremis, but, erm, if I miscalc on a sit out meal, a few glucotabs sorts it. Dying? I've never really let it get that far. Even if your petition otherwise has merit, it loses credibility to suggest that we're facing death or coma because heartless small businesses inbetween negotiating supplies, overdrafts, staff rotas etc. etc. can't do a carb count as well.
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I agree I'm prepared to make my own judgement on a meal in a cafe and I believe you can get carb content for say a big mac on line (just example btw) I read about the self measures of a fist of rice or pasta and counting chips works for me. Although I look a bit Wierd doing it
 
zand said:
Diabetics are not the only ones who eat low carb diets. I think carb content would be more useful than calorie content.
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I think going out for meal for most people diabetics or other carb counters means having something different to what they normally eat it's a treat surely they are not going to worry about having a few more extra carbs than they would have at home that would just ruin it
 
Bon83 said:
I read about the self measures of a fist of rice or pasta and counting chips works for me. Although I look a bit Wierd doing it
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Violently punching the bowls of pasta at the Pizza Hut salad counter. That I have to see:)
 
Pinkorchid said:
I think going out for meal for most people diabetics or other carb counters means having something different to what they normally eat it's a treat surely they are not going to worry about having a few more extra carbs than they would have at home that would just ruin it
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Sometimes you have to eat out as a necessity - for instance when working away from home. Not everyone views food as a treat either.
 
I would love to see carb counts on everything. Also fat, fibre, calories and protein.
But realistically this is only possible for large chains with industrial processes and the £££ to pay for lab testing and pre-prepared frozen portion control.
 
Pinkorchid said:
No sorry I will not sign it either diabetics are just a small minority of those who eat out so why should we expect any special treatment other illnesses do not get it
Surely you know what you can eat or not so when you are out it should not be a problem. I can't see all restaurants going to the trouble of listing the carbs in everything they cook and as said that is not as simple as it sounds and I don't think we should expect it
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Also this is a T1 thread and it can be a problem to T1s if they don't know the carb count. For example sausages and gravy vary widely in carb content. If someone has too much bolus and ends up with a hypo I don't think that's much of a treat.
 
Obviously, you are entitled to your own opinion. The petition is not merely aimed at small businesses which you keep banging on about. Every diabetic is different, therefore I can't be the only one who experiences this issue. As for me mentioning coma and death, a lot of non diabetics don't understand the seriousness of diabetes so I was simply explaining the extremes of a low blood sugar.

Scott-C said:
Sorry, I disagree and won't be signing this.

How exactly would this work in the real world? Small businesses are already buckling under a weight of petty regulations and bye-laws.

What's your plan for how they arrive at the carb count? Do they just whip out Carbs & Cals, which is useful, but, as we all know, has limitations and sometimes needs to be taken with a pinch of salt?

Or do they need to send sample meals to a lab to be tested, at who knows what cost?

And then how do you know the meal served to you is the same as the test one sent to the lab?

Will local authorities be given the power to employ testers to do spot checks? Will this increase council tax?

Will there be civil liability if your sugars end up higher than expected even though a million and one other things can increase it besides an inaccurate menu carb listing?

Will you trust the carb count, or will you do what we all do anyway, which is make our own judgment calls over any meal? As that's normally the case, what's the point in forcing small businesses to comply with another rule?

By the way, it's important not to overstate your case. Your petition says that an extremely low blood sugar could lead to a sufferer going into a coma or dying. Sure, that could happen in extremis, but, erm, if I miscalc on a sit out meal, a few glucotabs sorts it. Dying? I've never really let it get that far. Even if your petition otherwise has merit, it loses credibility to suggest that we're facing death or coma because heartless small businesses inbetween negotiating supplies, overdrafts, staff rotas etc. etc. can't do a carb count as well.
Click to expand...
 
zand said:
Sometimes you have to eat out as a necessity - for instance when working away from home. Not everyone views food as a treat either.
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Yes I agree people eat out for all sorts of reasons but when it is a treat I want to enjoy something I would not usually have at home I certainly don't want to worry about eating a few extra carbs.
 
GrantGam said:
Violently punching the bowls of pasta at the Pizza Hut salad counter. That I have to see:)
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Haha - it's sort of holding up a fist over the pasta and closing one eye. Really like you are drunk can't see straight and are saying put em up to the pasta. I promise I am more discrete than that but yes it sounds a funny old sight
 
Pinkorchid said:
Yes I agree people eat out for all sorts of reasons but when it is a treat I want to enjoy something I would not usually have at home I certainly don't want to worry about eating a few extra carbs.
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Like I said before... This thread is in the T1 section. For them it isn't a case of eating too many carbs, they need to work out their bolus insulin requirements. If they miscalculate badly they could end up having a life threatening hypo. This thread isn't about T2s wanting little treats (bless them) it's about helping T1s to stay safe.

Coming back from holiday once everyone on the plane was banned from eating or drinking anything because one person had a very severe peanut allergy. It wasn't about stopping people having treats, it was about not harming someone else.
 
Pinkorchid said:
Yes I agree people eat out for all sorts of reasons but when it is a treat I want to enjoy something I would not usually have at home I certainly don't want to worry about eating a few extra carbs.
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And what about pregnant women who can't afford to 'not worry about eating a few extra carbs?'
 
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