How to bolus for takeaway ?

[Pat91]

Hi all, just wondering has anyone any advice on how they bolus for takeaway food ? IE Indian and chip shop. Thank you all in advance.

 

[Inka]

Depends on the food. Fish and chips I bolus up front and correct if necessary at 2 hrs if it looks like I’ve misjudged. Indian, I do an extended bolus for the rice. The ‘worst’ is Chinese because it often has more carbs than you think.

 

[Pat91]

Depends on the food. Fish and chips I bolus up front and correct if necessary at 2 hrs if it looks like I’ve misjudged. Indian, I do an extended bolus for the rice. The ‘worst’ is Chinese because it often has more carbs than you think.

Depends on the food. Fish and chips I bolus up front and correct if necessary at 2 hrs if it looks like I’ve misjudged. Indian, I do an extended bolus for the rice. The ‘worst’ is Chinese because it often has more carbs than you think.

What do you usually order from an Indian ? What roughly do the carbs amount too ? Thank you.

 

[Pat91]

What do you usually order from an Indian ? What roughly do the carbs amount too ? Thank you.

I would order a hot curry say a Madras but would not know where to start on guessing the carb amount.

 

[Inka]

What do you usually order from an Indian ? What roughly do the carbs amount too ? Thank you.

I usually go for salmon if they have it (I’m pescatarian) or veggie dishes. I like to have lots of different things. For the rice I usually have half of a foil dish or slightly less if I’m having other carbs. I measure with my tablespoon to estimate the carbs.

Re the Madras, I wouldn’t think the sauce has many carbs in at all, but if there’s a lot of chicken, you might need to add a bit extra for the protein in that.

If in any doubt, err on the side of caution with your insulin dose and have a little extra insulin later if needed. Mainly, enjoy it 🙂

 

[Ljc]

You could get Carbs and Cals . Not sure if their is an app but their is a book
It is a good guide , has useful pictures so you get an idea of the size of the portion .
The Restaurant/takeaway may be able to provide you with the carbohydrate content .

Now I tend just to give my plate a good eyeballing and give it my best guess , then test loads , well I scan really .

I strongly suggest you bolus conservatively and do a correction later on if needed.

I usually have lamb Dhansak and a bit of rice but I must have popadoms

 

[Pat91]

Thank you both for your advice much appreciated

 

[Pat91]

I usually go for salmon if they have it (I’m pescatarian) or veggie dishes. I like to have lots of different things. For the rice I usually have half of a foil dish or slightly less if I’m having other carbs. I measure with my tablespoon to estimate the carbs.

Re the Madras, I wouldn’t think the sauce has many carbs in at all, but if there’s a lot of chicken, you might need to add a bit extra for the protein in that.

If in any doubt, err on the side of caution with your insulin dose and have a little extra insulin later if needed. Mainly, enjoy it 🙂

Where did you get your spoon from ? They sound very handy to have.

 

[Lucyr]

Where did you get your spoon from ? They sound very handy to have.

If you’re eating a takeaway at home you presumably have a tablespoon, and your normal plates in the cupboard? You can just serve yourself the same portion as you usually do, however many spoonfuls that is or whatever proportion of the plate, then use the same carb count as usual

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Presuming the rice is separate from the curry (and you're eating at home), you could weigh the rice and assume the curry doesn't add much.

(As others have said, there's a lot of trial and error involved however scientifically you try and judge.)

 

[trophywench]

I have approx far too many tablespoons about my home and the motorhome kitchen - these things happen when you amalgamate 2 households into one, plus both my big stainless steel, Ikea kitchen utensil serving spoons are physically 2 tablespoon measures. (The draining spoons from the same source most likely are too, though with holes in, don't get used for measuring purposes!)

 

[nonethewiser]

Had fish & chips today with slice of bread & butter, split bolus by giving half upfront rest over 2 hours being on pump, seem to work as highest bg was 8.9 so not bad. Ate it inside one of best chippy's in country in Durham, call it Bell's in market place, well worth visit if in area.

Do similar with Indian Chinese, depending on meat fat carb content might have to extend dose over good few hours, only by experience that know how long to extend bolus, probably not helpful if not on pump.

 

[rebrascora]

Ate it inside one of best chippy's in country in Durham, call it Bell's in market place, well worth visit if in area.

It had a good reputation when it was Bimbi's too. Not sure if it just changed the name or the whole business changed. Haven't eaten there in a lot of years though. Good to know the quality is still top notch and nice to see they use beef dripping for frying. Might have to find an excuse to visit so that I can do a diabetes experiment 😉

 

[Inka]

Where did you get your spoon from ? They sound very handy to have.

I got it years ago. It was originally part of a set but all the others are long-gone. It’s a plastic tablespoonmeasuring spoon. It’s round and more scoop-like than a normal tablespoon. I find it perfect for measuring cooked rice and so have hung on to it all this time.

Any measuring set would do though. You get used to how rounded (slightly) ‘your’ tablespoon has to be when you measure rice out. I find it’s best to measure cooked rice that way. Cooked pasta I just weigh, but rice works best by volume. It was something the dietician told me at diagnosis and I’ve always done it because it works.

I hope you enjoyed your curry 🙂

 

[Paulbreen]

A quick note for Indian food in most BIR „ British Indian Restaurants“ use a base gravy to construct most of their dishes, it is made from 90% onions and can be heavy in carbs because of that, tandoori style foods don’t use it so make a good choice.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Bizarrely, I have tended to find it much trickier to try to estimate the actual carb count.

Especially because of John ‘Pumping Insulin’ Walsh’s suggestion that above a certain point (roughly your weight in kilos as grams of carb in a meal), larger carb-loaded meals can actually need a different i:c ratio to provide more insulin. Possibly almost as much as a third extra!

Generally I opt for a split dose over 2 hours to stretch out the action of all that extra insulin, and make an estimate of somewhere between 100-130g of carbs for my dose, then eat my ‘normal’ amount (half a portion of chips, or third to a half a helping of rice along with some bits torn off any flatbreads).

Importantly, I don’t try to eat ‘up‘ to my carb total. The dose/estimate is really the product of some experimentation, and eating until pleasantly full. If I were to guess I’d think I am eating maybe 70-80g of carbs (though it’s notoriously tricky to guestimate accurately).

 

[Leadinglights]

Where did you get your spoon from ? They sound very handy to have.

Tesco or similar shops have sets of measuring spoons for a few pounds, at least then they are standard measures.
Not like cups where American cups are different to British cups (not the same in terms of mils).

 

[Pat91]

If you’re eating a takeaway at home you presumably have a tablespoon, and your normal plates in the cupboard? You can just serve yourself the same portion as you usually do, however many spoonfuls that is or whatever proportion of the plate, then use the same carb count as usual

I got it years ago. It was originally part of a set but all the others are long-gone. It’s a plastic tablespoonmeasuring spoon. It’s round and more scoop-like than a normal tablespoon. I find it perfect for measuring cooked rice and so have hung on to it all this time.

Any measuring set would do though. You get used to how rounded (slightly) ‘your’ tablespoon has to be when you measure rice out. I find it’s best to measure cooked rice that way. Cooked pasta I just weigh, but rice works best by volume. It was something the dietician told me at diagnosis and I’ve always done it because it works.

I hope you enjoyed your curry 🙂

Tonight is the night for the experiment, going to have a chippy I think wish me luck.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Tonight is the night for the experiment, going to have a chippy I think wish me luck.

Good luck! Let us know what you have and how you've gone on 🙂 . Are you on a pump or mdi?

 

[Ljc]

ENJOY your chippy .