Carbs and fibre counting help

[SB2015]

Can you help.
I get in a muddle as to what to do with low GI carbs with regard to counting them or not.

I remember when I was on injections I was told to half the carbs for low GI like beans and lentils. I suspect that that was because things were not so flexible on injections.
On my pump I have the facility to do an extended bolus.

• For low GI such as lentils do you count the full amount of carbs ?
• Does anyone subtract the g of fibre from the carbs? I can't remember where I read this idea
• Do you simply use the extended bolus for full amount of carbs? How longish I know that this will be test, test to suit me but any starting point?

I treated myself to the Helmsley and Helmsley book. We take a week on and week off for cooking and I like picking a book to use for the full week. I think this one might be in place for quite a few weeks.

 

[Annette]

Re: subtracting the fibre from the carbs - its an American thing - and its done automatically here (or something? Anyway, ignore the fibre figure.)
Re: things like lentils, pulses of any kind - I find the best way for me is to only count 75% of the 'official' carbs - others may use different amounts - you need to find your level - try it a few times with many tests, once you've got a level that works, stick with it.
Your third q - I cant answer, as due to a slow digestion, I give all boluses on a short extension (15 mins) - people with 'normal' digestion will be better placed to answer.

 

[Redkite]

Annette is right - nutrition info on packaged food in the UK shows carbs net of fibre, so you can use the carbs figure. In the US, you'd be shown total carbs including fibre, so would then need to deduct the fibre.

We bolus for ALL carbs, regardless of the GI. It's the timing of the bolus that may need adjusting for lower GI foods, but that's quite a personal thing so you'll have to experiment. My son uses dual wave boluses for pasta and for high fat foods (e.g. 50/50 over 3 hours for pasta). I can't comment on lentils because he only eats them when I've sneaked them into other foods, so not large quantities as a % of the total carbs in the meal.

If we were going to experiment with a lentil/pulse dish, I'd bolus for the full carb value, perhaps 50% upfront, and then the rest over 2 hours. But I'd be checking the BG level half-hourly (or looking at sensor if worn). Then if levels clearly rising rapidly, I'd cancel the remainder of the extended bolus and put it back in as a normal bolus. On the other hand if levels start dropping, I'd make a note to give less upfront next time.