How do you calculate/guesstimate carbs in restaurant food etc?

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Austin_98

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We were ordering takeout and I'm trying to be good and actually eat (maintained weight for 3 weeks now! 🙂 ) so I got a tuna sandwich and a piece of apple pie. The sandwich is easy as I'm good at estimating bread carbs, but I have NO IDEA about the apple pie and I didn't think to even weigh it.
Any advice on guessing how much insulin to take? Or should I just see what happens to my blood sugar levels and take "Corrective" insulin?
 
I really like 'Carb and Calorie Counter ' by Chris Cheyette and Yello Balolia . Large selection on eating out. But I expect there are many apps available.
 
As JohnathanGi has suggested the Carbs and Cals book provides a pretty good guide to foods - it says that a 8g slice of apple pie is 26g carbs and a 160g slice is 51g carbs. The book does have the advantage that pictures are shown and they can give a good estimate of weight if you don't want to go to the trouble of weighing.
There's Carbs and Cals app available for iPhone and Android.
 
I don't have a phone, but I assume these apps are also available in website form?
It was a largishhh slice and I was actually gonna guess at 5 units, so 51 grams sounds about right.
 
Underestimate the carbs @Austin_98 You can always correct later. I wouldn’t say a slice of apple pie was as much as 51g carbs unless it’s loaded with sugar. Have a taste, look at the amount of pastry and apples and make an educated guess.

Is it a pie with pastry at both the top and bottom?
 
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I agree with @Inka on both points: it's unlikely to be as much as 51 CHO and regardless of what it actually is if in doubt underestimate. A subsequent high is nothing more than a minor nuisance which can be corrected later. A hypo because of an overestimate is more than inconvenient, its dangerous and completely unnecessary.

There is good reason why an International Committee of experts agreed that the Time In Range should be between 4 and 10; along with the extra guidance that 4% below 4 and 25% above 10 are acceptable, note only 4% low but up to 25% above.
 
Just estimate as well as you can. Think of other examples of the same that you have had.
Carbs and calls is good as it has pictures to compare the meal to.
I agree with others it is better to underestimate and correct later.

When out for meals it is usually difficult to pre bolus, so I accept that there is likely to be a spike. In a few local restaurants they are brilliant at serving my meal on the dot of 20 min after I have done my bolus. Excellent service.
 
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I’ve eaten out a bit since being diagnosed and have emailed the restaurants to ask for carb content. One could not provide this, but I asked the waiter to find out the weight of something and worked out my dose from that. Another restaurant emailed me a list of the carb content of the menu.
I have also used the Carbs and Cals book to guesstimate a mince pie, going only on the visual and comparing that in my head to the ones I make.
I’m still bolusing when my food is in front of me, so I don’t have to think about timing my dose, which is good as it’s one less thing to factor in.
 
Since the government now require restaurant chains of a certain size to post their meal information for customers including calories etc, this includes carbohydrates.
I have found most chains have their menus and nutritional information online. Always worth checking if it’s somewhere in the restaurants too as they also need to have it accessible.
Otherwise carbs & cals is a great app, with an eating our section.
Just used it for takeaway Chinese at home
 
PhoebeC said:
Since the government now require restaurant chains of a certain size to post their meal information for customers including calories etc, this includes carbohydrates.
I have found most chains have their menus and nutritional information online. Always worth checking if it’s somewhere in the restaurants too as they also need to have it accessible.
Otherwise carbs & cals is a great app, with an eating our section.
Just used it for takeaway Chinese at home
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Hi @PhoebeC, I missed that change by the Gov't. Do you have a reference or source for this?

When I have encountered this, such as with café chains like Starbucks, you have to know to ask and expect to get bogged down into a massive download onto your phone screen

Only last week I was dining in a rest't in N Wales (not necessarily part of a big chain) and did my usual enquiry about the carb content of something that could have been tiny or quite substantial and the Chef kindly checked his packaging to then confirm (what I was sort of expecting) that his prepared sauces and another item were from his regular catering supply and no carb content was shown on the packaging. I have frequently encountered this - the remit placed on manufacturers to label food sold in supermarkets, etc, does not (or at least did not) apply to catering suppliers. How that had become acceptable to politicians and civil servants alike had been bugging me in its stupidity and contradictory nature - but in the final analysis hadn't surprised me. Very little makes sense these days once the law creators get together! Very little inside a tin matches what one anticipates is my cynical view these days, sadly.

Last week this lack of info was inconvenient but far from a big problem; I chose a different option and ended up doing OK, needing only a tiny correction as I went to bed.
 
PhoebeC said:
Since the government now require restaurant chains of a certain size to post their meal information for customers including calories etc, this includes carbohydrates.
I have found most chains have their menus and nutritional information online. Always worth checking if it’s somewhere in the restaurants too as they also need to have it accessible.
Otherwise carbs & cals is a great app, with an eating our section.
Just used it for takeaway Chinese at home
Click to expand...
I think you got this slightly misunderstood it's only calories restaurants have to provide(unless I'm missing something?). Although most chains do have the carbs
 
I would be saying guessemite as well as you can and fix letter if needed. Can I just ask how long have you been diagnosed again?
 
Sorry released this was actually posted yesterday how did you get on @Austin_98?
 
Bruce Stephens said:
Yes, only calories: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...les-come-into-force-to-improve-nations-health

And yes, most provide more general nutritional information.
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Yes it’s only calories sorry. But most provide the other details. I do find it hit and miss with some places. McDonald’s is pretty good as an example you can even get it in the app, but their website is better as you can total
up a whole meal in their nutrition calculator https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/good-to-know/nutrition-calculator.html and their servings are standard sizes but in Wetherspoons as an example portion sizes vary so I use the menu as a base and then judge by sight when it arrives.
My brother told me the pizza express app is the same but we never eat there so I am not sure
 
I guess if you don't eat in large chain restaurants, their apps and websites can be useful for carb guessing at smaller independent places which do not have to nor have the money to calculate carbs. Even if they vary their menus depending upon the local produce seasonally available on the day, a burger bun is a burger bun and a pizza is a pizza, for example.
 
PhoebeC said:
Yes it’s only calories sorry. But most provide the other details. I do find it hit and miss with some places. McDonald’s is pretty good as an example you can even get it in the app, but their website is better as you can total
up a whole meal in their nutrition calculator https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/good-to-know/nutrition-calculator.html and their servings are standard sizes but in Wetherspoons as an example portion sizes vary so I use the menu as a base and then judge by sight when it arrives.
My brother told me the pizza express app is the same but we never eat there so I am not sure
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Yeah it will depend if it's a chain or not. There will be some odd occasions chsins don't either I ate in bills on Christmas eve and was quite surprised to discover they didn't.
 
rayray119 said:
Yeah it will depend if it's a chain or not. There will be some odd occasions chsins don't either I ate in bills on Christmas eve and was quite surprised to discover they didn't.
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Never heard of Bills. Apparently there are 2 near me in Manchester.
 
PhoebeC said:
Never heard of Bills. Apparently there are 2 near me in Manchester.
Click to expand...
Ah okay well yeah they are a chain. I contacted them to ask before Christmas as I couldn't find it on there website and they said they didn't have that information
 
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