Mdi and including carbs

[mum2westiesGill]

Is there anyone on mdi who doesn't count carbs for everything for example a drop of milk in a cup of tea or coffee, sandwich fillings and homemade casseroles where you add onions etc?

 

[rayray119]

If i have a little drop of milk in a cup of tea or coffie in between meals i dont count it

 

[Robin]

I've never counted things like onions or odd bits of other veg in casseroles, milk in tea, etc (unless I’m out and have a cappucino or something where the amount of milk is more substantial)

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Is there anyone on mdi who doesn't count carbs for everything for example a drop of milk in a cup of tea or coffee, sandwich fillings and homemade casseroles where you add onions etc?

Pretty much all of us, I think? (For sandwich fillings it varies since some do contain significant carbs, but not usually. Similarly some ingredients in a casserole might deserve counting separately, but often not.)

Obviously it depends: if you have a bucket sized Costa coffee then you'll need to count that, or if you have five cups of milky tea in an afternoon. But generally such things are kind of part of everyday life and fairly small compared to the main carbs in a meal so not worth counting.

 

[Lucyr]

I count milk in the morning but not in the afternoon. E.g if I’m at home, blousing for breakfast, and I know I’ll have a few coffees through the morning then I’ll add 10 carbs to the bolus for it because I know my bgs go higher in the morning. In the afternoon I don’t usually drink much coffee and I can get away with it more anyway so don’t bother.

 

[Inka]

Is there anyone on mdi who doesn't count carbs for everything for example a drop of milk in a cup of tea or coffee, sandwich fillings and homemade casseroles where you add onions etc?

Er, yes - me! I don’t count milk in drinks unless I have a latte or similar. I certainly don’t count onions either! I also don’t count ‘free’ green veg or small amounts of nuts. If I was making a nut roast with 250g nuts, I’d count them, but small amounts I don’t.

You don’t have to count every tiny bit of carbs 🙂 It’s a waste of time IMO. There is no magic reward level of utter devotion for Type 1 that brings perfect control. It’s all about finding a balance and not obsessing over trivia. I say that because when I was first diagnosed, I was obsessed with Doing Everything Right. It became almost like a Quest. BUT you only need to do enough, not devote your life to it🙂

 

[rebrascora]

I have very little milk as I mostly use cream, so don't worry about that and only have a couple of cups a day so not really anything significant. If I am having something with onions and tomatoes like ratatouille then I add a couple of units for that and the same for a bowl of soup, but I don't break it down and work out how many carbs those ingredients added to the dish, I just know I will need a couple of units for a portion of it.

I think the combination of eating low carb and having Libre to closely monitor levels afterwards gives me the flexibility to be much less precise about carb counting. It is a long time since I weighted or measured anything.... months I would say. I am only ever going to be about 1 unit out which isn't going to make a big difference, so that really helps me to be much more relaxed about guesstimating carbs.

 

[trophywench]

Think the answer is 'We practically all do, Gill'.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Thank you for all your replies - I was a bit worried about putting my thread on in case I've been doing the wrong thing for the things I mentioned above.

 

[eggyg]

Absolutely not! I’d get burn out pretty quick. I don’t drink milk but have it in sauces, so would only count it because there was flour in the sauce. As for onions or other veg, not a chance, unless I was eating a pound of tomatoes! I personally don’t count legumes either, not that I eat them much now, they are so slow acting I don’t need too. Some have to I believe. I tend to eat the same things so know how much to bolus for. If I’m out and haven’t a clue, I’d rather underestimate anyways. If I’m in target for the majority of time, I’m fine with that. We all under bolus on occasion ( well I do) and go over target but I wouldn’t worry about it too much as long as it’s not every meal!
Edited to add: unless your sarnie is a bread or potato sandwich, I wouldn't count the filling!

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Absolutely not! I’d get burn out pretty quick. I don’t drink milk but have it in sauces, so would only count it because there was flour in the sauce. As for onions or other veg, not a chance, unless I was eating a pound of tomatoes! I personally don’t count legumes either, not that I eat them much now, they are so slow acting I don’t need too. Some have to I believe. I tend to eat the same things so know how much to bolus for. If I’m out and haven’t a clue, I’d rather underestimate anyways. If I’m in target for the majority of time, I’m fine with that. We all under bolus on occasion ( well I do) and go over target but I wouldn’t worry about it too much as long as it’s not every meal!

Edited to add: unless your sarnie is a bread or potato sandwich, I wouldn't count the filling!

My sandwiches are always 2x rounds of bread which I do count

 

[eggyg]

My sandwiches are always 2x rounds of bread which I do count

I meant if you filled your bread with bread or potatoes, you’d count the filling, but obviously we would count the bread surrounding the filling eg ham, egg, cheese. Not everyone gets my warped sense of humour!

 

[trophywench]

Some of us do! Made me

 

[rebrascora]

I meant if you filled your bread with bread or potatoes, you’d count the filling, but obviously we would count the bread surrounding the filling eg ham, egg, cheese. Not everyone gets my warped sense of humour!

You mean a chip butty, then you would definitely count the filling as well.

 

[eggyg]

You mean a chip butty, then you would definitely count the filling as well.

Definitely, or a crisp sarnie! I do know someone who has mashed potato and ketchup sandwiches! 😱

 

[nonethewiser]

You mean a chip butty, then you would definitely count the filling as well.

Throw back to my youth, dinner break at school would be walk into town for chip butty, lashings of salt & vinegar & tomato ketchup served in large bap.

 

[Sally71]

Milk is only about 5g carbs per 100ml so unless you’re having half a bottle of milk in your tea I wouldn’t consider that worth counting. Same with casseroles; you don’t count the meat, I have always been told that the vast majority of veg doesn’t need to be counted because it contains only small amounts of carb which digest so slowly that they will have no impact on your blood sugar, and any carb in the sauce is probably negligible in the amount that’s in one portion. So if for example I made a beef stew with rice and broccoli I would only count the rice. Or if I made spaghetti bolognaise I would only count the pasta and not bother about what the bolognaise contained. My daughter’s blood sugars don’t usually go crazy after such meals so I count that as a successful strategy!

 

[rayray119]

I tend to count everything in a meal am i doing somthing wrong

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I tend to count everything in a meal am i doing somthing wrong

Not wrong, exactly. You're just wasting some effort, since normally some things aren't going to be significant. Presuming you care about the carbs, if you're baking slices of potatoes, onions, and cheese, it's the potatoes that matter. You can count the rest but it's not going to change the answer by enough to matter.