Veggie diet and carb counting

[Vix]

I am a vegetarian, and have been for over 15 years... I consider myself to have a healthy and balanced diet with lots of lentils, pulses and quinoa etc for extra protein. But, it means that a larger part of my diet is vegetables than I guess most diets would contain. My sugars are all over the place at the mo, all of a sudden and no-one seems to be able to work out why. My dietician suggested that it may be because the carbs in veg take so long to get into my system that my bolus has warn off by then (although I have eaten the same things for 15+ years) - I don't count carb content of veg apart from things like sweetcorn, potatoes etc.

Just wondering if there are any other vegetarians who could advise if you count carbs in veg for your insulin doses? Or if there are any patterns you have found with high veg diets?

I am going on a carb counting mini course soon as I have never had any carb counting advise and am making it up as best I can so any suggestions on which veg to count would be great, I get really stuck with things like beetroot or if I have homemade soup as I feel I should be counting some carbs but not sure which or how much!!

Xx

 

[Northerner]

Are you injecting before or after you eat Vix? If before, it might be worth trying after so your insulin lasts longer after your meal, or even splitting it and taking some of it an hour or so after eating. Lots of trial and error would be needed I think.

I think people on pumps are able to handle slow-digesting food by setting extended boluses, trickling the insulin in over a number of hours - perhaps you need a pump! 🙂

 

[Vix]

I take it after (mainly because I then know exactly how much I've eaten as I used to take it before but then might not finish everything on my plate etc) Trial and error it is then 😉 just wasn't sure how it would work taking it an hour after as I have other foods at the same time that will obviously be digested quicker.

Erm, I know a lot of people like the pump but that's a big NO for me at the moment 😉 Just hate the idea of it, but who knows it might be a realistic option soon if I can't find any other solutions first! Are you on a pump?

xx

 

[Northerner]

I take it after (mainly because I then know exactly how much I've eaten as I used to take it before but then might not finish everything on my plate etc) Trial and error it is then 😉 just wasn't sure how it would work taking it an hour after as I have other foods at the same time that will obviously be digested quicker.

Erm, I know a lot of people like the pump but that's a big NO for me at the moment 😉 Just hate the idea of it, but who knows it might be a realistic option soon if I can't find any other solutions first! Are you on a pump?

xx

No, I'd never get a pump, I'm fortunate that my control is far too good to qualify for it (I know, everyone hates me! 😉). Not sure I'd want one unless, as you say, it was the only way to get good control.

Although you may be eating food that has a higher GI than the pulses and some of the other stuff, what you need to consider is something called 'glycaemic load' (GL). This is similar to glycaemic index (GI), but instead of just treating each food item individually it gives a value for the meal as a whole - the lower the GL, the slower the overall digestion time. I would highly recommend getting a copy of The GL Diet for Dummies, which is a great introduction to the principles 🙂 When I said take it an hour after, I meant only some of it, so some directly after eating then the rest later so it is spread over a longer period. Some people do this with things like pizza which can take a while to digest due to the fat content.

 

[Vix]

Hmmm I'm not even going to comment on that - if only I could use that as an excuse not to get a pump 😉 I don't even want to know what your hba1c is do I??? I am strongly against having a pump but at the moment every other avenue seems to be failing, I just hope I can find a magic answer soon!!

I'd not heard of GL so I'll def check it out - so basically I'd be splitting my doses? I must admit the thought of that isn't a good one as I find my injections so painful that I really don't look forward to doing them (it took me years longer than it should have to go onto 4 a day from 2!) But I'm seeing a psychologist tomorrow about my fear of blood tests and dislike of injections so we'll see what she can do 😉

I've been diagnosed 18 years and it's still a minefield!!! Although I think that when people who were on the old regime (2 injections a day) transfer to 4 they should get the same advise and 'training' as newly diagnosed diabetics as I feel like I'm guessing most of it as people assume because I'm a diabetic I should automatically know things like carb counting and calculating doses etc

xx

 

[pgcity]

Hiya
I am a veggie and have had similar problems to you which have been fixed by using the combo bolus on my lovely pump but I won't go there....
On mdi I changed the glycemic load of my food by always have fruit or pudding with my dinner and tea. This matched the insulin much better than my probably more healthy eating Pre diagnosis. Watch out fr high fat low gi meals as they can take a long time to get digested.
When I carb count I count everything. A veggie curry would have no countable carbs but certainly wouldn't have zero effect on blood sugars. I even add on 10% for extra protein.

 

[Vix]

Thanks pgcity - I always used to count veg carbs but then my dietician told me not to so I stopped! I will try having fruit or pudding with my meals though and see if that helps (I presume if you have an apple you count the carbs??) I don't want to go on a pump so need to try and find something that wil help way before that stage 😉

Xx

 

[pgcity]

Thanks pgcity - I always used to count veg carbs but then my dietician told me not to so I stopped! I will try having fruit or pudding with my meals though and see if that helps (I presume if you have an apple you count the carbs??) I don't want to go on a pump so need to try and find something that wil help way before that stage 😉

Xx

Yup. I count all carbs. Hope it works for you

 

[Vix]

thanks, I'm up for trying anything at the moment to get my sugars less erratic for no apparent reason! xx