what do you think - carb counting

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bev

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Hi all,

In the light of so many people needing (and not getting) to go on a course for carb counting. I was thinking it may be a good idea to start a 'carb counting' thread.
Starting with very basic and simple carb counting - giving examples etc and then leading to the more complicated % increases for fats etc and also a general explanation of how and when to split doses.

When Alex was diagnosed i would have loved to find such a thread, not too detailed - just enough to understand the basics. Also listing foods that have carbs in and perhaps a list of 'spikey foods'.

I realise that different foods do different things to people - but it would be a starting point at least and then people could tweak as they go!

Adrienne teaches groups carb counting and i think she would be great to start this off. (Adrienne - i hope you dont mind?)🙂Bev
 
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Great idea as always Bev.

I've been carb counting for a number of years and just do it and seem 90% plus of the time to get it somewhere close. Luck more than skill.

Personally, I think the lack of resource to run carb counting or DAFNE courses within the NHS is a pure illustration of just how short sighted and disconnected the NHS can be. In my case and that of others I know, their insulin consumption fell after just basic carb counting tuition by as much as 60%. In the main because insulin was adjusted to what had been eaten, not your food intake to your insulin.

This annual insulin cost saving must be considerable alone, paying by my estimate of a ?500 DAFNE course in a couple of years.

Then there were the reduction in diabetes related complications because of better control.

On a personal everyday side, the carb counter would then hopefully experience fewer hypos and have some further assistance with weight management.

I'm afraid as with so many things about diabetes, I don't understand the technical aspects, I can just do it, so would be interested to watch the 'course' unfold.

Perhaps that's the way to do it, make the course available online 🙄
 
I think it would be a brilliant idea. I keep trying to explain to non diabetic hubby about carbs, so it would be nice to show him something too. I have the books and things but it is also nice to hear how others handle it on a personal level.
 
It would certainly help a no carber which includes me to understand it all, great idea Bev 🙂🙂
 
I've started a carb counting thread and kicked it off with saying a little bit about what carbs are so everyone feel free to add more info to it.
 
Whilst it's a good idea to discuss the various finer details of how particular carbs may affect people, don't forget the excellent carb-counting course available at http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Aren't we reinventing the wheel a bit?
 
Northerner said:
Whilst it's a good idea to discuss the various finer details of how particular carbs may affect people, don't forget the excellent carb-counting course available at http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Aren't we reinventing the wheel a bit?
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The best things are always worth another look, sometimes in the re invention they can even be improved...
 
Maybe I misunderstood the idea of the thread. i thought it would be members adding to the thread with links, explanations, expereinces which I like as an idea. I didn't think it would be so 'taught' or article like. Maybe I didn't get it right, I can delete the thread no problems.
 
sofaraway said:
Maybe I misunderstood the idea of the thread. i thought it would be members adding to the thread with links, explanations, expereinces which I like as an idea. I didn't think it would be so 'taught' or article like. Maybe I didn't get it right, I can delete the thread no problems.
Click to expand...

No Nikki, what you say is fine - I just read it differently and my worry was that it wouldn't be a very structured way to instruct people about carb-counting. Sorry if I came across as a bit crabby - lack of sleep/tv delivery😉😉

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Northerner said:
No Nikki, what you say is fine - I just read it differently and my worry was that it wouldn't be a very structured way to instruct people about carb-counting. Sorry if I came across as a bit crabby - lack of sleep/tv delivery😉😉

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Click to expand...

I think a common thread to discuss and ask questions and therefore to be there as a common resource would be good. For example Sam asked recently about pizza and pasta bake.

Pizzas have been discussed before, but they are way back, so learning about the double peeks means you either ask a question and wait or you know where to go to and find the answer.

However, in order to be effective as a thread, I think use of the title for specific carb questions would be a good idea.

It was my suggestion about an online carb counting course, I didn't know about the e-learning one you referenced and wouldn't have done so if I hadn't mentioned it - working already :D

Still no TV then? Whats the weather like with you? It's still snowing here, probably a couple of inches overnight... That bus journey might be your better option 🙄
 
Excellent idea Bev as always.

Can I make a suggestion though. The problem with just a thread is things get lost and people won't know where to find this.

Can I suggest that we have another title in the main general messageboard where it says parents, pregnancy, recipes etc that says Carbs.

Then in the carbs topic we have a few other headings for example :

Pasta
Potato
Rice
Cakes
Sweets
Vegetables
Pulses
etc

Then if someone wants to know something about pasta they can go to the pasta tab and start a new thread or look up an old one.

Obviously we have to make it clear that it is not advice, it is just help. Helping about food is a great thing as it is so bloody complicated. We are not saying about how much insulin to give although we can assist with how to work out ratios and sensitivity factors as a starting point as the rules are the same accross the country.

We can just give info about what we know and what we know works for our kids or ourselves and others can try and from that work out what works for them?

I'll help with what I can. Just to let you know though, I am not a superhero, I have friends who know so much more than me. I can only tell you what I know from my experience.

Is that a good idea ? 🙂
 
Since I did a carb counting course in the summer of lat year I wouldn't look back from it now. Other than the fact that my team puts it into the criteria for considering people for pumps it has just meant things are much better for me. I have a much better knowledge of insulin doses and I've learned much more than that. One fo the best things was meeting other people with diabetes. That said, it does make life somewhat more stressful at times because of the added effort. No longer can I simply just slam in a dose and hope. It has to be done. That said, it is worth the effort most of the time.

Tom
 
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