[n1000paul]

Is that a smart thing to do?

[ant hill]

Yes Paul, If you can count the carbs and match that to the amount of insulin then you are doing quite well.
I still have to do a test to see how to get the Insulin : Carbohydrate ratio sorted so then I can just inject the right amount of fast acting insulin for that meal.

[HelenM]

I think it depends what you mean. If you mean can I eat the same non healthy diet full of over refined starches and sugars as many (most?) people in the US /UK and other Western countries have adopted. I think no. It might lead to all sorts of other problems in the future , from obesity and increased insulin resistance to bowel cancer (just as for anyone diabetic or not). If you mean eating a diet with enough wholegrain and other carbs for your needs and 'covering ' it with the right amount of insulin. Why not?

If you want to eat 'unhealthily' on the odd occassion again I would think,why not? The only problem with this is that if you don't do it very often its more difficult to work out the insulin doseage.

[Gary_W]

IMO, using insulin is all about learning how insulin works in you (in terms of speed and duration) vs certain foods. One half of succesful carb counting is getting the amount right, the other is ensuring that the speed that those carbs gets into your body matches the speed that the insulin is working at.

If you count the carbs correctly, your BG reading will come right 3-5 hours after you have eaten the food. So in theory you can eat absolutely anything you like as long as the amount of carbs is correct. The problem is that the fastest insulin available is still slower to absorb than the fastest acting foods (the refined carbs such as white bread, sugar etc). So in practice, you also have to see how badly the food spikes you. I always test my BG 2 hours after a meal to see how it's doing. If you're very high at hour 2, it will either be because you stuffed up the carb counting or because the food you ate absorbed much quicker than the insulin. If it comes down by itself by hour 4 then you know that the food you ate doesn't suit you too well and you can decide how to handle that food in the future. This can be anywhere between pre-injecting, super bolus (on the pump), smaller portion or avoidance of the food.

I do eat anything I like, but I'm fortunate that my preferences tend to be fairly healthy anyway. I'm not a cake-a-holic so my 'eating what I like' is different to some other people's definition...

Oh, and none of the carb counting works if your basal is off; before you do anything ensure that your basal isn't aiding and abetting your bolus

Gary

[morrisma]

While you can cover what you eat if you count carbs, injecting insulin is not quite the same as a real pancreas. If you eat c**p, requiring more insulin, you risk more highs & lows and you risk weight gain which may add insulin resistance to the mix requiring still more insulin and likely causing more bg swings.

In the end, you are better off eating a healthier diet and minimizing the amount of insulin you need to use.

[Jill-O]

Yes, you can do it. You still want to be sensible but I would rather more calories come from carbs than from protein and fat... so I am on insulin and happy to have this as an option over oral meds.

[Alice]

I eat pretty much "whatever"...but that needs prefacing that I'm not a big "SuperSizeMe at the TruckStop" kind of eater...or a huge dessert eater...although I certainly do eat desserts they are more than likely just a few bites...not the whole serving.

Weight watching keeps me behaving pretty well...but I don't limit my carbs like some people do...I bolus responsibly and get on with my day.

[grace girl]

I'm a lot like Alice...I eat whatever I want, but I've never been one to over-eat, rarely eat fast food, and rarely eat between meals. At meals, I have what I want. If I want dessert, I have dessert. I don't low-carb, but I eat pretty healthily over-all.

[RobiJo]

Same as above. Eat responsibly, and enjoy the freedom to eat whenever and not at dictated times. When you're not hungry, you don't have to eat as much because the dose is based on how many carbs you eat.

[xMenace]

Absolutely not!

Try some white toast with jam and a large glass of OJ for breakfast some day. Add some fresh strawberries for fun, There's no way in **** I can keep my sugars even near normal with such a meal in the morning.

Listen to your meter. It will tell you the truth.

[Scrabblechick]

It's probably a good thing I'm not on insulin. I like biscuits too well. Heh. Metformin alone keeps me honest about my eating. LOL.

[solox316]

I used to subscribe to the notion that I could literally eat ANYTHING I wanted... Once I started watching more closely and eating more whole grains, fruits, veggies... and less processed and sweets, my numbers "magically" got better. Believe me though, I still eat the ocassional chips, ice cream, etc... but more of a treat.

[BrianSCohen]

I am not yet on insulin, so take what I say with a grain of salt. If you read Bernstein, he makes a pretty logical argument that while you might be able to "cover" any level of carbs with a correct does of insulin, you can't dispense the insulin in a continuous manner to keep your blood glucose down as it varies. If you eat high carb and dose high insulin your are going to suffer large variances, both high and low even tho you might hit your target at two hours.

I think if you really want to tightly control your diabetes, you have to limit your wild swings of blood sugar. My suggestion is to consider limiting your carbs as a way of more tightly controlling your blood sugar swings.

[JohnHenry]

I have the same suggestion as some of the other posts. Try to make it a habit to eat healthy foods and consume a quantity of calories that is in balance with your activity level. Chronic conditions like diabetes require you to do everything you can to keep yourself in good health.

That said, you should feel free to eat food that you like, as long as you understand the effect that the food has on your BG levels in conjunction with the insulin you take. You should be willing to give up or limit foods that may have significant negative effects on your BG control. For me, tortilla chips seem to do crazy things, so I don't eat them. I miss them, but that's life!

In general, insulin can cover just about any meal. Just be careful with the beer

[dar917]

I agree with everyone else--you can still eat the things you like, but within reason. If there's something that really messes up your numbers though you'd have to limit it. I love french fries, but it seems every time I eat them my numbers two hours after eating will be on target, only to shoot up over 200 again later. Boiled/mashed and baked potatoes don't seem to do that to me. :/

Just today at work I had to explain to someone--one of the cake decorators was showing me some new ice cream we got at the store, then she goes oh, you can't have it, you're diabetic! I told her I can have it, I'm on insulin! (I loves me some ice cream.) But she was leaving and I had to get back to a phone call so I had to cut the conversation short. Bah.