[Pammie]

Hello, I am new at carbo counting and please ck me if I am right or wrong :
3/4 cup bran flakes is 24
1.5 oz rasins is 31
~12 almonds is?
~ 4 oz yogurt is 20
coffee with a splash of milk is 0
so for breakfast I had approx. 75 -80 carbs.
is that too much carbs? my BG this am was 125 and then I had 4 units of Novolog and I hope that'll I'll have a BG of 150 in the next half hour or soo.. mm'mm

OOH, and another question I have is what is Basal??
Thank you all so much for you help just reading the other threads are a help. With gods blessings every day will get better . have a great one

[princesslinda]

Hi Pammie, welcome! The best way to determine how many carbs work for you is to eat, then test 2 hrs after the first bite and see where you are blood sugar-wise.

Personally, I have very minimal carbs for b/fast, usually eating eggs and bacon or a protein shake. I do this because my fasting is the hardest for me to control, and is usually above my 110 or less morning goal. Your breakfast carbs are approximately the total # of carbs I eat in a day...but we're all different in the way we manage our diets. I need to lose a lot of weight, so watching the carbs helps me with that and with blood sugar control.

I do have a hard time with cereal...i've not found many options that work well for me blood sugar-wise. You're on insulin, so you do have a little more leeway, as you can correct with insulin should you run a little higher than you want. I also aim for a 2 hr post meal # of 140 or less.

Almonds, 24 kernals have 5.5 carbs and 3.3 fiber according to Calorie King.

[kgm0612]

so for breakfast I had approx. 75 -80 carbs.
is that too much carbs? my BG this am was 125 and then I had 4 units of Novolog and I hope that'll I'll have a BG of 150 in the next half hour or soo.. mm'mm

Hi Pammie & Welcome.

No two diabetics are alike. What works for you may or may not work for someone else. When taking Novolog before meals, are you on a "sliding scale" or do you have an insulin to carbohydrate ratio (I:C)? 4 units of insulin to cover the 75-80g you ate doesn't seem like enough to me.

I limit my carbohydrate intake at breakfast to under 25g. My I:C ratio is 1 unit for every 10 grams of carbs. So based on 25g I would take 2.5 units of insulin.

My next question.........why are you testing 30 minutes after a meal? Most of us test at the 2 hour mark.

Karen

[patricia52]

It would be too many carbs for me, but I do not take insulin. I have to go low carb. 20-25 for breakfast and under 50 for lunch and dinner. Sometime I wish I had some insulin to help when I do over indulge. I just have to pray that I do not do too much organ damage.
I don't know what basal is. The T1's can help you with that.

[Olidus]

Also to note when you find out what your I:C Ratio is an your adding up your carbs from a meal - please note that you should be subtrating your fiber or dietary fiber.

Take this Nutrition Facts on this ramdom label I googled.


It says that Per 1 bowl (300g) you have 53 Gs of Carbs - with 4 Grams of Fiber. So you subtract the Fiber to get your total at 49 Grams for your carb intake - thus take your insulin based on that.

Basal in the Dibetes world to me was explained as your long lasting insulin. So for someone like myself who is a MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) I take my Basal shot before I go to bed. The types of Insulin MDIers tend to use would be Levemir or Lantus. Then when you talk about taking your quick acting insulin that would be called your basal - You will here people talk about NovaRapid or Humalog to name a few.

Hope this answer some of your questions.
Welcome to DF

[poodlebone]

Also to note when you find out what your I:C Ratio is an your adding up your carbs from a meal - please note that you should be subtrating your fiber or dietary fiber.

Not everyone subtracts fiber, and especially not if it's a small amount. Some won't subtract unless it's more than 5g; some will subtract only 1/2 the fiber.

I'm Type 1 and insulin sensitive but even I wouldn't eat 75-80g of carb for breakfast, and I'm a carb addict!

[Olidus]

sorry - quick acting is Bolus not basal twice - just noticed my mistake.
And I agree with you Liz on the fiber - but in some cases high fiber meals like the cereal I eat or Beans will make a difference.

[ShottleBop]

You also have to remember that the European practice is to separately state carbs and fiber, so that with food from the EU, you generally would NOT subtract grams of fiber from grams of carbs (and, with US products, Dr. Bernstein, author of The Diabetes Solution, recommends subtracting only half of the grams of fiber from total carbs).

Dr. Bernstein also recommends that breakfast, especially, be low-carb, since many diabetics/prediabetics deal less effectively with carbs at that time of day. I find that to be true in my own case, so limit my carbs at breakfast to 6 grams or so.