Fondue and insulin prep

[lorilei]

Hi guys...looking for advice on fonduing it at a restaurant...first time out with ppl other than my dh...actually parents and sibs coming along so i have to do this as right as possible or live with the consequences for the rest of my life...


so any advice on eating out and fondue? (no kidding)

I do not eat seafood...
am not a bg chocolate eater...
will drink 2 alcoholic beverages..probably wine or vodka

normally take about 2-3 units at dinner but eat low carb at dinner 1:12 ratio give or take...

i've no idea how long the fondue process takes (never eaten out at one before)...i'm guessing bolus after ordering...maybe a second bolus a tad later??

and i will look up the menu before i go...

also (stupid newbie question..guess i just bring the levemir along as this will occur over regular basal injection time)...

thanks mucho guys..i feel as though i have gotten my life back due to all of your help

[lorilei]

and if no one responds to this thread...i will happily move it and suffer the consequences...even if i lose the new pancreas..

[Subby]

Never had fondue apart from a long time ago. They have sweet and savoury fondues right?

What are your other chances food wise? Meat, cheese sauce, veggies... if you get these options, you are set for it to be likely a breeze.

Here would be an approach. Have some carb figures for likely veggies in your head. If the cheese sauce is really sweet, don't have to much and bolus just a little for it. Assuming you are having a good day, assess the situation, then bolus lightly, but with a prediction of covering most of the carbs in your foreseeable future, say 40 min. When you get to that point, make up your mind how much more carbs you will eat and bolus again.

Just take your Lev as always. Assuming you are doing this with decorum, it might mean a few trips to the bathroom, but really should be just fine. Just don't forget to test to see how your predictions are going.

In other words, you had it all sorted out already :)

[fgummett]

Exactly! If you get to cook your own food you're ahead of the game already. The only thing to watch for would be the sauces... like if there is a cheese fondue, is it simply melted cheese (:)) or did they add flour (:( ) ?

[Ategeler]

Have you checked online to see if maybe the restaurant has carb info on a website? Some do, some don't...just a thought.

[GretchO]

Hi Lori...

We just did fondue last weekend, but it was at a friend's house - it shouldn't take that long to get your food at a restaurant unless it's wicked busy...we had cheese (app), hot oil (main), AND chocolate (dessert). If you're doing multiple types of fondue like we did, the whole process may take a while. The cheese fondue we had was pretty traditional (gruyere, emmenthaler w/ white wine and a bit of kirsch and a tad of cornstarch) so not many carbs there. I had carrot sticks and apple slices.

The hot-oil fondue is good (we had beef and chicken), and usually is accompanied by a variety of dipping sauces which is where you have to be careful as far as carbs go. We had a honey-mustard, a horseradish mayo, a curried mayo and a teriyaki (sp?) dip. So you can choose pretty low carb stuff.

I'm not very big on chocolate either, but it too was yummy so i took part in that as well. I had a couple of strawberries and a pieces of pineapple and tried to limit the amount of chocolate I dipped. Pound cake was also available, but I knew if I went that route I'd never stop...i just don't have that much will power.

I ended up doing a square-wave bolus (sorry, I know you're not on a pump so this doesn't translate very well, but just to give you an idea) because I was kind of just grazing for an extended period...One piece of advice I can give you is to go slooooooowly. A) you don't realize how much you're eating and B) it's really quite filling. It may not hit you until well afterward but you can be left feeling like you've eaten a horse (cuz o' the fat).

Like Subby said...take a look a the menu to get an idea of what comes as "dippers" with the various fondues as well as dipping sauces for hot oil fondues to get an idea of how carby it's going to be. As far as the fondues - the cheese and hot oil are obviously not that carby unless the cheese happens to have some sweetness to it.

Hope this long and verbose post helps you at least a little.

And one last bit...i had a a few glasses of wine with mine, and have fun!! I love fondue...

[lorilei]

omg...you are all so helpful..and can you beleive that i am guessing in the right direction?

i will go with a regular bolus i think..on the larger side..and add a few more at the 1.5 hr mark depending on what i have eaten/prepare to eat..kind of a dual wave mdi..and why not since i DO have to make mutliple trips to the bathroom ...should have gotten levemir in a pen script as well..but the need is so infrequent...
please keep adding advice..i learn so much... thanks guys!

[jillrapp]

Ok.. I think you are thinking about this very logically but.. doesn't drinking bring your bs down? With 2 drinks (non carb) I would not even spike unless I drank the chocolate directly from the fondue pot! I would still 'under bolus' and correct later. :)

[GretchO]

Drinking red wine doesn't do anything to my BSs until hours later, usually the wee hours of the morning. I don't adjust insulin dosages for the wine I drink until I go to bed (i.e., drop my basal so I don't go low).

Beer, on the other hand, I'd need to bolus for while drinking it.

[notme]

I wouldn't count on the alcohol bringing your blood sugar down, although your right jill, it can. If I drink wine, my blood sugar will go down, but if I drink beer, mine raises. Mixed drinks obviously have sugar and I would avoid them unless you drink something straight up or with sugar free mix.

I don't have fondue often. The biggest worry would be what you are having for the base of your fondue. Many times they use breads. I have had a shrimp fondue that was excellent. You can also get beef. I would say.....guess as best you can after you order and then test about 2 hours later and correct. Some foods are just harder than others.

[lilituc]

I don't know if you're going to the fondue chain, but when I go there I usually end up doing a dual wave. The first course is usually cheese fondue, which is high in fat, so you don't want to do the whole bolus up front. The second course takes awhile to cook and eat, so again you wouldn't want to have a ton of insulin on board while you're waiting for it. We find that we spend about 2-2.5 hours there.

I can't answer for the alcohol, sorry.

[lorilei]

ohhh...we made out quite well! i did "split" the bolus...oddly started off a tad high (155) and ended right at 93 at two hour from finishing mark...lots of walking and drinking water to assist as well...skipped dessert altogether, but the others didn't and they all ended up with belly aches...i think i made out better than the family in the long run...

[jillrapp]

You are so smart! :)

[Ategeler]

Congratulations! Sounds like you know what you are doing.

[simmons5]

Where did you go ? I would assume the Melting Pot. I pump and I do an extended dual wave bolus only cause it always seems to be a long meal when we do it. I love Fondue !!!

[lorilei]

yep...the melting pot in redbank...and then a stroll to the Dublin House for a st paddy's night cap...which part of NJ are you in?

[simmons5]

yep...the melting pot in redbank...and then a stroll to the Dublin House for a st paddy's night cap...which part of NJ are you in?

I'm right down the road from red bank I live in Keyport right off Rt 35. I grew up in East Brunswick and just recently bought the house. Monmouth county is so much better then Middlesex.

[lorilei]

I'm right down the road from red bank I live in Keyport right off Rt 35. I grew up in East Brunswick and just recently bought the house. Monmouth county is so much better then Middlesex.

lol...remember you said that not me...i actually now live in voorhees outside of cherry hill...my family is from the beach area...or as others call it "the shore." But red bank is one great town..