# all you can eat?



## bev (Jan 20, 2009)

Hi it is my daughters 17th birthday soon and she wants us to go to an all -you -can- eat.
Its the sort of place that does salmon, sushi , chinese ,chicken nuggets, chips, rice, indian and mexican all cooked fresh in front of you.
When you have finished an item they take the plate away and you start again!
I was wondering whether it would be better to get my son eat all the protein first and then just have the rice or chips at the end so that i can try to work out how much to give him, or do you think it would be better to eat the carbs first and then if hungry he could eat the salmon etc?
Does anyone have any tips for doing this sort of thing?
He is on novorapid and nevemeer. Thanks . Bev
p.s. does anyone take scales when eating out?


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## RWJ (Jan 20, 2009)

Hi Bev
You'd be better posting this on the general message board rather than the Newbies one - sorry that's the only help I can offer


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## Copepod (Jan 20, 2009)

How old is your son? If it were me (adult) eating at an all you can eat buffet, I'd probably do a blood test and take a normal dose of bolus insulin before meal and then test again afterwards and take a correction does if required, particularly if I ate more carbohydrate than I initially intended. However, in general, this sort of buffet is ideal as you can have extra protein or veg if still hungry / feeling greedy. I'm assuming you will know ahead of time whether he will be having pudding?


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## bev (Jan 20, 2009)

Copepod said:


> How old is your son? If it were me (adult) eating at an all you can eat buffet, I'd probably do a blood test and take a normal dose of bolus insulin before meal and then test again afterwards and take a correction does if required, particularly if I ate more carbohydrate than I initially intended. However, in general, this sort of buffet is ideal as you can have extra protein or veg if still hungry / feeling greedy. I'm assuming you will know ahead of time whether he will be having pudding?




Hi he is 10 and 7 weeks diagnosed. We havent learnt how to use correction doses yet.All we do at present is carb count and then halve whatever that is as his pancreas is still producing some insulin still. Probably wouldnt let him have a pudding as its too hard to try to work out the insulin. Unless they have fresh fruit. But how can you work out the amount of carbs without scales? Is it just a guess?How do i move this question to the general bit? Thanks Bev


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## Copepod (Jan 20, 2009)

Rather than taking scales to the restaurant, I would suggest a bit of preparation research at home - decide on what size portion he normally eats eg rice / pasta / boiled potato / mashed potato / bread of various types and see what it looks like cooked / ready to eat (raw weights are immaterial at a restaurant), then weigh it and see what dose he needs to cope with it. If there is more carbohydrate on the plate than you want, then leave some (or ask for less in the first place). For drinks, if he has fruit juice, you'll need to allow for that, but diet drinks or fizzy or still water are "free" of cabohydrate. And he's too young to drink alcohol - that'll be an issue in a few years, but not just yet.

However, don't worry too much - it's just one meal, and it's a special meal, so best to let everyone enjoy it. As he's very newly diagnosed, his pancreas may still be producing some insulin, so ratios will be changing. Don't be too tough on yourself or your son or the rest of your family. Just make sure you check blood glucose before bed time and adjust if required.


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## sofaraway (Jan 20, 2009)

a few options,
you could give some insulin at the start of the meal, give an estimation of about half what you think he will eat, then give the remainder of the insulin after when you know how much has been eaten. disadvantage is he'll need 2 injections.

or you could wait until after the meal and give insulin for what is eaten by keeping count along the way, only one injection needed then, disadvantage that as these type of meals tend to last quite a long time he'll already be spiking before any insulin has been given. 

your ideas about eating all the carbs together be that at the beginning or the end of a meal would work and be easier on the injection but might not be the most enjoyable eating expereince. 

what I would do, and did when i was on an all inclusive holiday last year is inject for the meal after the main course (sometimes i had seconds sometimes not) and before the pudding. I then knew how much insulin to give for the main course and then added a bit more for the pudding. 

If everyone else is eating a pudding I would think again about letting him too.

No I don't take scales out with me, I only weigh dry foods anyway, and not that much anymore. After a while you will become more confident is estimating carbs by just looking at a plate of food. 

I'd also ask your DSN to talk to you about correction doses, these are the times when corrections are likely to be needed as it's a situation where carb count is more difficult.

enjoy your meal


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## kincaidston (Jan 20, 2009)

i'd follow the advice given, don't deprive him of a pudding if he wants one and check blood sugar a few hours afterwards and give a few more units if really high... though one night of being high isn't going to be the end of the world, it happens to all of us at some point...


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## bev (Jan 20, 2009)

Loads of really good practical advice - thanks so much it really does help as youve all experienced such things before.
We have 2 weeks before the meal so i think i will mentally start judging how much a portion of each carb looks like. The trouble with weighing is that i dont tend to 'remember' how much a portion looks like as we just rely on the scales all the time. Thanks again for great advice. Bev


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## aymes (Jan 20, 2009)

bev said:


> Loads of really good practical advice - thanks so much it really does help as youve all experienced such things before.
> We have 2 weeks before the meal so i think i will mentally start judging how much a portion of each carb looks like. The trouble with weighing is that i dont tend to 'remember' how much a portion looks like as we just rely on the scales all the time. Thanks again for great advice. Bev



For eating out I have a list of typical portion sizes, so how many carbs in a table spoon of rice, and egg sized potato etc, I find it a lot easier to estimate without scales that way rather than trying to guess how much something in front of me weighs. May be worth a go? I got my list from the hospital when I did dafne but it's probably quite easy to practise and do your own


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## bev (Jan 21, 2009)

aymes said:


> For eating out I have a list of typical portion sizes, so how many carbs in a table spoon of rice, and egg sized potato etc, I find it a lot easier to estimate without scales that way rather than trying to guess how much something in front of me weighs. May be worth a go? I got my list from the hospital when I did dafne but it's probably quite easy to practise and do your own




That sounds like a great idea! Is there a website i could print off a copy from? We havent been on a dafne course yet. Thanks .Bev


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## aymes (Jan 21, 2009)

bev said:


> That sounds like a great idea! Is there a website i could print off a copy from? We havent been on a dafne course yet. Thanks .Bev



Theer may be but not one I know of. I'm at work without my book today but I'l happily type out the main ones from it when I get home this evening.

I don't always ahve the best memory though so do send me a message to remind me if I forget!

A


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## bev (Jan 21, 2009)

aymes said:


> Theer may be but not one I know of. I'm at work without my book today but I'l happily type out the main ones from it when I get home this evening.
> 
> I don't always ahve the best memory though so do send me a message to remind me if I forget!
> 
> A



Oh that would be brilliant! I must admit that for me, its the carb counting side of things thats creating stress! So if you have anything to make life easier i would appreciate it very much. Thanks. Bev


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## aymes (Jan 21, 2009)

bev said:


> Oh that would be brilliant! I must admit that for me, its the carb counting side of things thats creating stress! So if you have anything to make life easier i would appreciate it very much. Thanks. Bev



ok, I've picked out what I think are the main ones from my list:

Egg sized potato. Weighs about 60g which is 10g carbs
4 medium cut chips. Weighs 40g which is 10g carbs
2 inch slicefrench stick, weighs 40g, 20g carbs
1 tablespoon cooked pasta, weighs 30g which is 10g carbs
1 tablespoon cooked rice, weighs 30g, 10g carbs

It's worth saying that this is just what I use as a guide and it's forestimation only so there is obviously plenty of margin for error to be aware of. I tend to use this As a guide and be cautious with my calculations and then correct later rather than risk a hypo when out but that may not be right for you so worth checking with his dsn.

Hope that helps in some way, I find it easier as more visual than just dealing with weights. If there are specific foods you want to know feel free to ask and I'll see if I have anything on them.

A


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## bev (Jan 21, 2009)

Thanks Aymes, thats very helpful - much easier to try to work out carbs than a 'guess'! You may be sorry you offered to help with more foods! lol. Thanks again. Bev.Of course i will check these with his dietician.


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