# What Can You Eat Without Bolusing For? **URL:** \ **Category:** Type 1 & LADA\ **Created:** [December 21, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924 "2017-12-21T20:52:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Michel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/michel/32/387_2.png) [@Michel](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Michel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 6:17am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/61 "2017-12-23T06:17:05Z")
My son is able to eat a lot of green vegetables, in moderation, without dosing. He can also eat limited amount of proteins (1 deli slice at a time). He can probably eat 2-3 carbs without dosing, but he will see the effect. His ICR varies btw 1:7 and 1:10 depending on the meal right now (breakfast 1:7). 1 carb takes him up 4-6 mg/dl most of the time, but sometimes much more for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![TravelingOn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/travelingon/32/1583_2.png) [@TravelingOn](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TravelingOn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/62 "2017-12-25T21:11:37Z")
> [@Jen](#): > > Since I’m making the upcoming year about my health (rather than career, school, etc.), this might be a good time to do it. Wow! I am so excited for you and totally support this. I’m proud of you for making that commitment to yourself and look forward to hearing about how you’re progressing and what you’re learning. ---
**Author:** ![cardamom](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/cardamom/32/2622_2.png) [@cardamom](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/cardamom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/63 "2017-12-27T03:45:29Z")
> [@Jen](#): > > > [@CatLady](#): > > > > Deli meat can be kinda carby–weird additives and such. 😜 > > Yeah, practically all deli meat has potato starch added to it. Same with many of those those pre-shredded bags of cheese (though I don’t eat cheese). People think avoiding potato on a low-carb diet should be easy, but it’s surprisingly difficult… Yeah, I avoid things like that pre-shredded cheese for the most part when I can because of the sneaky carbs and who knows what else is in there. Where I work has a cafeteria that does made-to-order omelets some mornings, and I either skip the cheese or only have them use a tiny bit. If I just get eggs, bacon, and veggies, I can just take a couple of units after eating, and it covers the protein/fat beautifully. Re: deli meats though, it similar to what I posted somewhere else re: hot dogs, that some of the organic or natural brands skip all the carbs and gluten-y fillers, but are more expensive. Not sure whether they are 100% potato-free though—not something I’ve had reason to be checking for. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/64 "2017-12-27T03:55:06Z")
> [@cardamom](#): > > Not sure whether they are 100% potato-free though—not something I’ve had reason to be checking for. We have some local farms that make some potato- and preservative-free meats. But I’ve found, if anything, the “healthier” ones are often worse, maybe because “potato” is more natural. I know places like Whole Foods I can’t eat many of their prepared products because of potato starch. I generally try to avoid processed meat lately, though, and I almost never eat out, so not hard for me to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![cardamom](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/cardamom/32/2622_2.png) [@cardamom](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/cardamom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/65 "2017-12-27T03:57:09Z")
Ah that makes sense—I bet they use potato starch in lieu of gluten/flour for a lot of things these days. ---
**Author:** ![Michel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/michel/32/387_2.png) [@Michel](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Michel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/66 "2017-12-27T03:58:20Z")
I had no idea that deli meats had potato starch additives. What is the purpose? ---
**Author:** ![ClaudnDaye](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/claudndaye/32/5_2.png) [@ClaudnDaye](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/ClaudnDaye)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/67 "2017-12-27T15:27:02Z")
Liam eats all cheeses and deli meats as zero carb snacks and he never goes up. So if there is any type of starch in the products it’s minimal at best; otherwise, someone his size would see a big spike. ---
**Author:** ![cardamom](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/cardamom/32/2622_2.png) [@cardamom](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/cardamom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/68 "2017-12-27T16:19:00Z")
The only type of cheese I’ve seen where it impacts the carb count is some shredded cheeses, although it’s still relatively low carb (just not no carb like it would be without that stuff). Generally though cheese is great for me for not needing insulin. Also I’ve found that the processed/reconstituted-type meats tend to be pretty good carb-wise (allergen-wise is obviously a much different thing), but it is interesting that some have a lot more fillers (leading to some carbs) whereas some have no carbs whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/69 "2017-12-27T16:37:41Z")
> [@ClaudnDaye](#): > > Liam eats all cheeses and deli meats as zero carb snacks and he never goes up. So if there is any type of starch in the products it’s minimal at best; otherwise, someone his size would see a big spike. I doubt the amount is much, maybe 1-2 grams of carbs worth if that. I’m allergic to potato, so any microscopic amount of potato will cause a reaction for me. Also, the ultra-low-carb T1 group I’m in probably would say the amount of starch in deli meats and cheeses does cause an impact. But 1-2 gram of carbs on a 30 grams a day diet is much more impactful than on a 150+ grams per day diet (or whatever Liam eats). ---
**Author:** ![arnolfo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/arnolfo/32/3236_2.png) [@arnolfo](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/arnolfo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/70 "2018-02-14T02:29:27Z")
I’ve been LADA for 6 years now and I pretty much have to bolus for anything. My routine is I check before I eat then calculate how what I am going to eat will effect my levels. Then I load up for that. What i don’t do is eat tons of carbs figuring I can cover it with Novolog. I often hear T1D’s eating things like spagetti. Man, I just can’t do it as the amount of insulin I’d have to take to cover for it would be outlandish and downright scary. Plus I’ve learned over the years that consuming big carb meals and trying to cover it with large amounts of insulin didn’t seem to cut it. Maybe I was getting hit with insulin resistance but the huge carb load just shot my numbers to the high 300’s followed by a coma-like daze. It’s just not worth it so I minimize carbs as much as possible. With that said I don’t worry too much about veggie based meals. So for instance a chicken salad with a balsamic dressing. Maybe a 1.5 units just for the chicken, depends on where I am at before I eat. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/71 "2018-02-14T18:09:38Z")
Do you need to use a lot of insulin? I know some LADA patients need to inject a really large amount of insulin for carbs, as opposed to non-LADA patients. Also, what is so fascinating on this site is that there are people with amazing A1c’s eating high carb, others (like us) eat low carb, and of course some are successful with the Bernstein approach. We test every 6 months or so to try and raise my son’s daily carb limit, but it hasn’t changed much in the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![arnolfo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/arnolfo/32/3236_2.png) [@arnolfo](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/arnolfo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/72 "2018-02-14T19:52:34Z")
Chris, I use at max 4units for meals. 24 for the basal. And yes, I wish I had an amazing A1c on a high carb diet but the more carbs I take in, the harder it is for me to maintain a steady bg. I’m betting one of those fancy CGM’swould help me to better numbers and possibly a little more carb intake, but those things are ultra expensive. So, for now, I’m sticking to less carbs, finger pricks and a Walgreens meter. On a side note the meter’s test strips costs about $28 for 200 strips on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![daisymae](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/daisymae/32/1199_2.png) [@daisymae](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/daisymae)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/73 "2018-02-14T20:40:10Z")
> [@arnolfo](#): > > On a side note the meter’s test strips costs about $28 for 200 strips on Amazon. just FYI, i get my Contour strips on Amazon; 600 strips for $ 145 should you ever decide to change meters ☀ i know its still more $$$, but it is a lot more reasonable than many other company’s strips. ---
**Author:** ![daisymae](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/daisymae/32/1199_2.png) [@daisymae](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/daisymae)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/74 "2018-02-14T20:44:30Z")
are you on a pump? b/c if you are, there are many many ways that you can manipulate your insulin boluses to accomodate high carbs meals. just a thought. also, if you are not on a pump, there are also many people on FUD who have great systems for figuring out how to eat high carbs diets with just MDI. just ask around; maybe start a thread of your own. people here always want to help out. dont deprive yourself of yummy foods just because you are having a hard and challenging time of managing your D they way that you want to. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/75 "2018-02-14T21:05:09Z")
On openAPS we could let Samson freely snack on anything that had about 4 carbs or less- a handful of Cheezits, any amount of green veggies, bell pepper slices, cucumber, hummus, cashews and a handful of raisins, walnuts, almonds, cheese slices, tomato, glass of almond milk, a few bites of popcorn or cheddar bunnies. We don’t bolus at all for high fat snacks if they’re on their own, but high-fat plus high-carb requires almost 3 to 4 times the insulin as the same number of carbs without the fat. He has never eaten enough high-protein foods for us to know how to bolus for them; that said, the few times we’ve given him something like scrambled eggs and he’s eaten it, we need to bolus way more insulin than we would for a more high-carb meal. Basically, for snacks a lot of things work. If he’s eating a meal with larger volumes, than we worry about protein and fat, though we don’t have set methods for bolusing for them on their own. That said, we have a pretty wide target range and don’t worry if he spikes up to 140 before drifting down. Now that we’re on manual mode we’ve been bolusing for more small snacks, but he’s also been running pretty low. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/76 "2018-02-14T21:59:40Z")
We understand. My teenager eats approx. 100 carbs a day, except for one cheat day a month, when we attempt the milkshake and pizza challenge. The results aren’t often great, but the smile and full belly is fun. We have tried a number of things to be able to increase his carb intake, but are unable to maintain good control with any more carbs on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/77 "2018-02-15T01:56:12Z")
Individual glucose responses to carbs vary widely…research studies have shown this. I think there are people out there who can eat basically whatever carbs they want and learn to bolus for them, and there are others who cannot keep their blood sugar in range after high-carb meals regardless of what they try. I’m in the latter category. I don’t think it implies anything about a person’s skill in using insulin if they choose to eat a lower-carb diet, it just means they have a different physiology than the people who can eat high-carb foods and successful cover them to stay in range. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/78 "2018-02-15T03:55:01Z")
Thanks Jen, that matches my thinking, but if people think it is because my son isn’t skilled in insulin dosing, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Aaron](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/aaron/32/1454_2.png) [@Aaron](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Aaron)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/79 "2018-02-15T17:26:41Z")
I am in the club of eating around 20-30g of carbs per meal max with fairly good control. That works out to an average of about 80g of carbs per day. With that said, if I am doing a lot of physical activity I can pretty much eat as many carbs as I want per meal (with appropriate insulin) and do not get spikes. As you can imagine that usually means only high carb eating on the weekends as I do not have an active job. When I really want that milkshake (which is not often but it does happen), I usually use pump tricks like a superbolus or splitting my carbs - in other words bolus up front for all the carbs but eat some as a meal and then have carbs in a snack about 1.5 to 2 hours later. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924/80 "2018-02-15T17:46:14Z")
We are hopeful for my son that his carb senstivity changes. i.e. when he was first diagnosed when we tried to use the 15/15 rule we noted that he can go from 50-300 on 15 grams of carbs. He is sensitive enough that when he see’s a rapid increase in his CGM from a low treatment he immediately adds insulin. When he was running cross-country earlier this year, he was able to eat more carbs, but nowhere near a milk-shakes worth. But the super-bolus strategy works well for us for both milkshakes and for pizza, but doesn’t work so well when he does both at the same time. Ain’t diabetes grand. [Previous page](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924.md?page=3) [Next page](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/what-can-you-eat-without-bolusing-for/2924.md?page=5)