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When eating a serving of animal protein (chicken, fish, steak, pork, etc.), do you calculate additional insulin for your meal bolus? Share what works for you in the comments!
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I don’t bolus for it initially but will often need to bolus after the meal. Maybe half the time?
I only bolus for it when the grams are over 15 and then do an extended bolus.
I only count carbs, not proteins. My blood glucoses do fine by not counting proteins. I do find that when I eat proteins, my blood glucoses don’t rise as high as without protein. But, the high lasts longer.
I find if I’m having a bunch, like steak or Korean Grill, then I need to bolus extra. If I’m eating a small portion or what would be considered textbook portion, then I don’t need to. But sometimes you just want a bit more (like who really eats only 3oz steak?)
Usually .5-1 unit
Protein raises my BG later than carbs. For me, every 8g protein = 1g carb. That’s the portion of my bolus I extend on my pump, for about 1.5 hours.
I only bolus for carbs and then when and if my bg rises two to four hours later, I wait to see if my pump will take care of it. If not, I enter a bolus correction—whatever the pump indicates I need.
If protein amount is normal quantity, no. Yet if protein amount is large, then I’ll add some insulin
We generally eat 4-6 ounce portions of lean meats so extra insulin is not needed. But I expect I’d need a follow-up insulin dose a few hours after eating an 8-10 ounce ribeye!
I find this question, and the phenomenon itself, intriguing. For me, anything that is not a carbohydrate had no effect on my blood glucose. I can eat carb-free (meats, fats, very fibrous vegetables [e.g., broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumber, etc.], nuts, etc.) all day long and not need to bolus any insulin at all. On those days, I simply need my basal dose and I’m set. My rudimentary understanding of the science says that’s how it should be for everyone because those foods cannot chemically break down into glucose because the sugar molecules are already smaller than glucose. Yet, as of this point in this survey, 17% of us experience a blood glucose rise from eating them. Again, very intriguing.
Are you type 2? Approximately 50% of protein will be broken down into carbohydrates through a process called glucogenesis.
I metabolize these foods the same way. To give you sense, I ate a 4 oz. steak and Brussel sprouts baked in olive oil. I did not bolus and my blood sugar was 103 three hours later. Before I went to bed, I ate a piece of toast, with peanut butter, and jelly and definitely needed to bolus. When I eat a salad, I only bolus for the tomatoes, dressing and croutons. When I eat fish, I never bolus.
I’ve been T1D since 16 years old.
for Eva, what is your age now?
For any project involving measurement you have to consider what are the appropriate tolerances. No measurement is perfect, so do you need to measure to the micro millimeter when hand sawing that plank for your homemade bookcase or will a tolerance of 1/16″ do?
For me, the tolerances of bolus dosing just aren’t fine enough to where adding some fraction of a unit for protein makes a difference that’s discernible enough that I can judge it against all the other imprecisions inherent in the system. Was that really an exact cup of rice I had with my steak or was it made a little over? etc etc. Other people may react to protein in a way that it makes sense, or they’re being so super-perfect about measuring quantities and carbs in the other stuff they’re eating that this actually makes a difference. But for me, 9/10 I’m probably gonna have to adjust things later—or my Tandem will—to the point where this level of precision yields few real returns worth the effort.
William, your diction is a pleasure to read.
Thanks William!!! I don’t play the bolas game… I take one shot a day in the AM, of 70/30…. If I expect to be eating more than usual of any thing I may add 1 or 2 units…. T1D=70 years, age=91 years..
It depends on the quantity, the rest of the meal. There doesn’t seem to be a consistently to the need.
I only bolus extra for protein if I’m eating low carb.
With fat and protein, it hits hours later, so there will be additional insulin needed to keep my BG down!
I will bolus an additional amount 2 to 6 hours later, depending on the meal content Fat, or pasta or pizza is like a time bomb for me.
This is not a simple answer. Technically fat does not break down to glucose, but it does delay glucose absorption. Some protein does break down to glucose through glucogenesis, so that will take insulin later as well. I normally bolus extra on a delay.
I bolus for meat if there is a sauce or spice on it that requires it. Chill, people. 60 yrs. TID.
No additional insulin, however, I do extend the bolus to account for the animal fat delaying the absorption of the carbohydrates. Typically, I extend the bolus by about 45 minutes.
I have never found a need to do this and the few times I tried it it backfired on me. I never get a meal right anyway and if I start adding protein, I’ll get in big trouble. 62 yrs T1D
Sometimes yes and sometimes no, it depends on how much protein.
Yes I give 1 unit of insulin per ounce given over 2 hours in addition to my carb count
I’m learning
If I’m eating a high fat animal protein, I have occasionally added 50% of the fat count to my carb count.
I do adjust but this depends on the fat content of the meat. The more fact the more insulin
I normally don’t for a pork chop, burger, or chicken breast, But for fried chicken or pork ribs I add more insulin to my calculations.
I cover protein with R insulin and eat a minimum of carbs.
I do, but only when there is su substantial protein in the meat product. Otherwise, no
Not usually., unless the protein is coated in bread crumbs or a sauce … but that falls under carb calculation.
I haven’t in the past but am about to start.
It depends on what else is in the meal and how much protein. 4 oz of chicken, no. 8 oz of chicken, yes.
Never have…. protein/fat is irrelevant unless trying to prolong the breakdown of carbs, but still has no factor in increasing dosage(s).
Yes I bolus extra for meat proteins because it makes feel better. It is often forgotten but is very important with large servings.