How to Bolus for Low Carb, High Protein Meals as a Type 1 Diabetic

*Disclaimer: All content and information in this blog is for informational and educational purposes only. Always consult your health care provider before making any adjustments to your exercise routine or diabetes management.

Dosing for carbs – I got this! Dosing for protein… What?

Typically when you’re first diagnosed with diabetes you’re taught count your carbs, calculate your insulin then take your dose, but how do you dose for low carb, high protein meals?

Interestingly, protein as well as fats and fiber make a difference in your bolus and calculating these nutrients can truly be helpful when dosing for low carb, high protein meals.

When you are looking at the composition of a low carb, high protein meal, first don’t forget to count the carbs in the veggies and the amount of protein you’re consuming. If you’re confused on what a high protein, low carb meal can look like think of meals such as chicken caesar salad, steak and broccoli or chicken wings with celery and blue cheese dressing.

Many people don’t realize that 50-60% of protein is converted into glucose in our bodies.

So even though these meals are low in carbs, they can still raise blood sugar levels. However they will raise blood sugars more slowly than a higher carb meal. Calculating your protein intake and using that for your bolus can help prevent that delayed rise from higher protein meals, just make sure to either extend or delay your dose due to the delayed digestion of protein. General rule of thumb? About half of the protein amount will convert into glucose, so best practice is to not dose for the whole protein amount.

Let’s go through an example together. Let’s say you’re eating a 8 oz. steak that has 56 g protein.

• Taking 50% of this, you can assume about 28 g of protein will convert into glucose slowly.
• Based off of this meal, you would want to also consider any vegetables like broccoli, salad, asparagus, etc. Even though these green veggies are low in carbs they may still have 5-10g per serving, which can add up! Don’t forget any salad dressing or condiments so you get the most accurate carb count for your dose.
• Don’t forget to subtract dietary fiber amounts in veggies if greater than 5g per serving.

This can sound overwhelming, but remember it’s all about how much you practice. Having easy carb counts for your favorite meals stored in your notes app can help as well as logging to how these meals impact your blood sugars levels in your Keeping it 100 Journal to help figure out your future dosing requirements next time you try this meal.

Remember you do not have to get your dose perfect the first time and trying these meals over again can help you nail your dose.

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