#1449 Small Sips: S.W.A.G

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1449 Small Sips: S.W.A.G
Host: Scott Benner
Release Date: March 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode is part of the "Small Sips" series, featuring easily digestible, actionable tips for people living with Type 1 Diabetes. In this installment, Scott Benner and his guest discuss the concept of S.W.A.G—an acronym for "Scientific Wild Ass Guess." This episode unpacks what S.W.A.G means in diabetes management, explores its humorous and practical origins, and gives real-life scenarios of when and how people apply the S.W.A.G approach to insulin dosing and carb counting.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

What is S.W.A.G in Diabetes?

• The term S.W.A.G stands for “Scientific Wild Ass Guess,” describing the practice of making an educated guess about carbohydrate content or insulin dosing when precise information is unavailable.
  • “I heard it in an elevator, probably for the first time at a diabetes event…scientific wild ass guess.” – Scott Benner [02:40]
• The acronym has various playful interpretations in the community, ranging from "Somewhat Accurate Guess" to "Sophisticated Wild Ass Guess."
• S.W.A.G is a universal tool for both experienced and new diabetics, used especially when encountering unfamiliar foods or situations.

Origins & Community Usage

• The phrase comes from broader American idiom, with military roots dating to the 1960s, originally indicating a rough estimate based on experience or intuition.
  • “The terms broader use dates back to the 1960s in the United States.” – Scott Benner [04:55]
• In diabetes circles, S.W.A.G became more widely recognized with the rise of online forums and support groups.
  • “I went to diabetes training camp in 2008, and I’m quite sure that’s probably the first place that I heard it used all around.” – Guest [04:16]

When and Why People Use S.W.A.G

• S.W.A.G is most common when:
  • Eating foods with unknown carb content (especially while traveling)
  • Guessing insulin for unmeasured snacks or meals
  • Estimating small corrections (e.g., for juice or candy to treat lows)
  • Managing diabetes in unpredictable or new circumstances
• S.W.A.G draws as much from experience and intuition as from calculation.
  • “My truest swag is when I have traveled someplace and the food is absolutely foreign to me…I swagged everything that we ate while we hiked the Inca trail.” – Guest [05:42]
• The process is dynamic, evolving as the person’s knowledge and intuitive understanding of their diabetes deepens.
  • “I think the entirety of diabetes is a swag…That’s leveling up with diabetes, when you’re willing to say, I think I have enough information here to make a decision that I don’t have all of the information for.” – Scott Benner [07:41]

Practical Application & Shared Stories

• The hosts exchanged personal anecdotes:
  • The guest describes selectively under-bolusing in the morning and being more liberal with insulin toward the end of an active day while traveling [07:08].
  • Scott mentions S.W.A.G-ing the amount of juice to treat lows: “You feel the juice going down in the juice box and stop right there…Eh, it feels like it’s enough.” [10:51]
• The S.W.A.G approach is contrasted with more precise carb counting, but both agree S.W.A.G is a valuable and sometimes necessary tool.
  • “Do you think, please don’t do that, please count the carbs, or do you do it?” – Scott Benner
  • “Oh, absolutely I do it.” – Guest [05:32]

Broadening the Concept

• The discussion expands S.W.A.G beyond just carb counting to all aspects of diabetes management, recognizing that flexibility and intuition are integral to good care.
  • “To really level up again with diabetes, you have to be willing to take your intuition and mix it together with your knowledge and then continue to build.” – Scott Benner [08:52]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Before the acronym was there, people knew they were totally just pulling it out of their butt, right?” – Guest [01:59]
• “Someone called it freestyling. It’s like jazz.” – Scott Benner [02:57]
• “The entirety of diabetes is a swag.” – Scott Benner [07:41]
• “I think that’s leveling up with diabetes, when you’re willing to say…‘I think I have enough information here to make a decision that I don’t have all of the information for.’” – Scott Benner [07:56]
• “You feel the juice going down in the juice box and stop right there, you’re done. How do you know that’s enough? Eh, it feels like it’s enough.” – Scott Benner [10:51]

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Key Timestamps

• [01:37] – First experiences and evolving definitions of S.W.A.G in diabetes community
• [02:40] – Terms and multiple meanings explored
• [04:16] – S.W.A.G’s origins and adoption within the diabetes community
• [05:42] – Practical travel stories and application of S.W.A.G
• [07:41] – Expanding the SWAG concept to all aspects of diabetes management
• [09:35] – Discussion of personal preference for S.W.A.G definitions
• [10:51] – Everyday examples of S.W.A.G in treating lows

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Summary

S.W.A.G—or "Scientific Wild Ass Guess"—is a lighthearted but vital concept for people managing Type 1 Diabetes. Scott Benner and his guest candidly discuss how S.W.A.G helps bridge gaps in knowledge when precise carb or insulin data is unavailable. Beyond just guessing carbs, S.W.A.G stands for the larger skills of blending intuition and experience with scientific knowledge—an empowering message for listeners at all stages of their diabetes journey.

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For further learning, listeners are encouraged to check out the Pro Tip and Bold Beginning series for more foundational and advanced strategies in diabetes management at juiceboxpodcast.com.

Transcript

[A]

Hello friends. Welcome to the SIPS series. These foundational strategies were nominated by listeners. They told me these are the ideas in the podcast that truly made a difference for them. So I distilled them down into short, actionable insights. They're there's not going to be any fluff or complex jargon, just practical, real world diabetes management that you can start applying today. And I know your time is valuable, so we're keeping these short. Another small SIP will come out once a week for the foreseeable future. If you like what you hear, check out the Pro Tip series or the Bold Beginning series for more. Those series are available in the [e-mail] and you can find complete lists of all the series and in the featured tab on the private Facebook group. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juice Box Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming BOLD with insulin. The questions you have, I guarantee you there's answers to them in the Juice Box podcast and it's all free.

[B]

There's more behind it too, which is a fun discussion then.

[A]

Yeah, well, what she sent me. You want to just do it now?

[B]

Sure, we can do it now.

[A]

You can start with that. All right, so she sent me a list of all of the different meanings that she's seen people attribute to swag. Oh, but I've been aware of the acronym forever, since Arden's had diabetes, so, I mean, it existed at least then in 2006. Do you know about it prior to that?

[B]

Gosh, I don't even know because I think, I think the Internet was not as there's a defining point to when the online sharing of terminology and the sharing of stuff within the diabetes realm just became much more there. Right. And so SWAG being one of them. I. I don't even know that it was something people talked about despite having, I think, before the acronym was there, people knew that they were totally just pulling it out of their butt, right? Like, oh, this looks like 40 grams a car. Right?

[A]

So I heard it in an elevator, probably for the first time at a diabetes event. People were going up and somebody said it and I might have made a quizzical face and somebody looked at me and said, scientific wild ass guess.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Is that right?

[B]

Scientific wide ass guess, Same thing.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So I have here a list of a real list of ways people say it. So, okay, so we comb through the Facebook group, we've seen it as wild ass guess, wise arse guess, scientific Wildly amazing guess. Oh, sophisticated wild ass guess. Seriously wild ass guess. Super wild stuff. We all guess. See what end guess. Somewhat accurate guess. That one's kind of good. Yeah. Someone called it freestyling. It's like jazz. Someone said, yeah, Shot in the dark and hope for the best. To me, that should go along. Like, listen to it this way. Shot in the dark and hope for the best. Scientific wild ass guess. See?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I think if you put them together, it's very lyrical.

[B]

You could.

[A]

Now there's more here, but I went to the Internet. It says that in the diabetes community, swag stands for scientific wild ass guess, referring to an estimate of carbohydrate content when precise information isn't available. This term has been used in various fields, including the US Military, where it denotes a rough estimate based on experience and intuition. So this is what's going on here. Ah, it's been adapted from something else.

[B]

Interesting. Yeah. And as you ask, kind of where and when, I think that I went to diabetes training camp in 2008, and I'm quite sure that's probably the first place that I heard it used. Like, all around. People were definitely guessing at, it's a training camp exercise wise. So we were totally guessing at, well, how do we adjust? How do you adjust for this planned workout? And we were doing it for the meals and everything as well. So if I had to think back, I think that's about where I heard it, which is quite a long time ago. Now.

[A]

The terms broader use dates back to the 1960s in the United States.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So somebody used it back then. Probably. It says probably in the military.

[B]

The military makes sense.

[A]

Yeah. The origins trace back to the US military in the 1960s, and it was employed to describe a rough estimate. So after I googled it, I then went to ChatGPT and asked and it said that based on it just there's not enough documentation to try to figure out when it was used in the diabetes community first.

[B]

Community.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I'm sure some of you could dig up some of those old blogs that people wrote and see how far back, but I don't think that's gonna give you a real answer.

[B]

No.

[A]

So when you think of someone saying swag, do you think, please don't do that, please count the carbs, or do you. Do you do it?

[B]

Oh, absolutely, I do it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Absolutely. And I think. I think there is a bit of a back to that as well, because I think all estimates in this respect, especially if you are seasoned with diabetes, you're guessing Based on historical information, Right. Not until I would say that my truest swag is when I have traveled someplace and the food is absolutely foreign to me. I have nothing to go back to guessing from. Right. When we went to Peru years ago, I would 100% say that I swagged everything that we ate while we hiked the Inca trail because the food that was being prepared for us, like, I.

[A]

Don'T know what this is.

[B]

I was like, this is great. I'll eat it. It seems to taste fine. I'm not gonna really ask. This looks kind of carby. This looks like protein. We're gonna go with it.

[A]

Now, did that work for you?

[B]

It did, but I also think the benefit was the active time. Right. I mean, just walking and walking and walking and sleeping and walking some more. So I. I think that smoothed out. Whatever was not the best guess for me.

[A]

Which way did you guess? Like, did you guess light or did you try to go for it?

[B]

I did. I guessed lighter only because. And I also judged it based on were we done for the day or did we have more moving to do? Right. First thing in the morning? I guess lighter, more towards the end of the day, getting done, kind of camping in or whatever. It was sort of a. I might not need quite as much now. I also didn't. I mean, this was just a baseline pump that I was using. There was no algorithm. Thankfully, I had a cgm. Thankfully, it kept working for me, but I did the best that I could.

[A]

I realized while you were talking that I've always just attributed swag to carbs, the way you just described. But as you're sitting here talking and I'm thinking about diabetes in a broader sense, I think the entirety of diabetes is a swag.

[B]

Perhaps it's a swag.

[A]

Where should I put my pump? This might work. You know, how does this work? I don't know. Try this. I think that really is, oddly enough, that's leveling up with diabetes. When you're willing to say, I think I have enough information here to make a decision that I don't have all of the information for.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. And some of the stuff, you might have some information, you know, like when I talk to people, especially newer pump users, I go through the. You should be rotating. You should have a schedule of rotation or a direction of rotation. Right. So that. That doesn't become a complete guess. But then when you have a site that didn't work well or was a bleeder or a gusher or whatever, and Then you're like, well, I was supposed to rotate over here, but maybe it won't work now and then it is completely. Let's just try this site. I have not used it for a while.

[A]

Ye, you know, so it's kind of awesome when you stop and think about it that way. That everything like to really level up again with diabetes, you have to be willing to take your intuition and mix it together with your knowledge and then continue to build. And that's probably why so many people's opinions are varied around diabetes, because their experiences built up their knowledge and now their intuition draws on that. Okay, so the whole thing's a scientific. Which one do you prefer, by the way?

[B]

I've always said scientific. Wide ass gas. That's what I have always used. But again I use the word or the acronym swag. So my brain says wide ass gas.

[A]

You know, on this list here of like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16 that we called together just from one post about swagging, why it's not on it. So I wonder what else is out there that people use that isn't on this list. Other people said, I'm amused by people who did not stick with the acronym. I think of it as accurate guess based on experience with similar foods, nutritional content knowledge, guessing for a dose if you don't know the exact carbs, a massive guess to figure out how much insulin to give for food item pretty much meaning educated guesstimate.

[B]

So anyway, and I like to go back to the one that said guessing on an amount of insulin based on. So I've also done that almost as a swag because sometimes the amount of food on a plate correlates with something that you know inherently takes a certain amount of insulin. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

There's not really a carb count to it. So you might put something into your pump, you might see what the suggested is according to how many carbs you're now estimating or only to generate a bolus. And then off of that say, no, no, I know I need one unit more or no, no, I need a unit less or whatever it is.

[A]

Well, actually I was thinking I swag juice. I mean in the past, like I'm be like here and then you feel the juice going down in the, in the juice box and stop right there, you're done. How do you know that's enough? Eh, it feels like it's enough. We don't use Skittles, but that would be the idea of like having a handful of Skittles. And just pulling out seven of them. That's a swag. You're like, here, I think these so. All right, cool. Well, I appreciate you doing this with me. I can't believe we're still finding things to add to this.

[B]

No, this was a great one.

[A]

Yeah, Excellent.

[B]

Cool.

[A]

If you or a loved one was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and you're looking for some fresh perspective, the Bold Beginning series from the Juice Box Podcast is a terrific place to stay. Start that series is with myself and Jenny Smith. Jenny is a CDC ES, a registered dietitian, and a type 1 for over 35 years. And in the Bold Beginning series, Jenny and I are going to answer the questions that most people have after a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. The series begins at episode 698 in your podcast player. Or you can go to juiceboxpodcast.com and click on Bold Beginnings in the menu. Hey, kids, listen up. You've made it to the end of the podcast. You must have enjoyed it. You know what else you might enjoy? The private Facebook group for the Juice Box Podcast. I know you're thinking, oh, Facebook, Scott, please. But no. Beautiful group, wonderful people, a fantastic community. Juice box podcast, type 1 diabetes on Facebook. Of course, if you have type 2, are you touched by diabetes in any way? You're absolutely welcome. It's a private group, so you'll have to answer a couple of questions before you come in, but make sure you're not a bot or. Or an evildoer. Then you're on your way. You'll be part of the family. I can't thank you enough for listening. Please make sure you're subscribed or following in your audio app. I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of the Juice Box Podcast.