#1632 Bolus 4 - Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1632 Bolus 4 – Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Jenny Smith
Date: September 19, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of the “BOLUS 4” series focuses on bolusing for Cinnamon Toast Crunch breakfast cereal—one of America’s bestselling cereals. Scott Benner and diabetes educator Jenny Smith take a conversational, practical deep dive into how to calculate insulin for this particular food, utilizing their "MEAL BOLT" methodology. Listeners can expect humor, relatable anecdotes, and best practices for managing tricky, high-glycemic, sugary foods like breakfast cereal, especially for children and teens with type 1 diabetes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to the MEAL BOLT Approach

Stamp: 00:00–02:20

• MEAL BOLT Formula: Scott and Jenny are using the "Meal Bolt" system for every food-related “Bolus 4” episode.
  • Measure the meal
  • Evaluate yourself
  • Add the base units
  • Layer a correction
  • Build the bolus shape
  • Offset the timing (pre-bolus)
  • Look at the CGM
  • Tweak for next time

“We want you to hear how we think about it, but we also would like you to know that this is kind of the pathway we're considering while we're talking.” – Scott [00:21]

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Breaking Down Cinnamon Toast Crunch Nutritional Info

Stamp: 02:21–06:11

• Serving Size Reality:
  • The label says 1 cup = 33g carbs, 3g fiber, 12g sugar
  • Most people eat two cups or more, especially kids (“Jethro bowl” imagery)
  • One cup whole milk adds 12g more carbs and sugar
• Total Carbs Calculation
  • Realistic bowl = 2 cups cereal (66g carbs) + 1 cup milk (12g carbs) = 78g total carbs

“Is there anybody that only eats a cup of cereal?... I remember watching people fill their bowls at school with, like, the Jethro bowl of cereal.” – Jenny [04:28]

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Evaluating Your Situation & Calculating the Bolus

Stamp: 06:12–08:45

• Assessment Questions:
  • What’s your blood sugar right now?
  • Any insulin on board?
  • Are you about to be active or stressed?
  • Are you in the morning/facing dawn phenomenon?
• Example Calculation:
  • For 78g carbs, using 1:10 ratio = 7.8 units; round up to 8 units to account for slight corrections (e.g., BG a little high at 130).

“People just look on the back like, oh, it's 33 carbs. And then they just fill the bowl up with it and....That’s the biggest problem.” – Scott [06:11]

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The Challenge of Bolusing for Cereal: Timing Is Everything

Stamp: 08:46–11:01

• Cereal “Hits Like a Truck”:
  • Highly processed, high sugar—carbs are absorbed rapidly.
  • Aggressive pre-bolus needed, more so than most foods.
  • “Momentum” from insulin must peak before cereal sugars hit.
• Practical Guidance:
  • If your usual successful pre-bolus is 12 minutes, double it for cereal (aim for about 25 minutes).
  • Adjust according to personal experience; start longer for high glycemic foods.

“You need momentum on your side when that cereal kicks. There has to be such a pull from that insulin...” – Scott [08:47]
"My strategy is double that (the usual prebolus) as a starting place." – Jenny [10:46]

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Sugar Content in Context

Stamp: 11:10–12:16

• Teaspoons of Sugar Analogy:
  • Two cups = 24g sugar = about 6 teaspoons
  • Not a judgment, but a visual aid for the glycemic load.

“24 grams of sugar is how many teaspoons of sugar?... 24 divided by 4 is six.” – Jenny & Scott [11:53]

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Ingredient Analysis of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Stamp: 12:16–13:58

• First Three Ingredients: Whole grain wheat, sugar, rice flour.
• Processed Sugar Multiple Ways: Sucrose, fructose, maltodextrin, dextrose; all spike BG quickly.
• Fortified with Vitamins: But those “enrichments” are required due to lost nutrients from processing.

“Sugar, fructose, dextrose... we’ve just said sugar three times in a row, right?...100%.” – Scott & Jenny [13:01]

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Bolusing Strategies: Be Realistic and Plan to Adjust

Stamp: 13:58–15:51

• Extremely Aggressive Timing & Dosage Necessary:
  • Even the right bolus technique is no guarantee of smooth BG.
  • “Can I keep a steady line with cereal? Yes, with a lot of insulin and timing. But would I do this every day? I would not.” – Scott [15:07]
• Aftermath of Highs:
  • Big BG spikes can turn into crashing lows hours later if not managed well.

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Watching Your Results and Tweaking the Plan

Stamp: 15:52–17:38

• The ‘T’ in MEAL BOLT:

  • After bolus, monitor at 1hr, 3hrs, 5hrs post-meal
  • Analyze the BG curve and tweak pre-bolus timing or units for next time

• Real-World Example:

  • Jenny describes a friend who successfully ate cereal once a year by DOUBLING the usual bolus and then suspending basal insulin after eating to prevent post-meal lows.
  • Similar approach might work for closed-loop (AID) systems, but algorithms won’t “rescue” you from bad timing or underestimation.

"She would double the dose of insulin that she would normally take for cereal. And on the back end, she suspended her pump." – Jenny [16:47] “What people have to understand about the algorithms… It is not going to adjust because your blood sugar, like, shot up out of nowhere.” – Scott [17:41]

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Last Thoughts and Takeaways

Stamp: 18:00–End

• Honesty About Choices:
  • You can “master” cereal, but it’s not optimal for daily eating.
  • If you do eat it, be methodical and use what you learn each time.
• Humor & Humanity:
  • Practical jokes about “insulin pushers,” cereal choices, and loving the challenge of diabetes family life.

“I want you to bolus well for the cereal. That's all. Like, I mean, you're gonna. I just don't want you having high blood sugars...” – Scott [15:27]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You need momentum on your side when that cereal kicks. There has to be such a pull from that insulin when that cereal kicks that you can keep your stability.” – Scott [08:47]
• “My strategy is double that as a starting place.” – Jenny, on increasing pre-bolus time for hard-hitting carbs like cereal [10:47]
• “Wow. Really?...That’s six teaspoons of sugar.” – Scott & Jenny, visualizing the sugar load [11:53]
• “Could I do it? I could do it. I probably wouldn't pick Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I would pick something else that I'd prefer.” – Jenny [18:15]
• “Would I do this every day even if I could? I would not...But could I do it? I could.” – Scott [15:06]

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [00:00–02:20] Introduction to the Episode and MEAL BOLT
• [02:21–06:11] Understanding the Actual Serving and Carbohydrate Load
• [06:12–08:45] Evaluation and Calculation of Insulin Needed
• [08:46–11:01] Timing Strategy: Why Pre-bolus Matters So Much for Cereal
• [11:10–12:16] The Real Sugar Perspective
• [12:16–13:58] Reading and Interpreting the Ingredient List
• [13:58–15:51] Real-World Approach: Success Is Possible but It’s Hard
• [15:52–17:38] Monitoring, Refining, and a Friend's Practical Hack
• [18:00–End] Wrap-Up, Takeaways, and a Dash of Humor

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Summary: Practical Strategies for Cereal Bolusing

• Cereal is a “hard mode” food due to fast, high BG spikes—large carb loads, rapid digestion, and high glycemic index demand aggressive insulin strategies.
• You may need to double your usual pre-bolus time and consider higher-than-label doses (if safe, and only with medical guidance) to match the BG spike.
• Always monitor your CGM closely after eating, and “tweak for next time.”
• Realistic perspectives and humor help—don’t fear “bad” foods, but respect the challenge.

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For more details on the MEAL BOLT system, visit juiceboxpodcast.com/meal-bolt.

Transcript

[A]

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. In every episode of Bolas4, Jenny Smith and I are going to take a few minutes to talk through how to bolas for a single item of food. Jenny and I are going to follow a little bit of a roadmap called Meal Bolt. Measure the meal, evaluate yourself, add the base units, layer a correction, build the bolus shape, offset the timing, look at the CGM tweak for next time. Having said that, these episodes are going to be very conversational and not incredibly technical. We want you to hear how we think about it, but we also would like you to know that this is kind of the pathway we're considering while we're talking about it. So while you might not hear us say every letter of Meal Bolt in every episode, we we will be thinking about it while we're talking. If you want to learn more, go to juiceboxpodcast.com meal bolt but for now, we'll find out how to bolus for today's subject. Please don't forget 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 healthcare plan or becoming bold with Insulin. Summertime is right around the corner and Omnipod 5 is the only tube free automated insulin delivery system in the United States. Because it's tube free, it's also waterproof and it goes wherever you go. Learn more at my link omnipod.com juicebox that's right, Omnipod is sponsoring this episode of the podcast and and at my link you can get a free starter kit. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox Jenny I have a list in front of me here that says this is the top 10 bestselling cereals by boxes sold. There are going to be a lot of words here you don't know. Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Honey Nut, Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, Frosted Mini Wheats, Life, and my favorite from when I was a child, Fruity Pebbles. Now you know a Fruity Pebble.

[B]

I know what they look like.

[A]

Yes, they're nothing like those bastardized Cocoa Pebbles which are just garbage. I don't even know. I've never had them.

[B]

Aren't they the same maker?

[A]

One's chocolate and one's fruit. I bet you it's not chocolate or fruit. By the way. I just want to say that I'm quite sure not so let's pick one of these and bolus for it. You want to go first? How about Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

[B]

Oh, my gosh. Sure, sure.

[A]

You think it has cinnamon in it? It might. Hold on a second. Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

[B]

I'm sure that it has cinnamon. Either that or the side of it says cinnamon flavoring.

[A]

Well, you can get a mega box of it for $6.21. What a deal. Let's see here. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I am looking at its label. All right, Jenny, let's see.

[B]

What is the serving size? 3/4 of a cup.

[A]

Oh, interesting. The serving size is one cup.

[B]

Oh, one cup.

[A]

Okay. Actually, I got thrown off a little bit because this label is in English and Spanish. And I kept going like, this doesn't seem like a word. I know, sorry. So it's 1 cup total. Carbohydrates, 33. What is 33? Like, the magic number or something like that? 33 grams of carbs. Dietary fiber. 3 grams. People are going to be like, are you subtracting the. You're not subtracting fiber. Yeah, right. No, you don't subtract total sugar. 12. This is exactly the same as, like, last thing we did. How is that. That's crazy. But this isn't gonna hit like the oats. This is gonna hit like a truck. So also, milk, right? So we have to, like, a cup of milk. We're gonna have to do a cup of milk on the side.

[B]

Let's do a standard one cup of milk.

[A]

Okay, hold on a second. And now, is there anybody that only eats a cup of cereal?

[B]

That's the question.

[A]

I just made Jenny giggle.

[B]

I'm just referring back to the big. The big vats on the wall in a cafeteria at college. Okay, that, like, it's got the pour nozzle that you just pull it down, it cranks it all out into your bowl. And I remember watching people fill their bowls at school with, like, the Jethro bowl of cereal.

[A]

What's the Jethro Bowl? What did you just say?

[B]

Gigantic.

[A]

Gigantic. Okay.

[B]

The whole bowl. Really? It was probably half of a box of cereal in a bowl as though they'd sit down to eat.

[A]

Hold on a second. Food label. Milk. Whole milk. What do you drink?

[B]

Oh, we don't drink milk. Sorry.

[A]

I'm just gonna put whole milk.

[B]

The dairy industry is gonna be like, ban that girl. She doesn't drink milk.

[A]

Cup of whole milk. It was hilarious. 12 carbs and no fiber. 12 grams of sugar. Sugar and milk. Why is everything 12.

[B]

Oh, 12. 12 grams. That's because the carbohydrate is the same as the sugars, right?

[A]

Okay. Yeah. But it's not like added, right? They're not adding.

[B]

It's not added. No, that's all.

[A]

It just panicked me. I was like, they're not adding sugar to milk, are they?

[B]

Nope. Milk sugar, essentially, it's in there naturally. Yep.

[A]

All right, I'll accept that. So we have. Now we got to figure out what an actual serving size is. I mean, it's. I bet you it's three cups.

[B]

I would say the majority of people eat two cups.

[A]

Two.

[B]

Okay, let's. I would say two cups.

[A]

So it is that.

[B]

And I'm. I'm thinking kiddos.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I think that's the biggest problem is that people just look on the back like, oh, it's 33 carbs. And then they just fill the bowl up with it and.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So what's. Yep, exactly. So what's the first step? Measure.

[A]

Okay, so first step M measure. So we're going to measure and say we're having two cups, which is now 66 carbs. And does that mean we end up with two cups of milk or you think it's still one cup?

[B]

I would still say one cup of milk.

[A]

All right, we'll be generous and say 1 cup of milk. 66 carbs from the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and 12 from the milk is 78 total carbs. Okay, now we're gonna evaluate ourselves. Right again.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It's morning time. Are you a person who has. Boy, I wonder how many people are gonna realize they do or don't have trouble bolusing in the morning. That it's more about the food and the lack of pre bolus than their scenario. But you wanna check your blood sugar. If you have a cgm, take a look at it. If you don't, please check with the meter. Do you have any insulin on board? What kind of a day is this gonna be? Is it gonna be a stressful day? Is it gonna be an active day? That might be impact how you bolus. Probably not for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, however. So we're going to calculate our food bolus. Jenny. We have 78 carbs and that's a.

[B]

Lot of carbohydrate, you guys.

[A]

I wish. This is not. This should just be video so you could just see Jenny going like, you know, in a day. Is that a week? I don't understand. But 78 carbs, and so that's 7.8 units of insulin using our standardized 1 to 10 carb ratio, which we're doing for all of our examples. So now we have 7.8 units of insulin that we need. I mean, let's say the kids wakes up at 130. I think you do a lot of you'd be thrilled if your kid woke up 130. Right. But we're also one unit moves you 100 points. So let's add another third of a unit, another point three to it. Let's just call it eight for fun. Now we got to take a look at what we're going to do. We're going to build this bolus up. Like what are we going to do with it? Pre bolus, four in the morning. Jenny, when do you put it? When do you put it in? I'm sure I've written blogs about it. I'm sure I've talked about on the podcast that, you know, Arden, actually after we left an endo appointment one day asked me back when we just didn't know what we were doing and everything was upside down or A1C was in like the mid eights. Is there anything I can do to help you with this? Like a little kid standing in a parking lot said to me, and I said you could stop eating cereal for a little while till I can figure this out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I did get back to it and she doesn't eat cereal anymore. But I did figure out how to bolus for it. And I'm going to tell you that the answer is an aggressive pre bolus, an aggressive amount of insulin. And you need momentum on your side when that cereal kicks. There has to be such a pull from that insulin when that cereal kicks that you can keep your stability. I mean, I don't know, what do you think for you're gonna say a half an hour, right? Today's episode is brought to you by Omnipod. It might sound crazy to say, but summertime is right around the corner. That means more swimming, sports activities, vacations. And you know what's a great feeling? Being able to stay connected to automated insulin delivery while doing it all. Omnipod 5 is the only tube free automated insulin delivery system in the US and because it's tube free and waterproof, it, it goes everywhere you do. In the pool, in the ocean, or on the soccer field. Unlike traditional insulin pumps, you never have to disconnect from Omnipod 5 for daily activities, which means you never have to take a break from automated insulin delivery. Ready to go, tube free. Request your free Omnipod 5 starter kit today@ omnipod.com JuiceBox terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox type that link into your browser or go to juiceboxpodcast.com and click on the image of Omnipod right at the bottom. There's also a link right in the show notes of your podcast player.

[B]

Well, one thing I would say is if you have an idea of what you've mastered with another type of meal that isn't cereal.

[A]

Yeah. This is the entity level cereal.

[B]

Let's say it's 12 minutes. Let's say you've mastered something that you love to eat. It's 12 minutes. It has a different hit than Cere does for high glycemic like this. My strategy is double that as a starting place.

[A]

Okay, so if 12 works for you, for most things, you're going to 24 minutes.

[B]

Yeah. Or 25 to round it out. Just make it nice and even. Say, okay, 25 minutes. This is a hard hitting. Now we've doubled the serving size on the package. Right. It's not just one cup. We're eating two cups of it. And we're now eating 24 grams of added sugar.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know how many teaspoons of sugar that is?

[A]

Do you know 24 grams of sugar is how many teaspoons of sugar?

[B]

Yeah. How many grams of carb is in 1 teaspoon? Did I stump Scott?

[A]

Like, I know. Is it two? No, a teaspoon. Like a flevile teaspoon? Like a measuring teaspoon? 4. Wait, there's four carbs in a measuring teaspoon of sugar. So not like the teaspoon that you use to put in your coffee, which is probably five teaspoons. So what does that mean? Put that. Contextualize that for me.

[B]

Yeah. So now we have 12 grams in a cup. We're eating two cups of this cereal. That's 24 grams of sugar. 24 divided by 4 is how many teaspoons?

[A]

Six.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

Wow. Really?

[B]

So, and I bring this in. Not. This is. Again, this is not a judgment. This is a teaching piece. But it's teaching in the fact of we're considering the glycemic impact of this food. We're not just eating one serving. Now we're eating two. So you're increasing the load effect of a high glycemic food.

[A]

Yeah. Also, let me read the ingredients for you from Cinnamon Toast Crunch, whole grain wheat sugar. Also, I don't know if people know this. The order they're in is their amounts. So there's. It's mostly whole grain wheat. It is. Second. Mostly sugar. Third, rice flour, canola and or sunflower oil. Can they not make up their minds? What does end or mean? So whatever they got laying around, it's whatever they.

[B]

It's a mix. There you go.

[A]

What do we got today? Throw it in there. 1, 2, 3, 4. We are now five things deep. The next item that is most prevalent in cinnamon toast crunch is fructose, then maltodextrin dextrose, which I think sounds like another way to say sugar.

[B]

It is.

[A]

We've just said sugar three times in a row. Right? Sugar. Fructose dextrose is sugar, sugar, sugar. Am I. Am I right about that?

[B]

100%.

[A]

Okay. All right. Salt. Wow. Cinnamon. We got the cinnamon pretty early.

[B]

Oh, and it's not cinnamon flavor. It's real salt. It's real cinnamon.

[A]

It's probably in there to mask whatever trisodium phosphate is. Soy. Lecithin. Lecithin. Lecithin. Caramel color. Rosemary extract. Oh, a little of the nature BH2 added to preserve freshness. Vitamins and minerals, Calcium carbonate, vitamin C, iron, zinc. They list them all here. A, B.

[B]

And what are. What are those there for? They're enriched or fortified.

[A]

They call it enriched or fortified because.

[B]

It'S processed all of that whole grain wheat at the first ingredient that's been stripped of all the beneficial vitamins.

[A]

Right. Oddly enough, like, percentage of your daily value for the vitamins, it's between 10 and 20% for all those. So.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah, they're giving you a vitamin in there. You could have took it on your own, though. We're going to pre bolus this meal. Double of what you find to be working with a food item that you're good at bolusing for. Again, I'll tell you, like, on something this aggressively glycemic, I mean, there's a load here and an impact, right? The load from the processed food, the impact from the sugar. I think if you bolus for this, even super aggressively, and you're on an algorithm, and that algorithm's gonna go, here's the insulin. If you. I don't like this word, but if you mess up that pre bolus and don't get the insulin ahead of the spike that's coming, that algorithm is gonna sit for hours and not give you basil. There's no way you're not gonna be 400 if you mess up the pre pulse.

[B]

Potentially.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No way. There's a way. But like. But yeah, potentially. And at least on a regular pump Your basal still churning and might get in the way of it a little bit. So now if this all works, I know this is gonna sound crazy to people. Wait, somebody online's gonna call me a insulin pusher? I can keep a steady line?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

With. With cereal. It's a lot of insulin and a lot of timing. And you can do it. Would I do this every day even if I could? I would not. I'm just being honest with you. I've seen my daughter eat a bowl of cereal once in the last year and a half. So. And she was sick and she's like, you know what I want. And I was like, what do you want? She's like. And she said one of these.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Like. I was like, all right. But could I do it? I could. I don't think it's the greatest decision you're ever going to make in your life, but if this is your sitch. What am I, 10? If this is your situation, I want you to bolus well for the cereal. That's all. Like, I mean, you're gonna. I just don't want you having high blood sugars, which, by the way, are gonna. At some point, those big spikes are gonna turn into, like a crashing low at some point in the future, too.

[B]

So you could. If you don't figure out your strategy. And that's where the end of our acronym. Your acronym. Right. It comes in. It's evaluate. Watch that. One hour, three hours, five hours. How did this meal filter out for? Have to tweak for next time. And I'd go back to a friend of mine who I've had for a long, long time. She also has Type 1 almost as long as I do. And I don't know that she still does it, but years ago, before all of the aid assisted types of systems on the market, she wanted cereal once a year for her birthday. That's what she wanted. And she did. She didn't have your acronym, but she figured it out. She tested it out, and what she found works. This is not medical advice. Not encouraging you to this, but this is what she found works.

[A]

Jenny, none of this is medical advice. I've been doing this for a long time. Yes, we're just talking.

[B]

It was a timing thing. So she had to get the initial step of insulin added the right way. And what she found worked was doubling the dose of insulin that she would normally take for cereal. And on the back end, she suspended her pump. Okay, so at the bolus time, she suspended her pump for hours after and.

[A]

Over bolus the hell out of the.

[B]

Cereal over bolus up front to get ahead of getting too high. And on the back end, she balanced it out because she took away the basil, which is a slower drip, drip, drip. And she could take it away easily.

[A]

So that might work on an aid as well.

[B]

It could potentially.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What people have to understand about the algorithms, like, at a basic level is you tell it, these are your settings, and this is how much I ate. It believes you.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It is not going to adjust because your blood sugar, like, shot up out of nowhere. It goes, no, no. They told us how much we did and we did the right amount. Like, we're gonna keep doing the thing we're doing now. Some of them will, you know, start pushing back as something rises and rises, but that pushback is not gonna be aggressive enough to overcome a major miss in the amount of insulin or the amount of timing that you choose. Okay, all right. Like, I know it's not food you ate, but do you think you could sit down right now, eat two cups of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and bolus for it? Yes.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If I get you to do that on video one day, that'd be awesome.

[B]

Could I do it? I could do it. I probably wouldn't pick Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I would pick something else that I'd prefer.

[A]

I take my hall pass on that one. All right. I appreciate it. We covered it, right? We're good?

[B]

Of course.

[A]

Great.

[B]

Perfect. Thank you.

[A]

Summertime is right around the corner. And Omnipod 5 is the only tube free automated insulin delivery system in the United States. Because it's tube free, it's also waterproof and it goes wherever you go. Learn more at my link omnipod.com juicebox that's right. Omnipod is sponsoring this episode of the podcast. And at my link, you can get a free starter kit. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box podcast. In each episode of the Bolus four series, Jenny Smith and I are going to pick one food and talk through the bolusing for that food. We hope you find it valuable. Generally speaking, we're going to follow a bit of a formula, the Meal Bolt Formula. M E A L B O L T. You can learn more about [e-mail] meal-bolt but here's what it is. Step 1. M. Measure the meal. E evaluate yourself. A add the base units. L layer a correction. B build the bolus shape. O offset the timing. L, look at the CGM and T, tweak for next time. In a nutshell, we measure our meal. Total carbohydrates, protein, fat, Consider the glycemic index and the glycemic load. And then we evaluate yourself. What's your current blood sugar, how much insulin's on board, and what kind of activity are you going to be involved in or not involved in? You have any stress, hormones, illness, what's going on with you? Then A. We add the base units, your carbs divided by insulin to carb ratio. Just a simple bolus. L layer A correction. Right? Do you have to add or subtract insulin based on your current blood sugar? Build the bolus shape. Are we going to give it all up front 100% for a fast digesting meal? Or is there going to be like a combo or a square wave bolus? Does it have to be extended? I'll set the timing. This is about pre bolusing. Does it take a couple of minutes this meal or maybe 20 minutes? Are we going to have to Again, consider combo, square wave boluses and meals, Figure out the timing of that meal and then L look at the cgm. An hour later, was there a fast spike? Three hours later, was there a delayed rise? Five hours later, is there any lingering effect from fat and protein? Tweak, tweak for next time. T. What did you eat? How much insulin and when? What did your blood sugar curve look like? What would you do next time? This is what we're going to talk about in every episode of Bolus 4. Measure the meal, evaluate yourself. Add the base units, layer a correction, build the bolus shape, offset the timing, look at the cgm, tweak for next time. But it's not going to be that confusing and we're not going to ask you to remember all of that stuff, but that's the pathway that Jenny and I are going to use to speak about each bolus. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by Wrong Way Recording wrongwayrecording. Com.