#1865 Bolus 4 Mexican Food

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1865 – Bolus 4 Mexican Food
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Jenny Smith (Diabetes Educator)
Date: June 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode continues the "Bolus For..." series, in which Scott Benner and Jenny Smith break down practical, real-world strategies for insulin dosing around specific meals. Today’s topic: Mexican food. The aim is to give listeners specific frameworks and mental models for handling the complex carbs, fats, and proteins common in Mexican restaurant fare—including how to navigate starters like chips and guacamole, heavy entrees, and even margaritas, without the fear of unpredictable blood sugar spikes.

Above all, the conversation reiterates the key themes of being "bold with insulin" and understanding how timing, macronutrient breakdown, and awareness of personal trends empower people with diabetes to enjoy their food with confidence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Importance of Recognizing Global Dietary Differences

• Jenny: Notes that past episodes have mainly covered Americanized foods and wonders how listeners from diverse backgrounds navigate their own cuisines.

  "I'm curious how many people from other countries have questions about their typical cuisine." (03:21)

2. Breaking Down the Mexican Meal (Chips, Dips, Starters)

• Typical Mexican appetizers: tortilla chips, guacamole, sour cream, salsa.
• Scott runs through a listener’s real-world meal breakdown.
• The panel walks through carb/fat/protein estimates using both Google Gemini and ChatGPT, emphasizing the importance of making your best guess and then being flexible.

Tortilla Chips ([06:53])

• Jenny:

  "They are fried. And they are fatty. Yes." (08:20)
  "I usually tell people as an estimation tool for tortilla chips, they're about 2 grams of carb a chip." (07:54)

• Scott demonstrates using his usual carb ratio calculator—for 20 chips, about 36g carbs, 14g fat, 4g protein.

Guacamole, Sour Cream, Salsa ([09:19])

• Jenny:

  "Guacamole is going to have some type of spicy pepper in it...pretty low carb there...but very high in fat." (09:27)

• They demonstrate how each addition (e.g. a quarter cup guac, 2 tbsp sour cream, ¼ cup salsa) nudges up both the total carbs and total fat, shifting both initial and extended bolus needs.

Bolusing Appetizers

• The panel repeatedly stresses timing:

  "If you don't prebolus this meal coming in the door, I don't see how you catch up." (13:42)

• Consider how appetizers themselves can be carb-heavy, fatty, slow-digesting—and lay a foundation for even higher-carb/fat meals to come.

3. The Reality of Restaurant Eating – The Fat and Protein Problem ([17:49])

• Scott:

  "You're probably going to hork this down pretty quickly in the beginning, and then that fat's gonna just slow your digestion down, and then you're just going to literally shovel carbs on top of it later." (17:29)

• The discussed scenario: Walk in, eat chips and dip, then follow with main courses (fajitas, rice, beans), all layered on top of a high-fat appetizer. Insulin timing must anticipate this.

4. Including Alcohol — The Margarita ([19:40])

• One 8oz classic margarita: ~24g carbs, hits the blood sugar fast.
• Jenny:

  "It comes along with your appetizer unless you've said no." (19:40)

• The need to estimate and prebolus for alcohol, as for any fast-acting carb.

5. Calculating the Big Meal (Entrées) ([22:36])

• A sample meal is broken down: steak fajitas, flour tortillas, rice, beans. Scott enters each macro in a bolus calculator:
  • 154g carbs, 67g protein, 70g fat.
  • The total bolus needs jump dramatically when including dietary fat and protein versus just carbs—a nearly 25% increase in insulin required.
• Jenny:

  "Fat and protein still gets forgotten...our brains kind of calculate less than is truly there. Yeah, we always boil it down a little bit compared to the true count and that then gets us in trouble." (25:49)

6. The Pitfalls of Inaccurate Estimation ([26:56])

• Importance of honestly estimating portions, recognizing hidden fats/oils in restaurant-prepared foods, and not undercounting the effect of large portions or incremental dining (grazing).

Notable Moment ([27:31]):

• Bread at an Italian restaurant and chips at a Mexican restaurant are parallels: both arrive before you order, and both can add up quickly and unexpectedly to carb counts.
• Jenny:

  "The bread comes to the table, the chips come to the table, and you're like, man, I am hungry. And down it goes. And then you were planning on this lovely steak fajita vegetable kind of meal, and you had planned ahead, you counted the carbs, you knew, and then you got to the meal and you're like, I can make one fajita maybe. Yeah, because that's what happens, right?" (27:33)

7. Appreciating the Role of AI Tools While Staying Grounded ([29:10] onward)

• Comparing data from Gemini vs. ChatGPT, the hosts find small but meaningful differences in macro recommendations. The discussion concludes that AI models are useful, but personal experience and real-world nuance are equally valuable.

  "AI can be a good starting place, but you have to give it as much direction as you possibly can." (29:27) — Jenny

8. Big Picture: The Bolus Question is Fundamentally About Timing & Amount ([33:40])

• Scott:

  "I wonder how much longer we can do this because all we're really telling you is count the fat, the carbs, the protein, and understand the timing of the insulin to have your settings right." (33:40)

• Jenny:

  "It boils down to the standard of understanding how insulin works for you." (33:41)

• The insight: There’s no perfect formula, but careful attention to ALL macronutrients, realistic portion estimates, and understanding insulin action are key to succeeding with any restaurant food.

9. Memorable Personal Story ([35:10] onward)

• Jenny shares her first Mexican restaurant experience as a teen: ordering taco salad, being overwhelmed by portion size and the massive fried tortilla bowl, and trying to navigate dosing with only a sliding scale and no carb counting.

  "I was mortified when they brought me my plate at the table... My meal was the largest on the entire table." (36:39)

• She underscores how far tools and knowledge have come.

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Timestamps & Segments

• 02:34 — Jenny expresses her enjoyment in breaking down food, not boredom
• 06:53 - 13:35 — In-depth breakdown: chips, guac, sour cream, salsa; how each changes the bolus calculation
• 16:18 — Starting the discussion on prebolusing and real-world timing
• 19:40 — The challenge of incorporating margaritas/alcohol
• 22:36 — Calculating macros for a full Mexican meal
• 25:49 — Why fat and protein are underestimated (and the BG challenge that creates)
• 27:31 — Comparing the surprise of free bread/chips and their effect on meal carb intake
• 29:10 — Gemini vs. ChatGPT: slight variances in macro breakdown, but general consistency
• 33:40 — Big picture summary: It’s about recognizing timing and insulin amount
• 35:10 - 38:09 — Jenny’s high school “taco salad” story emphasizes practical challenges and learning curve

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Notable Quotes

• Jenny (07:54): "I usually tell people as an estimation tool for tortilla chips, they're about 2 grams of carb a chip."
• Scott (13:42): "If you don't pre bolus this meal coming in the door, I don't see how you catch up."
• Jenny (25:49): "Fat and protein still gets forgotten...our brains kind of calculate less than is truly there. Yeah, we always boil it down a little bit compared to the true count and that then gets us in trouble."
• Scott (33:40): "All we're really telling you is count the fat, the carbs, the protein, and understand the timing of the insulin to have your settings right."

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Key Takeaways

• Mexican restaurant meals are often heavy on all macros—carbs, fat, and protein. Each impacts insulin dosing, speed of digestion, and blood sugars.
• Prebolusing is crucial, given how slow-digesting fat and protein-laden meals are.
• Restaurant foods have hidden fats and can be difficult to estimate accurately. Don’t trust just macro databases—use personal historical experience and adjust with time.
• Using bolus calculators/estimators is helpful; AI tools can provide a starting point. But ultimately, “close enough” is sometimes the best aiming point—just stay bold.
• The approach is fundamentally about individual experimentation, learning, and being proactive, not reactive, with insulin.

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Conclusion

This episode, while centered on Mexican cuisine, is a real-world primer on how to wrangle any complex meal: break it into parts, estimate completely (never forgetting fat and protein), and prioritize timing. The episode is peppered with humor, practical wisdom, and is accessible for anyone seeking to eat with less diabetes-related anxiety. Both hosts reinforce: know your numbers, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to be bold with insulin.

Transcript

[A]

Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. My Diabetes Pro Tip series is about cutting through the clutter of diabetes management to give you the straightforward, practical insights that truly make a difference. This series is all about mastering the fundamentals, whether it's the basics of insulin dosing adjustments or everyday management strategies that will empower you to take control. I'm joined by Jenny Smith, who is a diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal experience, and we break down complex concepts into simple, actionable tips. The Diabetes Pro Tip series runs between episode 1000 and 1025 in your podcast player, where you can listen to [e-mail] by going up into the menu. If you're looking for community around type 1 diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast. Private Facebook Group juice box podcast type 1 diabetes but everybody is welcome. Type 1 type 2 gestational loved ones it doesn't matter to me. If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juice Box podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. This is 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. This episode of the Juice Box Podcast is sponsored by usmed usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. US Med is where my daughter gets her diabetes supplies from and you could too. Use the link or number to get your free benefits. Check and get started today with US Med. A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod 5 now with my link omnipod.com juicebox you may be eligible for a free starter kit. A free Omnipod 5 starter kit at my link. Go check it out. Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox Jenny, we're going to start in a second with bolusing for a Mexican meal that someone has sent in, but I found myself getting ready to ask you right before I hit record. Is this getting boring for you? Are you enjoying this? You're okay.

[B]

I always like talking about food, okay,

[A]

because I, I say that as if,

[B]

like I eat hordes and like I, I kind of feel like I just said, gosh, Jenny eats a lot of food. I really enjoy the science of food and understanding how to explain it and break it down. Break it down. It's very interesting to me. So no, I'm not bored.

[A]

Okay. I'm Glad, because I am finding a ton of value in this and I think the listeners are as well. I don't imagine there won't be a day where we might just say like, we can't do this anymore. There's just, we've covered everything. But at the moment I'm very happy with it. So I'm going to keep going unless I hear otherwise from people. And not just three looky loos, but like, it would have to be like a.

[B]

You know, I had a thought the other day actually about this whole series of bolusing for a specific kind of food and I was curious because I feel like a lot of the foods that we've actually gone through have been very, I guess, more like Americanized. Yeah, right. They're more US based. And I'm curious how many, because I know you have so many listeners and they're all over the world, which is awesome. But I'm curious how many people from other countries have questions about their typical cuisine.

[A]

Maybe something will come in.

[B]

Super awesome to just try to do something that's more atypical.

[A]

Yeah. We could do bolusing for wallaby and bolusing for elk because that's all people in Canada eat, I would imagine is grizzly bear and elk or something like that. I don't know exactly what they do.

[B]

That's not really true.

[A]

I don't know anything about that. You don't. And by the way, you don't either. So like, you're just guessing. Much like me.

[B]

Have you ever been to Canada?

[A]

No. No, no, no, no.

[B]

Really?

[A]

No.

[B]

Ever?

[A]

I don't do anything that requires a plane transfer. I one flight I get on and I get off. And that I'm okay with. I actually am heading out to. I'll be able to say this here because by the time it's done, I'm heading out to San Diego to be part of a commercial shoot for Omnipod.

[B]

Awesome.

[A]

And well, it's awesome except in a 48 hour window, I'm going to fly to San Diego and fly back again. Yeah. So I'm going to do 12, I think I'm doing like 12 hours in the air over 48 hours. I fly in, go to sleep, wake up, work all day, leave the set, get on a plane and fly home overnight. Like that's how I'm doing it. Nevertheless, when they asked me to do it, I was like, look, I only have a couple of asks. I need an aisle or a window and I am not getting on and off of a plane. I was Like I get on at my house and I get off in San Diego or I'm not doing this. I was like, I'm. Scotty doesn't do a transfer. I'm a bit of a princess. Okay.

[B]

Do you not like transfers just because of the navigation of that or.

[A]

No, I don't care about any of that.

[B]

Curious.

[A]

I don't like to be put out. I'm a bit of a princess. Okay.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

Like they said to me, you can take an Uber to the airport. And I went, I was, I was like, because I have to go to Newark and it is a pain in the, it's a pain to drift. Like you have to drive to Newark. Usually you park off site. Then you get on like some like little like rattly bus that takes you from the parking lot to, to the Newark airport. And it's a bit of a, it's a bit of a harangue.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

And they were like, oh, but just feel free to take an Uber. And I'm like, I'm not taking an Uber. I was like an hour long ride on a highway. And like, I'm like, I don't like. Then I found myself stopping myself in

[B]

the car with somebody that I don't know and. Right.

[A]

And what if their car'. Then I mean, when they get there, I can't go, oh, no, thank you. There's where I'm like a little bit of a princess. I'm like, I have a car. I'm comfortable in my car. I'll drive. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm not, I'm not a pain in the ass. I'm not a pain in the ass on big things. Nevertheless, let's talk about someone sent in a Mexican meal. It says tortilla chips with guacamole, sour cream and salsa, Steak, peppers, onion, fajitas, side of rice and refried beans. And what would happen if I put a margarita with all this? And then also could you talk about tacos and enchiladas? So I think this is going to be a lot more maybe art than science in this one. So I'm interested to hear how you pick through all this. But you want to start with tortilla chips with guacamole, sour cream and salsa? Sure. Can we like break them down separately and then lump them together?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Would that work?

[B]

Because usually for this type of a meal you're going to start with, I mean, they would consider an appetizer as the tortilla chips and probably guacamole yummier if they make it at your table and you can see them making it.

[A]

They do it right there.

[B]

They squish it up some really good places. Make it like tableside and it's super yum then.

[A]

Yes, well, as you know from a previous bolus for. I've only ever had salsa once, so.

[B]

Oh, that's right, yes, because I made you have some.

[A]

You made me eat salsa.

[B]

Salsa, sour cream and salsa, you said so guac, sour cream, salsa and the tortilla chips. Right.

[A]

What are we gonna do here? So chips, I mean, the breakdown I have here is that 2 ounces of chips is about 20 chips. This has it broken out as 4 protein, 36 carbs, 14 fat. Does that seem right to you or close?

[B]

Say the carbs again.

[A]

36.

[B]

You said 20 chips.

[A]

Yeah, 20 chips, 36 carbs.

[B]

It's a, I usually tell people as an estimation tool for tortilla chips, they're about 2 grams of carb a chip.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Makes it easy to carb count. Put on your little side plate. If you're gonna have another handful, then you carb count more and put em on your side plate.

[A]

A little bit of protein. I mean, we'll, we'll factor it in because we're gonna do the whole thing. But does 14 grams of fat sound right to you?

[B]

If they are made at the restaurant, they are fried.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And they are fatty. Yes.

[A]

And then that's 20 chips. Now what happens when, what happens when I dip them into stuff? How does that change? Because I'm gonna, I'm gonna set the calculator up right now. Excuse me. The bolus estimator up right now. Insulin to carb ratio 10. Insulin sensitivity, 50. I'm gonna put in these 36 carbs. I'm gonna put in the 14 fat.

[B]

And is the 36 just for the chips?

[A]

Yes. So I'm saying for right now, I just want to say if you ate 20 chips with those settings, 3.6 up front.07 over three hours. Now let's figure out about the dipping and the, and the slurping. They're slurping, right?

[B]

And the slurry.

[A]

That doesn't sometimes like the, the salsa, I see people and it starts to fall off the chip and they go after it. I know what's happening. Okay?

[B]

So I love salsa. I think if, when I have chips and salsa, very happy chips are just a method of getting like, I would just happily eat the bowl of salsa. The hotter the better. Like, I love salsa.

[A]

Don't take Jenny to dinner. She'll eat out of your salsa bowl with a spoon. So guacamole is just avocados or do they put stuff in it?

[B]

There would be usually depending on the recipe, guacamole is going to have some type of spicy pepper in it. Could be jalapeno, could be other type of pepper. Again, pretty, pretty low carb there in terms of an addition. Usually it's going to have garlic, probably lemon or lime juice, salt. It's not outside of the avocados. It wouldn't usually have another carbohydrate source added to it. So really, the avocado is the main carb source in the guacamole. And it's also really, really high in fat.

[A]

Yeah, this has a quarter of a cup. It says 9 grams of fat, 5 carbs, 1 protein. Let's go with a cool. Let's all just imagine you had a quarter of a cup. So now it takes our carbs up to 41. It takes.

[B]

I think that the person who ever sent this to you is now listening and is like a quarter cup.

[A]

They're like. They are. They're ruining. Ruining my chips. For me, that's okay. So I'm adding in the protein, the carbs and everything. Recalculating. It takes the 3.6 up to 4.1, and now it's a 1.14. And it stretched out over four hours instead of three hours as the COVID So it's gone up now from adding the guacamole. Now we're going to also add sour cream. That sounds like it does fat about the sour cream.

[B]

That's pretty much all fat.

[A]

Okay. So it's telling you two tablespoons. Good luck having two tablespoons of sour cream.

[B]

Right. It's like all of. It's the salsa, it's the guacamole, it's the sour cream that we can look at portions and what we should. I should say we can look at serving and what a serving has. Then you have to consider what's your portion.

[A]

Yeah, I don't want to out Arden, but I've seen her make a baked potato, and I can't find the baked potato under the sour cream.

[B]

So there you go.

[A]

And they make it in a squeeze thing. Now, have you noticed this?

[B]

I don't buy sour cream.

[A]

Oh, well, trust me, it comes in a squeezy thing. Sour cream's in my house constantly. I've never had it in my life. Wouldn't know what it is if you put it in my mouth. I would. It just. I don't know, something about the consistency of it I'm not good with. Nevertheless, I like all the people out there like now are like, he's probably has autism. So it's 1 protein, 1 carb and 6 fat. So when I add that 1 protein, 6 fat carb, and that takes us to 42 carbs, 29 fat, 5 protein. Didn't change a ton about that. Okay, so put up the Warsaw wave a little more. Gave us a little more back end insulin. Okay, now salsa has got to be tomatoes, right?

[B]

It is. It's usually tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onion. Again, it can be made many. It could have pineapple in it could have mango in. If it's just regular like spicy salsa, then probably. Is it going to have the fruity stuff in it?

[A]

Is it fair here, Quarter a cup for carbs?

[B]

About.

[A]

About. Okay. No. And it has four carbs. The listing here, I'm using Gemini today. Protein 1, no fat. So let's see what we're back to now.

[B]

And as a reference, most often the little dishes or ramekins that these side items or these dipping pieces usually come typically flat topped, not scooped and heaped into it, but flat top. Usually those little ramekins are about a half a cup. Just for visual reference.

[A]

The ones that if I was fancy and I made a souffle in are about the size of my fist, maybe 2 inches high on the side.

[B]

Yep. Okay, about a half a cup exactly.

[A]

So now in what world you're going to eat 20 chips and all this? I don't know, you know, but maybe that's going to happen to you. But keep in mind, 4.6 up front, 1.43 stretch out over four hours. Go ahead and have 80 chip or 40 chips. This turns into nine units up front and three over probably more hours. Because you add more fat, it would probably tack the hours on too. Right? Okay.

[B]

And this is just. Let's remember we are starting at the beginning of sitting down at your table. This is your appetizer.

[A]

If you don't pre bowl as this meal coming in the door, I don't see how you catch up. Unless you really crush it hard or it takes a while for them to bring the food one or the other. This episode is brought to you by Omnipod. Would you ever buy a car without test driving it first? That's a big risk to take on a pretty large investment. You wouldn't do that, right? So why would you do it? When it comes to choosing an insulin pump, most pumps come with a four year lock in period through the DME channel and you don't even get to try it first. But not Omnipod 5. Omnipod 5 is available exclusively through the pharmacy, which means it doesn't come with a typical four year DME lock in period. Plus, you can get started with a free 30 day trial to be sure it's the right choice for you or your family. My daughter has been wearing an Omnipod every day for 17 years. Are you ready to give Omnipod5 a try? Request your free starter kit today at my link omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox find my link in the show Notes of this podcast player [e-mail] Diabetes comes with a lot of things to remember, so it's nice when someone takes something off of your plate. Usmed has done that for us. When it's time for Arden's supplies to be refreshed, we get an email rolls up and in your inbox says, hi Arden, this is your friendly reorder email from usmed. You open up the email, it's a big button that says click here to reorder and you're done. Finally, somebody taking away a responsibility instead of adding one. Usmed has done that for us. An email arrives, we click on a link, and the next thing you know, your products are at the front door. That simple. Usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. I never have to wonder if Arden has enough supplies. I click on one link, I open up a box, I put this stuff in the drawer, and we're done. US Med carries everything from insulin pumps and diabetes testing supplies to the latest CGMs like the Libre 3 and the Dexcom G7. They accept Medicare, nationwide, over 800 private insurers, and all you have to do to get started is call 888-721-1514 or go to my link usmed.com juicebox using that number or my link helps to support the production of the Juice Box podcast.

[B]

Right. You know, and the question there, as we've talked through before, is really, how are you coming in the door? Are you coming in pretty stable? Insulin on board is just really your basal rate. You're right where you want. Then what was the total carbon fat breakdown again?

[A]

46 carbs, 29 fat, 6 protein.

[B]

Right. So you're looking at also something that has a fair amount of initial carbs. Not even talking about the meal part of it yet. But the carbs in this are also 30 grams of fat.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you're not. I mean most people chat and talk and laugh and if this is a meal out at a restaurant, you're grabbing your chips and salsa, you're grabbing your chips and guac. You might be, maybe you're making a slurry of this on your plate. I don't know what you're doing and dipping. But this is also something that you're, I don't say grazing, but grazing in a shorter amount of time before you actually order and put your food for the total entree in. And so my expectation from experience is that while it has a fair amount of carb, you're also looking at the fat behind it.

[A]

Yeah. So you're, that's, you're probably come. I by the way, set it up as a stable line. But we can look at it another way before we move on. But to your point, you're going to come in, probably hork this down pretty quickly in the beginning and then that fat's gonna just slow your digestion down and then you're just going to literally shovel carbs on top of it later in the form of wraps and tortilla shells. And rice.

[B]

And maybe rice.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, I'm writing down the chips 46, 29 and 6. But before we move on to the next step, let me just show you. I don't have a current BG set into the estimator right now. There's none there. But it says there's a stable line. But try to imagine you walked in the door 144arrow up or rising slow. Let's give it a diagonal arrow. Right. When you re simulate that strategy now suddenly the initial is 5.6. The Warsaw is still 1.43. But it's now asking you for like a 15 minute pre bullets with a stable line. And the number it's still asking for, for that pre bolus. But if you take, if you take the, the current BG and take it to 90, the pre bolus goes down by like 5 minutes maybe like not that it. I'm guessing with this food you could pre boss as far out as you wanted to and you, you know, as long as you catch it, you're going to be good. But the point is, is that I don't know how many people are like wandering into a restaurant thinking about am I 140 diagonal up, am I 90 and I'm stable? Like it's, you know what I mean? It's.

[B]

I think it does depend on the person.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

It really does. Right. In Jenny's brain, you'd be thinking about it. I'd be thinking about it because we don't eat out very often. So it's always in my mind a little more consideration about where am I? Do I need to make an adjustment already or am I pretty good? Just that I can be ready for that order and what I expect I'm going to need to do once I figure out what I'm actually going to eat. Right. What I think is honestly next fair to consider almost along with this appetizer type of food is the drink. Because we don't typically wait to drink our fancy drink when the meal.

[A]

Oh, the margarita comes in right away.

[B]

It comes along with your appetizer unless you've said no. Right.

[A]

Okay. A Margaret. So I don't drink, so I had to look this up. One classic on the rocks, 8 ounces margarita, 24 carbs. You know, no fat, no protein. Yeah. Is that about fair? That's fair. So, and that's gonna hit fast, like sugary fast, right?

[B]

It is, yeah.

[A]

So, okay, so now the pre. Now, now you. I mean, listen, Arden's older now. I. I'm not in charge of how she lives her life, but if this was us walking into a restaurant when she was nine years old, I would have probably just like blindly thrown. I would have looked at her blood sugar and then blindly just throwing some insulin in and then work the rest of it out. When we got in and started sitting down and figuring out what was going on, just to get. Get the insulin on my side, we can tack it on real quick just to say the chips with the margarita. So if we're going to say. Yeah, if we're going to say margarita 24, we had 46 already. That's seven. That takes our carbs to 70. The fat stays 29 and the protein six. By the way, this is juicebox podcast.com bolus4b O L U S4 simulate the strategy. Wow. Okay, so now it goes to seven up front, 1.4 stretched over four. And. And the pre bolus, of course, is now down to nine minutes. But I mean, honestly, you could, you could quite easily say to yourself, there's like, I'm gonna eat 30 chips, you know, like. Or I don't know how many chips I'm gonna have. And what if I get going and I'm talking. And I love what if I get going and I'm talking? I don't eat like, you Know what I mean? Like, I take people's other side of the the conversation 100%.

[B]

And so that's where you have to know. You have to know yourself pretty well or you have to know your child. Right. Or be directional to your teen who might be doing this and you're just trying to give them some adjustment. Yeah, while they're half listening.

[A]

Right. While they're half listening. While they're ignoring you and making you sad you had a baby.

[B]

Okay, my. When you sit down then a meal like this, many people do have in mind what their taste buds usually like, right? Unless you're truly coming in blind to this type of cuisine and you've never ever had it before, you likely know what you like about what your portion is. And this is where that it's not a blind estimate that you throw in, but you sit down at the table and you may throw in 30 grams. And maybe you do that because that's your pre bolist. You have no idea even what the chips look like at this place. But you have had a margarita before. You know the hit impact of it. So you put in and then once you can see, then you can always go back and you can add more even before your entree comes. But you've gotten that ahead of time kick that you're going to need.

[A]

The delightful part about these conversations to me is that I think it just. If you're gonna listen, then it's. You're gonna realize like, oh, there's way more protein in steak than I think about. And I don't even bolus for protein. Like, you know, like that kind of thing. Like. So let's look at the rest of this because the breakdown I have in front of me is 6 ounces of skirt flank, 40 protein and 20 fat. Peppers have carbs, 15 carbs in a cup of peppers, 2 protein, 7 fat in the peppers because they're sauteed flour tortilla, 3 fajita size 45 grams of carbs, 8 protein, 7 fat. Mexican rice, half a cup, 28 grams of carbs, 3 protein, 3 fat. Refried beans, 20 grams of carbs, 7 protein, 4 grams of fat. So everything that we've just talked about here, it totals up to 154 carbs, 67 protein and 70 fat. I'm just going to put in 154 carbs. Okay, same settings, nothing else. 154 carbs. Stable blood sugar. I'll even make the current BG99 15.58 units. Wait 10 minutes to pre bolus. That's just the carbs. Now I'll put in the protein and the carbs.67 protein. Re simulate. Now you're 15.58 up front, 1.3 over four hours. Now you put in the fat. Get ready. So 70 grams, here we go. 70 grams of fat. Boom. This now 15.58 up front. Four and a half over now, eight hour window. And this whole bolus goes to 20 units. But my point would be again, if I just take out the fat and the protein, it goes from 20 units with all these things considered, down to 15 and a half units without the other things considered. This is, I think, how it happens. Like it's some, you know, mixture of I didn't pre bolus long enough. It got ahead of me and I didn't consider the fat and protein. So I'm 5 units of insulin or by the way, 5, 10, 15, 25 of the insulin I needed, I didn't use. Correct. You know, and then you're never going to have the nerve to do more than like a unit when you see like, oh my God, am I 280? Like, here's a unit, let's see what happens. Like, even if you're on an aid system, if you don't tell it about that impact, it's just going to push, it's going to push slowly, but it's never going to get ahead of anything.

[B]

And then you're going to end up maybe after this one meal, despite the recommendation being to follow a trend before you make a setting adjustment, you may go in and be like, something's clearly wrong. I must have. But really it, it does, it boils down to our, our eyes always or our brains kind of calculate less than is truly there. Yeah, we always boil it down a little bit compared to the true count and that then gets us in trouble. And despite us talking about fat and protein for quite a long time already, in many of the things that we've recorded. Right. Fat and protein still gets forgotten.

[A]

Yeah, well, I think it also leads to those more like kind of like plain language conversations where people say, like, I don't know, like, I don't know how to bolus from Mexican food or every time I go out it goes wrong. Or that. Because by the way, Mexican food, any restaurant really worth its, you know, worth its salt is going to fill your food up with salt and fat and you know, like, so you're gonna have way more fat. No one's counting the fat. Like, and, and this is, I mean, look, I'm not Always going to be right and, and there's going to be times where it doesn't go this way, or maybe it doesn't work for some people the way it works for others. God bless you. Like, you know, do your own, you know, do your own personal research and everything. But if you're not thinking about the fat and the protein in these high, like, meat like situations, you are not using enough insulin, very likely. And then all that comes after it, that turns into that, like, I don't understand. The diabetes is so unpredictable. I do the same thing every day and something different happens. Well, no, yesterday you actually had 154 carbs. It didn't have any fat in it. Like today there's fat in it. You're saying, I don't know what happened. Diabetes, you know what I mean? So I think it's good to just know this stuff.

[B]

It's, it's absolutely fair. And I think another piece of this meal, which it's a little bit of a lengthier intake over time than a lot of the other meals that we've actually put together, right? This is more of a sit down restaurant. This comes, then this comes, then this comes. And if you think about that appetizer, it's just like bread that comes to the table at something like an Italian restaurant, right? Comes to the table, you didn't even order it. They just plop it down. They're like, here's your loaf of bread and butter, right?

[A]

And you're like, oh, thank you.

[B]

Right. And you, thank you. And maybe, maybe it's like the meal of the day that you're like looking forward to see really lean in the other parts of, or meals of the day. And so the bread comes to the table and the chips come to the table and you're like, man, I am hungry. And down it goes. And then you were planning on this lovely steak fajita vegetable kind of meal and you had planned ahead, you counted the carbs, you knew, and then you got to the meal and you're like, I can make one fajita maybe. Yeah, because that's what happens, right? And so then you have to backtrack in your plan for what you're going to do. Because now all the nutrients that are there, those macros, they're now different.

[A]

Yeah, no, I'm, by the way, now with GLP in my life. They bring the bread out, I go, please take the bread away or I might as well just eat the bread and leave you a tip and go, because I'm not going to Be able to. I'm not going to be able to eat what I order. Hey. Just for, you know, because it was brought up and then I want to say something. Beef tacos, two hard shells, beef cheese lettuce, 28 carbs, 18 protein, 22 fat. Seem reasonable?

[B]

How many tortillas?

[A]

Two hard shelled beef cheese lettuce tacos. Yeah, that seemed light.

[B]

So the shells are usually depending package to package. Each hard shell is usually about 8 or 9 grams of carb per shell.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And depending on. It doesn't sound like there are other carbs. There's no rice in this, right?

[A]

No, not, not in the way it's set up right here.

[B]

Okay. So it might be a little heavy in carbohydrate.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

If it's 28 grams, I'd say two is more. Probably closer to maybe 18 to 20.

[A]

Okay. That's another reason I think the conversation is important, because more and more people are going to do what I just did, which is like, I don't know, I just, I, I use Gemini. I could have used CHAT GPT. Sure. It's very possible. And maybe we should do that before we go, that if we just use a different model, we might have got a different answer.

[B]

You know, we might have. And that is, I mean, it brings in. I think we talked about it and the last time we talked about food is really using AI can be a good starting place, but you have to give it as much direction as you possibly can. Or possibly. Hey, can you give me the macro breakdown and use the USDA information to source this data? Right. And give it more direction and you can give it more direction and get more specific and precise details about those macros.

[A]

Yeah, Let me do this just because it's interesting. So the first time we did the big meal, it was with Gemini. Google Gemini. And now I'm doing it with ChatGPT. And let's just see, like, what comes

[B]

up different, the difference.

[A]

Yeah. Um, so, Okay, so tortilla chips, it used the same measurements, 2 ounces, 20 chips, it got the calories the same, the protein the same. The carbs were too heavier on ChatGPT than they were on Gemini. The fat, it got the same guacamole, one carb heavier on ChatGPT than on Gemini. The fat was the same, the protein was off by one. And off's the wrong word. Like they disagree by one. Steak fajitas. We didn't talk about calories, but steak fajitas in ChatGPT says 420 calories, 45 protein 25 fat. In Gemini it says 350 calories, 40 protein, 20 fat. So it's interesting they, they disagree but it's possible that bolus wise taking five off the fat and adding it to this or the protein or. But it might kind of balance out. Yeah, yeah. To some degree. Also listening to you talk about it is where the real value is because you're like, yeah, that's about right. Also when you use that language, when I tell people how to estimate it, that's you saying you don't know how much is in that and we're not going to find out like so like about this, about the.

[B]

And especially for the fat content in a restaurant meal, that's not a chain that truly has all of the nutrition facts figured out because their recipes are standardized. Right. When you have a restaurant from mom and pop Mexican restaurant or the bistro or whatever it is, it's more homemade. Right, Right. I mean when I cook food, food and I know what I usually use, like the olive oil goes in, I'm like it could be a teaspoon today, it could be a teaspoon and a half or two tomorrow. When I like throw it, I mean I eyeball. Right. And so that eyeballing in these type of meals gives a little bit of shuffle, so to speak to the amount of especially fat.

[A]

Well, I'm comforted by this actually because Gemini total for that meal 70 fat chat GPT total 74 nice carbs. Gemini 154 chat GPT 166 protein. Gemini 67 protein chatgpt 74. I honestly don't think this would change the bolus by more than maybe like a quarter or half a unit. Maybe like it's.

[B]

So they're very similar. Yeah.

[A]

And people are going to be using this stuff more and more, you know, like to figure this stuff out anyway to kind of like dovetail back around again. Chicken enchilada, 42 grams of carbs for two rolls, sauce and cheese. Protein 26 fat, 24. And of course the margarita. So if you just did the two, two hard shell tacos, two enchiladas, the margarita, it's 94 carbs, 44 protein, 46 fat. I would bet you this is the thing I wanted to say at the end that the person who sent in this request did not get the answer back they were expecting because I think people think there's like a. I say this to Jenny, like when we're done sometimes I'm like, I wonder how much longer we can do this because all we're really telling you is count the fat, the carbs, the protein, and understand the timing of the insulin to have your settings right.

[B]

It is.

[A]

It's not lost on you and I that we are just finding different ways to explain the Pro Tip series. Right?

[B]

That's correct. And it's also. What does it boil down to? It boils down to the standard of understanding how insulin works for you. And because you usually, as I said earlier, you come into a meal like this with some historical experience of what you like, you're going to pick similar. If you don't like chicken, you're going to. And you like steak, you're going to choose steak, something. Yeah, Right. If you like a fajita, because you can pick an ad rather than the gooey insides of, you know, something that's baked or fried or whatever. Great. So you have something based on your previous preference for a similar kind of meal. You always can. You can also then gauge how much you're gonna eat.

[A]

Yeah. Now I.

[B]

Which helps.

[A]

There is. There is a part of me that realizes that 1800 episodes into the podcast, it really only needs to be about 25 episodes long. But to re. Explain it or find ways to get into different ways that people learn, or even just to say it one way where you're like, oh, that makes sense. Like, basically, this is just. Again, seriously, this is just what we talked about in the Pro Tip series from a slightly different perspective. And there'll be another series after this, but we'll shift it around again and find a different way to say it to you so that it covers as many people as possible. But in the end, it's timing and amount. That's it. It used the right amount of insulin at the right time.

[B]

I wish I had had. I mean, my first experience, little historical Jenny story. My historical pers. I guess, experience with a Mexican kind of dish eaten out was in high school.

[A]

Okay. By yourself.

[B]

So, you know. No. Oh, no. This was like a dance. Right. So a dance experience where you go out either with your date or with, like, a group of other people. Right. And it was twerp. So that. You know what twerp is? It's where the girl asks the guy to the dance.

[A]

That's never happened to me. So, no, I don't know about that, but go ahead.

[B]

Well, that's. That's. That's what this was.

[A]

I have what they call a face for podcasting. Go ahead.

[B]

Anyway, we went out and I ordered a taco salad because I thought from my perspective, at that age. Right. I was like, a salad. I know how to do a salad. And I didn't have any of these fancy tools. None of them. I took two mixed injections per day still. Right. That was what I got. And I had a blood glucose meter. And so I order it only. Do you know what a taco salad is in that kind of restaurant? So it's not a lovely salad.

[A]

There's probably a lot of sour cream and sauce and stuff. Like, it's like. It's the reason why I don't order that stuff when I get it, because it looks soupy to me.

[B]

Sorry, it wasn't soupy. But what does a taco salad usually come in?

[A]

A big tortilla shell. Right.

[B]

A gigantic. I was mortified when they brought me my plate at the table with, like, eight others of my friends, including, like, their. Right, their dates. My meal was the largest on the entire table.

[A]

And he's like, I asked this boy out, and now I'm like, give me all the food. And just. And so it comes in a bowl that's actually made out of, like, a tortilla. Right?

[B]

A torri. Yeah, exactly.

[A]

And then there's let. I mean, there's shredded lettuce, but there's sour cream. Probably beef. Right.

[B]

Like, well, I don't eat. So it was beans. I ordered a bean one.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It was probably 150 grams of carbs.

[B]

Oh, I'm sure. And I was so. Like I said, I was so mortified. And at that point, I still only had dosing based on a. A sliding scale. It was this amount of insulin based on your blood sugar and what your meal would cover. And I. I mean, my appetite was pretty well controlled, so I knew I wasn't going to eat this gigantic, like, clamshell salad. So I kind of picked at it through the meal.

[A]

Trying to be dainty with your giant, sloppy salad.

[B]

And then what follows a meal like this as a high school dance? You're. You're going to go and you're going to move your body. Yeah, Right? So, like, I had all of this. I am still alive after my taco salad.

[A]

You made it, you guys. And he's like, look, with a CGM and all these algorithms, you'll be okay.

[B]

You will be okay. That's the base of the story. Yes.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I. Listen, for me, it's always the same. Like, don't ignore the fat and protein. Don't ignore the timing. Get your settings right, you know?

[B]

Right.

[A]

And you should be okay. Well, thank you very much. I do appreciate you doing this with me.

[B]

No, it's always fun.

[A]

Thanks. A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod 5 now with my link omnipod.com juicebox you may be eligible for a free starter kit. A free Omnipod 5 starter kit at my link. Go check it out. Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox the conversation you just enjoyed was brought to you by usmed usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. Get started today and get your supplies from US Med. Okay, well, here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app. Go to YouTube and follow me. Or Instagram TikTok. Oh gosh. Here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group as well as the public Facebook page. You don't want to miss, please. Do you not know about the private group? You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 75 4,000 members. They're active, talking about diabetes, whatever you need to know. There's a conversation happening in there right now and I'm there all the time. Tag me, I'll say hi, Have a podcast, want it to sound fantastic? Wrong way recording dot com.