How to Track Carbs Without Overthinking It
Think you know how many carbs are in your meals? Surprise, most of us overestimate or underestimate all the time. Let’s fix that. Today, We’re Covering: The biggest mistakes we make when carb counting How to improve accuracy (without...
The episode, word for word
Hey, welcome back to Our Best T1D Year! I'm Neil Greathouse, and if you've got 5 minutes, you've got time for this podcast, whether you're making breakfast, ignoring work emails, or realizing you've been estimating carbs your entire life.
Because let's be real, most of us aren't actually counting carbs, we're guessing.
Today, we're talking about how to track carbs without losing our minds, and how to make it so simple that we actually do it.
Most of us don't actually count carbs, we guesstimate them like: "That looks like about 30 grams?" "This meal seems kinda high-carb?" "That cookie is probably, like... I don't know, 20?"
And sometimes we're right... but a lot of times, we're not.
The problem? Even small mistakes add up. The solution? Making carb tracking easier, not harder.
Option 1: The "Good Enough" Method Instead of stressing over exact numbers, get close. Example: If a meal is around 40g of carbs, round to 40. The goal isn't perfection, it's consistency.
Option 2: Use Quick References Memorize a few common carb counts:
One slice of bread = ~15g
One cup of rice = ~45g
One medium apple = ~25g The more we remember, the less we have to look up.
Option 3: Let Apps Do the Work MyFitnessPal, CalorieKing, and Carb Manager make tracking automatic. Or, just take a picture of your meal and look it up later.
Carb counting doesn't have to be perfect to be helpful.
If we log anything at all, we're already ahead of where we were last week.
And remember, we're not doing a bad job, we're doing a difficult job.
The more we track, the easier it gets. And the more clues we uncover, the better our blood sugars will be.
I've partnered with Risely Health to give away a free One Sheet Journal, because I know how powerful tracking can be, and this tool makes it simple.
Go to yourbestt1dyear.com or hit the link in my bio on Instagram or TikTok to get yours.
New episodes drop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so if you haven't yet, hit subscribe so you don't miss what's next.
Alright, see you in the next episode. Remember, we got this! Nobody remembers easy, what we're doing is pretty much incredible. I'm excited to hear about Our Best T1D Year Ever.
Week 5
11 - March 10
This is the script as read on the mic, lightly tidied for reading. Education, not medical advice. Talk to your care team before you change anything about your insulin.