3 Moves That Make Pre-Bolusing Safe | Avoid Going Low | Type 1 Diabetes
Consider this your permission slip, signed by 34 years of mistakes. If you pre-bolus and the food shows up late and you start to drop, you are allowed to eat a few fast carbs to hold steady and cover them later. That's not failing. That's...
The episode, word for word
I'm about to hand you a permission slip. The kind you used to forge in middle school in a shaky cursive that fooled absolutely no one. Except this one's real, and it's signed, in pen, by 34 years of my own mistakes.
Here it is. If you pre-bolus and the food shows up late and you start to drop, you are allowed to eat a few fast carbs to hold yourself steady and cover them later. That is not failing. That is not cheating. That is the move. Let me give you all three, because together they turn this from a leap of faith into a thing you just do.
I'm Neil Greathouse, this is Your Best T1D Year. All challenge long we've respected the fear. Today we out-prepare it.
Move one, the big one. You dosed early, the food's running late, the arrow turns south. You eat a few fast carbs. Juice, a couple tabs, a few crackers. You hold your number, and you cover those carbs with the meal when it lands. I'm saying it twice because it's the whole ballgame. Eating to catch an early drop is not a failure. It's you and your CGM running a little two-man con on your blood sugar. This is the entire reason we put the fast carbs on the table last week. The net's already there. You just reach down and grab it. There's a whole TikTok trend right now called Food Jutsu, people doing little ninja hand signs and food magically appears. Your juice box on the table is basically that, except the only magic is you, ten seconds ago, being prepared.
Move two. Know when to NOT pre-bolus at all. Pre-bolusing is a tool, not a religion. You don't owe it your loyalty. Skip it, or shorten it way down, when you're already low or trending down. Obviously. Eat first, dose when you're climbing. Skip it before anything cardio, because exercise yanks your sugar down on its own, and stacking a pre-bolus on top of a workout is just mailing the universe an engraved invitation to humble you. Skip it when you have no idea when the food's coming, a packed restaurant on a Friday, a delivery driver whose little dot is currently visiting three houses that are not yours. And skip it if you're queasy or you're not sure you'll finish the plate. Don't commit insulin to a meal that might get canceled.
Move three, the pro move, and it's almost too simple. Let your starting number set your timing. Running high before dinner? You can wait a little longer after you dose, give the insulin a longer head start. Sitting low? Flip the whole thing, eat first, dose later. Your CGM and that little trend arrow are your co-pilot. High and steady, lean into the head start. Low or dropping, pump the brakes. The arrow is basically whispering the answer to you. Listen to the arrow.
That's it. Three moves. The seatbelt, the airbag, and the backup camera. Put all three in, and pre-bolusing stops being a trust fall off a ladder and becomes a thing you do on a Tuesday without your heart rate changing. Carefully. With a juice box in arm's reach.
Your challenge, keep the carbs on the table at dinner, and this week, get one rep in. If your number's on the lower side before dinner, eat a couple bites first, then dose. Just practice "eat a little, then insulin," and notice that the sky stays exactly where it is.
If these moves are starting to click, come get the rest with us. yourbestt1dyear.com, sign up for the newsletter, free tools and resources included. About 1,500 people are in this challenge together, all over the world.
Nobody remembers easy. You're going to remember the first time you pulled this off and your line just laid down flat and stayed there. That one's a keeper.
I'm Neil. Friday, why you're more ready for this than you think. See you then.
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.