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Haley Maddox
All of type 1
Learn · Bolusing

Bolusing

I bolus every time I eat. If I’m going to do it that often, I should probably be good at it.

Food, insulin and exercise, and for each one, when and how much.

42 things that can move my blood sugar Adam Brown, “42 Factors That Affect Blood Glucose”, diaTribe
Coll. Haley Maddox · Oct 2026Next: Reports →
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So many things, all at once

Food, insulin and exercise, but also sleep, stress, being sick, hormones, the heat and a lot more. Adam Brown counted 42 of them, and people with diabetes talk about that list all the time. With that many things moving at once, it’s hard to tell what caused what.

That’s why it’s easiest to learn when as few things as possible are changing. You won’t eat the same measured breakfast every day for the rest of your life, but doing it for three weeks can teach you how your body responds in the morning. What you learn in those three weeks, you get to use for the rest of your life.

It can feel hard while you’re learning. It isn’t about eating the same way forever, or for every meal. It’s about giving yourself the best chances to learn.

Want the whole story? Adam Brown’s book, Bright Spots & Landmines, free from diaTribe.

For bolusing, three matter most

You want to be able to eat anything you want. A little planning makes it easier.

1 · Food

Counting carbs

Carbs turn into sugar in the blood. Before I eat, I count the carbs and match my mealtime insulin to them with my insulin-to-carb ratio, plus a correction if I’m running high. My ratio and correction factor come from my care team.

You don’t need to know the carbs in everything, just the foods you actually want to eat. And be real with yourself. How many M&Ms are really in a serving? Use a scale, and count the nuts. The goal is to be as accurate as you can, so you know, consistently, how many carbs you’re eating.

Eating out? Ask for a nutrition menu! Not every place has one, but it never hurts to ask. If your local spot doesn’t, find a similar meal that does have the numbers, and use it to guesstimate.

What to watch out for on labels

The ones that surprised me with a fast rise

Sugar isn’t the only thing to look for. Starches and syrups made from corn, rice and potatoes turn into sugar fast, and they show up in foods that don’t taste sweet at all.

  • On the ingredientsCorn starch, modified food starch, potato and tapioca starchThickeners. They’re in gravies, soups, sauces and takeout, and they turn into sugar quickly.
  • On the ingredientsMaltodextrinMade from corn, rice or potato starch. It can raise blood sugar faster than table sugar, and it hides in “low sugar” snacks, protein powders and sweetener packets.
  • On the ingredientsDextrose, corn syrup, rice syrupAll fast sugars, even when the front of the box doesn’t say “sugar”.
  • On the front“Sugar free” and “no sugar added”Not the same as carb free. Some sugar alcohols, like maltitol, still raise my blood sugar, and fruit juice concentrate is still sugar.
  • On the ingredientsWheat vs. whole wheatThis one really got me. “Wheat” or “wheat flour” is usually refined white flour. Only “whole wheat” means the whole grain, with more fiber, which can slow the rise.
  • On the panelServing size vs. the whole bagThe numbers are per serving. Check how many servings are in what you’re actually eating.

My reviewApp · iPhone · Dexcom partner

SNAQ, for checking my carb counts

SNAQ estimates the carbs, protein and fat in a meal from a photo, then shows how that meal moved my glucose afterward. It’s a Dexcom partner app, so it reads my Dexcom data directly.

Setting it up
Install SNAQ – Diabetes Food Tracker from the App Store. In its settings, connect your Dexcom account. Then snap a photo of each meal and SNAQ lines it up with your glucose curve.
Good to know
SNAQ sits outside my Nightscout setup. It doesn’t send anything to Nightscout or Zukka, and my followers won’t see it.
What it costs
SNAQ Premium: $60 a year, or $27 every 3 months, or $96 for 3 years on SNAQ’s website. App Store prices vary by plan. I pay for it. Checked October 2026.
My verdict
Seeing the data is so valuable. When I want to look at my carbs, then reflect on exercise and my blood sugar, this is the best view, because it’s built off my meals.

Sources: Dexcom: SNAQ connected app · SNAQ on the App Store · SNAQ Premium pricing

SNAQ's count for a Chick-fil-A grilled filet with bacon and cheese, waffle fries and honey roasted BBQ sauce: 36 g carbs, 33 g protein, 34 g fat, 580 calories. SNAQ's glucose view for that meal: 100% in range, from 112 before the meal to a peak of 134, a 22 mg/dL rise, 2 h 9 min to peak.
One meal in SNAQ: 36 g of carbs, and my glucose stayed in range the whole time.
2 · Insulin

Timing the bolus

I take 10 to 25 units of mealtime insulin a day in total, through whichever device I’m using. My Omnipod 5 runs in manual mode, so every bolus is one I chose. Lantus covers my basal.

Different devices give insulin in different steps, and the finer ones make for more flexible bolusing. While I was learning, it helped to stay consistent: set amounts like 2 or 4 units, with meals I eat often, so I could get to know how I respond.

Which insulin I take changes the timing too. Afrezza, the one I inhale, starts in about 12 minutes and is done in 1.5 to 3 hours. Humalog starts in 15 to 30 minutes and lasts 4 to 6 hours. So how far ahead I bolus, and how long I watch for it still working, depends on which one I’m using. How each one works → Insulin delivery

3 · Exercise

When I’m moving

Exercise changes my insulin in two ways. Anything I’ve done over the past two days makes me more sensitive, so each unit works faster and does more. And moving while I still have insulin on board makes it act faster, because exercise moves it through my bloodstream more quickly. A walk after dinner or a day in the garden changes the math.

So if I’ve exercised a lot, I don’t pre-bolus on my usual schedule. I watch how fast my glucose is changing and respond to that instead.