Sunday, January 3, 2010

Treating Lows: Being Prepared

I am finding that most of the difficulty in having lows is in being properly prepared to treat them.

I always carry Smarties with me for such situations.

I like Smarties because:

1)  They keep almost indefinitely
2)  They're almost pure sucrose
3)  They have well defined carb values (6g/roll)
4)  They're easy to unwrap and eat, if a little noisy
5)  They're relatively small and discreet

I started with Lifesavers, which I still like.  I don't carry them for lows anymore, though for these reasons:  Lifesavers rolls are hard for me to open, especially when I'm to the point where I really need to.  Also, getting them in bulk can be tricky.  (Our local Sam's club sells a box of 20 rolls for about $10.)

On the other hand, Smarties always come in larger bags, either for $1 or the big party bag for about $5.50.  The big bag is a couple pounds worth - I've barely made a dent in the one I got almost two months ago.

Having 4-5 rolls seems to be more than enough for most purposes.  I keep stashes at home and at work; I keep 4-5 on me in case I go low when I'm away from my supplies.  I try to take a roll when I'm in the low 80's, which is when I normally feel impaired.  The most I've ever taken at once was 3 rolls, when I hit 48 in the middle of a training class.

2 comments:

  1. hen Elise gets a bit bigger, I've thought about using Pez candy. I think there are 9g per pack. My husband collects Pez (but doesn't eat the candy), so we have a huge stockpile of the stuff!

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