Hi. I share your frustration also. There's a good book that might help. It's called: American Diabetes Association Guide to Healthy Restaurant Eating. Thought you might want for future reference. Good luck!

BBQ sauce got me too - prepared chicken chili at one place was 150 g of carbs (!) while another place had turkey chili, same serving size, for 38 grams. The chicken chili had bbq sauce, the turkey chili didn't. If the restaurant or store has a website, check out the nutrition info. Here's another site that's useful for nutrition info

http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/

Ray there is NO set rule as to what you can and can't have.
What I can eat and not go up will often be different to what you can.

I eat bread (1-2 slices of multigrain or wholemeal and grain) and some low GI potatoes as well as rice NOT all on the same day BTW. And while I find watching carbs is necessary I do not get hung up on them and here they stress the GI value more than the carbs.

When I went to the education lectures we were told that it was a matter of trial and error as to what you can eat and what you can't.

I have friends who can't eat any potato without spiking - I can eat it and I don't spike. Eat and test, eat and test. At least a couple of times as there might be other factors involved if you only do it once.

Good luck as the process can be very frustrating but well worth it in the end as you know what you can eat and life becomes a lot less stressful.

Ray there is NO set rule as to what you can and can't have.
What I can eat and not go up will often be different to what you can.

I eat bread (1-2 slices of multigrain or wholemeal and grain) and some low GI potatoes as well as rice NOT all on the same day BTW. And while I find watching carbs is necessary I do not get hung up on them and here they stress the GI value more than the carbs.

When I went to the education lectures we were told that it was a matter of trial and error as to what you can eat and what you can't.

I have friends who can't eat any potato without spiking - I can eat it and I don't spike. Eat and test, eat and test. At least a couple of times as there might be other factors involved if you only do it once.

Good luck as the process can be very frustrating but well worth it in the end as you know what you can eat and life becomes a lot less stressful.

Ray there is NO set rule as to what you can and can't have.
What I can eat and not go up will often be different to what you can.

I eat bread (1-2 slices of multigrain or wholemeal and grain) and some low GI potatoes as well as rice NOT all on the same day BTW. And while I find watching carbs is necessary I do not get hung up on them and here they stress the GI value more than the carbs.

When I went to the education lectures we were told that it was a matter of trial and error as to what you can eat and what you can't.

I have friends who can't eat any potato without spiking - I can eat it and I don't spike. Eat and test, eat and test. At least a couple of times as there might be other factors involved if you only do it once.

Good luck as the process can be very frustrating but well worth it in the end as you know what you can eat and life becomes a lot less stressful.

Ray there is NO set rule as to what you can and can't have.
What I can eat and not go up will often be different to what you can.

I eat bread (1-2 slices of multigrain or wholemeal and grain) and some low GI potatoes as well as rice NOT all on the same day BTW. And while I find watching carbs is necessary I do not get hung up on them and here they stress the GI value more than the carbs.

When I went to the education lectures we were told that it was a matter of trial and error as to what you can eat and what you can't.

I have friends who can't eat any potato without spiking - I can eat it and I don't spike. Eat and test, eat and test. At least a couple of times as there might be other factors involved if you only do it once.

Good luck as the process can be very frustrating but well worth it in the end as you know what you can eat and life becomes a lot less stressful.

Ray there is NO set rule as to what you can and can't have.
What I can eat and not go up will often be different to what you can.

I eat bread (1-2 slices of multigrain or wholemeal and grain) and some low GI potatoes as well as rice NOT all on the same day BTW. And while I find watching carbs is necessary I do not get hung up on them and here they stress the GI value more than the carbs.

When I went to the education lectures we were told that it was a matter of trial and error as to what you can eat and what you can't.

I have friends who can't eat any potato without spiking - I can eat it and I don't spike. Eat and test, eat and test. At least a couple of times as there might be other factors involved if you only do it once.

Good luck as the process can be very frustrating but well worth it in the end as you know what you can eat and life becomes a lot less stressful.

Some of the chains---if you are forced to eat out--do have nutritional values online for their dishes.

Do you work with a range of carbs you can eat for a meal? Mine is 35-45 carbs per meal. Then put your carbs in that range, weather it be sugar, rice, pasta, bread. Then decide where to obtain those carbs. As a general rule, limit quantities of potato, rice and pasta to 1/4 cup, a 2 oz slice of bread. These seem to be a reason for spikes in bg. Then add protein, fats. Salads are good but watch for certain items, dried fruit, grapes, which are high in sugar. Try to limit dressings to 2 tbls. And like you say, BBQ sauce, hidden carbs. There are two kinds, tomato based which usually has high sugar or the clear vinegar based with less sugar (North Carolina style).

It takes experimenting. I know of places that do not offer reasonably low carb dishes so I don't go there, too much temptation. You can go on line to view most nutrional values of dishes. Ask to see a menu first before being seated, especially at an unfamiliar place. Make notes if you need to but you will get there, it takes time, patience, and practice.

Good suggestions here! Also, when you go out, ask questions of your server about ingredients. If you're not satisfied with their answer, ask to speak to the chef or manager. I've become a nudge about those things. Because I'm working for tight control, I ask about anything that makes me suspicious. Also, looking up the menus beforehand, even if there's no nutrition info, can give you an idea as to what might be a better thing to order at a given restaurant. For example - I was on a business trip and knew I was ending up at Olive Garden - NOT a diabetic friendly restaurant overall. But, they have a gluten-free menu and I was able to get a herb encrusted salmon with veggies and a salad (no pasta) that I'm feeling was well within my limits. I put the dressing on the side and used it sparingly.

There are ways around these things but as folks have said, it is all a matter of experimentation and research.

Also, Hathani - what are low GI potatoes??? I'd love to find out about those!

it takes time and yes you can eat out, just learn to make substitutions and learn about foods, such as of course BBQ sauce having sugars. In time it will become natural to you.

you can have brown rice and wheat bread since they tend not to spike as their counterparts the white rice and breads. but do check since some people cannot handle even the brown rice, etc.