Don't bring your lunch tomorrow, was the message from a co-worker last night. I knew that meant going out to lunch, which we often do to de-stress, to celebrate a birthday, to rejoice in another magazine issue out the door. This would be my first work outing since I started pumping.

As we walked (yes, in the 20-degree Missouri weather!) up to a local bar, the sign outside tempted me with a strip steak on Texas toast and golden brown fries. That was going to be just right, I thought, as the only other bar food this place typically has is burgers and breaded tenderloin sandwiches.

Since Nick's is more of a bar and less of a restaurant, it took quite a while for food for six to come. I began thinking about how many carbs I should estimate for my lunch. With no packaging with nutritional information, and no set amount of food, this really was a guessing game. It had been so long since we had been to Nick's that I couldn't really remember what the portions looked like.

I had tested my blood sugar prior to leaving the office, so I knew I could use my bolus wizard. I thought: a handful of fries is probably 15 carbs, no 30; a piece of Texas toast is maybe 15 carbs, definitely not 30. So I was looking at 45 to 60 grams of carbs depending on the portion size of the fries and how many pieces of toast I got. In insulin pen-language, that's about four clicks (insulin to carb ratio is 1:15). That just didn't sit well with me. Something was off.

I really wanted to be able to guess all of this around 20 grams per portion. And then I realized I could. A bolus for 45 grams of carbs seemed too little and 60 seemed too much. With my pump, I was able to bolus for 50 grams.

I felt so empowered.