🍽️ Warsaw Method Calculator
Convert the fat and protein in a meal into fat-protein units (FPU) using the Warsaw method, a reference technique some people with type 1 diabetes use alongside carb counting for high-fat or high-protein meals.
What the Warsaw method is
The Warsaw method is a reference technique, originating from diabetes research in Warsaw, Poland, for accounting for the fat and protein in a meal when dosing insulin — not just the carbohydrates. Fat and protein are digested more slowly than carbohydrate and can raise blood glucose for several hours after a meal, which plain carb counting does not capture.
How the calculation works
The method converts fat and protein calories into “fat-protein units” (FPU), where 1 FPU represents 100 kcal from fat and protein combined (fat contributes about 9 kcal per gram, protein about 4 kcal per gram). Those same calories are then expressed as a “carbohydrate equivalent” (10 kcal treated like 1 gram of carbohydrate), which can be run through a person’s usual insulin-to-carb ratio to estimate additional insulin for the fat/protein portion of the meal. A larger FPU total is commonly paired with a longer extended (“dual-wave” or “square-wave”) bolus, spreading the extra insulin over more hours to match the slower rise in blood glucose.
- Fat and Protein (g): the amount of each in the meal, from a nutrition label or food-tracking app.
- Insulin-to-Carb Ratio: your personal ratio (grams of carbohydrate covered by one unit of insulin).
This calculator is provided for general educational and meal-planning purposes only. It is not medical advice and must not be used to make real insulin dosing decisions. Any changes to insulin dosing, timing, or bolus strategy should only be made together with your doctor or diabetes care team, based on your prescribed regimen and personal glucose response.