It is of course something to be taken seriously but do not worry about it. They do say you can reverse it in the early days by going on a
very low calorie diet. If you do not fancy that, then change to a low carb higher fat diet. This means natural fats not manufactured ones. For example you can eat the skin on a chicken, crackling from pork, streaky bacon if you prefer, and scrambled eggs with some butter in. I love asparagus (in season now) with some butter. Not only should you keep away from pies, cakes, biscuits etc. but starchy vegetables also. Lentils and beans are fine, but still don't go over the top with them. You are likely to be eating more eggs (no constriction). Cheese is also good. Full fat natural Greek Yoghurt (I add a little powdered sweetener to mine) rather than those low fat ones which are higher in carbohydrates.
Be careful with fruit and never have pure fruit juice as it is so high in sugar. The lowest carb fruits are berries. Berries and cream make a lovely pudding. I make a pudding by stewing down two or three stalks rhubarb with very little water, then adding a no sugar raspberry jelly. The jelly is usually sweet enough without adding sweetener. Setting it in a small pie dish. It sets quite hard so can be cut into a triangle like a pie. Served topped with whipped cream with perhaps a few raspberries on top and a sprig of mint and I defy anyone to realise it is a diet pud. I have even made a Christmas pudding from sugar free blackcurrant jelly. I added Christmas spices to it, and a small handful of dried mixed fruit including peel. Let it set in a pudding basin. Put some whipped cream on the top with it slightly drippng down the sides (like snow) and topped with a twig of holly. A pound cake made with ground almonds, although not low calorie, is low carb so you don't have to be without a piece of cake.
It might be worth while getting a meter to test. Although they usually only prescribe it for Type 2's on insulin you could buy one yourself. It is the test strips that are more expensive but once you have seen how your body works you might not need to buy them again, or only from time to time. If you have a smart phone the app called carbs & cals I find very useful. You can buy the book if you do not have a phone, but of course the book doesn't get updated and a lot more difficult to carry around with you.
After a time you will start to get used to what foods you can eat and what foods it is better to avoid. But remember if you do want a pudding of some kind, as long as it is very occasionally, count the total carbs of the meal and you might find you can fit in a small portion of a lower carb pud.
A low carb diet is not like a low calorie one. Low calories you have X amount of calories in the day. Low carb is no more than X carbs per meal. Even if that one meal only has no more carbs than a day's allowance (although there should not be a day's allowance only a meal one), it will cause a higher spike in blood glucose.
The HbA1c has a good purpose, but it does not show how it is made up. It is better to be made from a small wavy line of ups and down rather than a big up and a big low. Same percent but not so good for the body.
Here is an ebook, which might be of assistance to you if you are a beginner to low carbing
http://www.lowcarbinthe.uk/wordpress/unlockmp
Anyway welcome. You will find there are so many helpful people here who are only too willing to share their expert knowledge.
