New here and v sad in a way

[New1]

I’ve been told based in my last blood test that I am at high risk of developing diabetes. This time last year I was pre-diabetic. My cholesterol is v high, 7.9, highest it is ever been.

Not making any excuses as I visited this on myself and now going hell for leather to reverse this through health changes.

I am advised to walk 45 mins a day…how I’m going to do that I don’t know as I have arthritis in one knee.

I’m sad because before the pandemic I was at my best health, walking and hiking regularly. Now, I can barely walk when I get out of bed!

I’ve now stopped taking sugar in my tea and coffee and eased of carbs and stopped all fried foods. I k is it will take much more than this though.

Oh well that’s me! I’ll be around these parts to learn lots more.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Vonny]

Hi @New1 and welcome to the forum. The good news is that if you're at risk (albeit high) of being diabetic, a few tweaks to your lifestyle should bring you back into the healthy range without the need for medication.
Cutting out sugars....good!
Cutting down carbs...also good!
Cutting out fried foods not necessarily required. The fewer carbs we eat means we need to stock up on other food groups, fats being one of them. However, if you're trying to lose weight and/or lower your cholesterol I can understand your concern at eating fried food.
I tend to eat a v low carb, fairly high fat diet, like many T2s on the forum. Luckily I am happy to eat lots of leafy greens as well as protein and fats, so my diet is pretty good.
Re exercise, are you able to cycle? My partner, whilst waiting for a knee replacement, bought a little exercise bike which fitted under his desk so he could exercise while working. Much easier on the knee than walking.
Best of luck and hope you find the forum useful. It's a friendly place, there is no such thing as a stupid question, and best of all, no one will judge you 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

I’ve been told based in my last blood test that I am at high risk of developing diabetes. This time last year I was pre-diabetic. My cholesterol is v high, 7.9, highest it is ever been.

Not making any excuses as I visited this on myself and now going hell for leather to reverse this through health changes.

I am advised to walk 45 mins a day…how I’m going to do that I don’t know as I have arthritis in one knee.

I’m sad because before the pandemic I was at my best health, walking and hiking regularly. Now, I can barely walk when I get out of bed!

I’ve now stopped taking sugar in my tea and coffee and eased of carbs and stopped all fried foods. I k is it will take much more than this though.

Oh well that’s me! I’ll be around these parts to learn lots more.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will find lots to help you get to grips with this. Are you saying you are now diagnosed as diabetic or still at the prediabetic stage but in any event there is plenty you can do, exercise helps but you can only do what you can do and the NHS has some exercises which can be done sitting so they may suit you but walking as much as you can will also help. You may find knee supports help with walking or walking poles.
Otherwise looking at your diet will be important. You may only need some modest changes in the amount of carbohydrates you have, you have mentioned sugar but it is all carbs so there are others which you could reduce portions of.
Have a look at this link as it may help you see where you can modify your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
You mention high cholesterol but some people find reducing carbs helps with their cholesterol even though they increase healthy fats.

 

[New1]

Hi @New1 and welcome to the forum. The good news is that if you're at risk (albeit high) of being diabetic, a few tweaks to your lifestyle should bring you back into the healthy range without the need for medication.
Cutting out sugars....good!
Cutting down carbs...also good!
Cutting out fried foods not necessarily required. The fewer carbs we eat means we need to stock up on other food groups, fats being one of them. However, if you're trying to lose weight and/or lower your cholesterol I can understand your concern at eating fried food.
I tend to eat a v low carb, fairly high fat diet, like many T2s on the forum. Luckily I am happy to eat lots of leafy greens as well as protein and fats, so my diet is pretty good.
Re exercise, are you able to cycle? My partner, whilst waiting for a knee replacement, bought a little exercise bike which fitted under his desk so he could exercise while working. Much easier on the knee than walking.
Best of luck and hope you find the forum useful. It's a friendly place, there is no such thing as a stupid question, and best of all, no one will judge you 🙂

Thanks v much Vonny. Very informative. I don’t think I can cycle, if I did my knee will become swollen and painful especially the next day.
I’ve spent hours this weekend gardening so hopefully that’s burnt a few calories! Other than that I do stretching exercises like Pilates?
Definitely going to stick around these parts☺️

 

[New1]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will find lots to help you get to grips with this. Are you saying you are now diagnosed as diabetic or still at the prediabetic stage but in any event there is plenty you can do, exercise helps but you can only do what you can do and the NHS has some exercises which can be done sitting so they may suit you but walking as much as you can will also help. You may find knee supports help with walking or walking poles.
Otherwise looking at your diet will be important. You may only need some modest changes in the amount of carbohydrates you have, you have mentioned sugar but it is all carbs so there are others which you could reduce portions of.
Have a look at this link as it may help you see where you can modify your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
You mention high cholesterol but some people find reducing carbs helps with their cholesterol even though they increase healthy fats.

Hi Leadinglights, it says I am ‘at high risk of developing diabetes’. This time last year I was ‘pre-diabetic’, so seem to be going downhill
Checking out the link, super useful, thanks!

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Leadinglights, it says I am ‘at high risk of developing diabetes’. This time last year I was ‘pre-diabetic’, so seem to be going downhill
Checking out the link, super useful, thanks!

Prediabetic is generally the diagnosis if your HbA1C is between 42mmol/mol and 47mmol/mol and anything over that gives you a diabetic diagnosis so I'm not really sure of the distinction between prediabetic and high risk unless it just means to are at the top end of the prediabetes range.
In any event it has given you a wake up call and you can do something to bring your level down to normal below that 42mmol/mol which is very possible with some dietary changes.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Hi Leadinglights, it says I am ‘at high risk of developing diabetes’. This time last year I was ‘pre-diabetic’, so seem to be going downhill
Checking out the link, super useful, thanks!

I think it's just that "at high risk of developing diabetes" has recently come to be seen as a better term than "pre-diabetic".

- "Pre-diabetic" can be seen as implying that you have some kind of clinical condition, but there are sod all risks associated with BG at "pre-diabetic" levels.
- It can also be seen as implying some kind of semi-inevitable progression to actual diabetes, but the actual progression is low, something like 1% per annum IIRC.

 

[New1]

Prediabetic is generally the diagnosis if your HbA1C is between 42mmol/mol and 47mmol/mol and anything over that gives you a diabetic diagnosis so I'm not really sure of the distinction between prediabetic and high risk unless it just means to are at the top end of the prediabetes range.
In any event it has given you a wake up call and you can do something to bring your level down to normal below that 42mmol/mol which is very possible with some dietary changes.

That makes sense. Im at 43; was 42 in April and in 2017 I was 36! So a gradual deterioration but im working on bringing it into the normal range.

 

[New1]

I think it's just that "at high risk of developing diabetes" has recently come to be seen as a better term than "pre-diabetic".

- "Pre-diabetic" can be seen as implying that you have some kind of clinical condition, but there are sod all risks associated with BG at "pre-diabetic" levels.
- It can also be seen as implying some kind of semi-inevitable progression to actual diabetes, but the actual progression is low, something like 1% per annum IIRC.

Yes it’s an interesting play on words but I look at it as: ‘you will develop diabetes unless you reduce your sugar intake, eat less carbs and more green veg and take more exercise’. Eek!

 

[Leadinglights]

That makes sense. Im at 43; was 42 in April and in 2017 I was 36! So a gradual deterioration but im working on bringing it into the normal range.

You are in a really good position to pull it back, some modest dietary changes and a bit more exercise if you can should help.

 

[ianf0ster]

Yes it’s an interesting play on words but I look at it as: ‘you will develop diabetes unless you reduce your sugar intake, eat less carbs and more green veg and take more exercise’. Eek!

That isn't quite true:
1. What you eat matters more than how much exercise you take. exercise does have benefits, but it isn't a prerequisite to lose weight or avoid diabetes.
2. You don't have to eat green veg if you hate it! You can get almost all the nutrients you need from meat and eggs (if you like fruit, eat berries rather than apples, grapes or tropical fruit).

Just eat less carbohydrates!

 

[KCA]

I’ve been told based in my last blood test that I am at high risk of developing diabetes. This time last year I was pre-diabetic. My cholesterol is v high, 7.9, highest it is ever been.

Not making any excuses as I visited this on myself and now going hell for leather to reverse this through health changes.

I am advised to walk 45 mins a day…how I’m going to do that I don’t know as I have arthritis in one knee.

I’m sad because before the pandemic I was at my best health, walking and hiking regularly. Now, I can barely walk when I get out of bed!

I’ve now stopped taking sugar in my tea and coffee and eased of carbs and stopped all fried foods. I k is it will take much more than this though.

Oh well that’s me! I’ll be around these parts to learn lots more.

Thanks for reading!

Just a thought look into chair based exercises that you may be able to do that will help