Newbie here!

[GVW]

Hi all. Recently I had a blood test which showed my Hba1c diabetes screening came back as raised. I have been referred for pre diabetes. I'm hoping to lose weight. Any tips on how to get started. I'm a little overwhelmed by all of the information available. Thank you

 

[Vonny]

Hi @GVW and welcome to the forum. The good news is that if you are diagnosed as pre-diabetic you should be able to get down to "healthy" levels with a bit of tweakery to your diet. Besides the obvious culprits of sugar, cake and biscuits, all carbs should be reduced as these turn to glucose straight away. I thought I could never get diabetes as I don't have a sweet tooth, just didn't realise that all the bread, rice, potatoes and pasta I was scoffing was just as bad!

You don't need to cut them all out, just reduce them gradually and you will probably find you don't miss them nearly as much as you thought you would.

Fire away with any questions. We're a friendly bunch and have all been overwhelmed by our diagnoses before we came to terms with it.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @GVW 🙂

 

[admc26]

Welcome to the forum @GVW! @Vonny has hit the nail on the head with the tips to get started! Please feel free to ask any other questions on here as someone will always reply or provide a listening ear!

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi GVW, welcome to the forum.

Glad to have you here at an early stage as there's every chance you can nip things in the bud with some consistent improvements.

There is a lot of info but as kindly shared above, reducing carbs and sugars can go a long way and are often the most straight forward way of keeping your numbers in check. The challenge often is changing habits or food types that you're accustom to but many have found suitable replacements so do have a look around the forum for ideas.

We've also got some interesting info on our main site, such as the link below, that may be helpful but do let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Type 2 diabetes remission

Type 2 diabetes remission is when your blood sugar levels return to a safe, non-diabetes level long-term, without the need for glucose-lowering medication. It stops diabetes in its tracks and boosts your chances of a healthy future. When you are in remission, you reduce the risk of diabetes...

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[GVW]

Thanks everyone. I definitely have a sweet tooth. I mainly eat a vegetarian diet - lots of pasta and bread. All things that aren’t good. There’s a lot of good info available on here. So I’m digesting it all - looking at small changes I can make. Thank you

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks everyone. I definitely have a sweet tooth. I mainly eat a vegetarian diet - lots of pasta and bread. All things that aren’t good. There’s a lot of good info available on here. So I’m digesting it all - looking at small changes I can make. Thank you

Some people make low carb cakes and biscuits from recipes on sugarfreelondoner website and they look very good and might satisfy the 'sweet tooth'. But you may find that as you reduce the sweet stuff and carbs that things will taste too sweet.
Some of the nut based protein bars like Nature Valley, KIND or shop own are low carb less than 10g per bar but still sweet enough to give a sweet hit every so often.
Edamame bean or black bean pasta is low carb so would be a good option if you still want pasta.

 

[nonethewiser]

Hi all. Recently I had a blood test which showed my Hba1c diabetes screening came back as raised. I have been referred for pre diabetes. I'm hoping to lose weight. Any tips on how to get started. I'm a little overwhelmed by all of the information available. Thank you

For encouragement & support join local slimming group, wife did that few years ago after being told she was prediabetic, went on to lose 5 stone & all bloods have been normal since, so prediabetes can be reversed with weight loss.