Recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic

[Exflex]

With a Hb1Ac of 44, which I’m taking it as a wake up call. My diet has been lax in the past 12 months, too much bread, tinned tomato soup, supermarket ready meals, pizzas etc.
I’m here to learn and hopefully reverse the condition. At the moment I’m reading Dr Cavan’s book ‘How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes’ which led me here.

 

[PerSpinasAdAstra]

Welcome! 🙂

Pizzas are the worst. I always knew pizza was bad for me in some vague way, but it was only after diagnosis and beginning a campaign to lose weight with a close eye on carbs and calories that I appreciated just how bad for me it was. If only it were less delicious 😉

If you are in a position to lose some weight then I would recommend focussing on that. Imagine that you have full-blown diabetes, have been prescribed medication, and you're trying to achieve remission and get off the pills. All the remission information on the website and on the forum may be applicable to you as regards weight loss, diet and exercise, just without quite the same level of urgency. If your prediabetes is caused by fat in and around your liver and pancreas as it might well be, and if you are in a position to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off, then you might be in a position to achieve 'remission' of your prediabetes.

Very best of luck

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome also
Have a look at this link as it may set you on the right track for making some changes to your diet. Although aimed at folk who are diagnosed it still applies to those who are pre diabetic to stop then getting over that threshold. It need to bea new way of eating not A DIET

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com

 

[Exflex]

Welcome! 🙂

Pizzas are the worst. I always knew pizza was bad for me in some vague way, but it was only after diagnosis and beginning a campaign to lose weight with a close eye on carbs and calories that I appreciated just how bad for me it was. If only it were less delicious 😉

If you are in a position to lose some weight then I would recommend focussing on that. Imagine that you have full-blown diabetes, have been prescribed medication, and you're trying to achieve remission and get off the pills. All the remission information on the website and on the forum may be applicable to you as regards weight loss, diet and exercise, just without quite the same level of urgency. If your prediabetes is caused by fat in and around your liver and pancreas as it might well be, and if you are in a position to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off, then you might be in a position to achieve 'remission' of your prediabetes.

Very best of luck

Thank you very much for the welcome and words of encouragement. I’ve already started cutting carbs but feel a bit empty after eating and wonder whether that’s normal and if I can adjust my new low carb way of eating. (I see a reply already about diet so eager to read and learn.)
I only learnt recently that insulin resistance is caused due to fat in and around the liver and pancreas - sounds really awful, quite revolting in fact, so supermarket junk foods such as the really nice Madras curry and Pizzas I once enjoyed are now history.

 

[Exflex]

Welcome also
Have a look at this link as it may set you on the right track for making some changes to your diet. Although aimed at folk who are diagnosed it still applies to those who are pre diabetic to stop then getting over that threshold. It need to bea new way of eating not A DIET

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com

Thank you for welcoming, and the link provided. I can see this is going to be really helpful to me. Thanks again.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you very much for the welcome and words of encouragement. I’ve already started cutting carbs but feel a bit empty after eating and wonder whether that’s normal and if I can adjust my new low carb way of eating. (I see a reply already about diet so eager to read and learn.)
I only learnt recently that insulin resistance is caused due to fat in and around the liver and pancreas - sounds really awful, quite revolting in fact, so supermarket junk foods such as the really nice Madras curry and Pizzas I once enjoyed are now history.

It is easy to make your own curries as many of the curry pastes rather than jars of pre-prepared sauces are pretty low carb, it is the accompanying rice that is high carb.
Just check the carbs on the curries you like and it may not be too bad. Avoid the ones with potato in.
No need to feel hungry by having meals with plenty of protein and healthy fats and fill up on veg.

 

[PerSpinasAdAstra]

I only learnt recently that insulin resistance is caused due to fat in and around the liver and pancreas - sounds really awful, quite revolting in fact, so supermarket junk foods such as the really nice Madras curry and Pizzas I once enjoyed are now history.

Insulin resistance can occur in many types of tissue though the prime culprits in the context of diabetes are muscle tissue, adipose tissue (fat cells) and the liver. Insulin resistance is exactly what it sounds like - resistant to the effects of insulin - and insulin is the stuff that pushes glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells.

Exercise immediately reduces insulin resistance in muscle tissue and extended or intense exercise has an effect that lasts a considerable period of time, perhaps a couple of days. When muscle tissue is insulin sensitive it will soak up glucose from the bloodstream more quickly, helping to keep levels lower and more stable. It is a similar case with adipose tissue though there's no way that I know of to influence its insulin sensitivity other than perhaps losing weight. Insulin resistance in the liver causes it to pump out more glucose than it should. Insulin acts as an 'off switch' for glucose production from the liver and a fatty liver is less sensitive to insulin, and so doesn't switch off glucose production when it should, raising levels in the blood. Fat around the pancreas doesn't make it insulin resistant as it's the organ that produces insulin, though fat is thought to make the pancreas less-well able to respond appropriately to rising blood glucose levels.

Losing a considerable amount of weight may burn off fat in and around the liver and pancreas, improving the function of both organs, and regular exercise can improve the function of muscle tissue as an efficient place to 'dump' excess blood glucose.

 

[Exflex]

@Leadinglights and @PerSpinasAdAstra, thank you both, that’s very helpful. I find knowing the function of the anatomy really helpful in trying to manage the condition.
I think I read somewhere that we can manage quite well without carbs, as long as we eat protein and veg. Something about ketosis but might be wrong.

 

[Leadinglights]

@Leadinglights and @PerSpinasAdAstra, thank you both, that’s very helpful. I find knowing the function of the anatomy really helpful in trying to manage the condition.
I think I read somewhere that we can manage quite well without carbs, as long as we eat protein and veg. Something about ketosis but might be wrong.

A keto diet which is very low carb less than 30g per day but it is something that some people try but find it is not sustainable. What you need is a regime you enjoy as it is to become a new way of eating for life.

 

[PerSpinasAdAstra]

I think I read somewhere that we can manage quite well without carbs, as long as we eat protein and veg. Something about ketosis but might be wrong.

Yes, strictly speaking we can survive just fine without carbs. The body can produce its own glucose so a diet of protein and fat is one that we can live on. The problem I see with very low-carb diets is you have to exclude foods from your diet - the lower you want your carb intake the more foods you have to exclude. My personal opinion is once you get into very low-carb territory like the keto diet and sticking with it you might be excluding foods that might be very beneficial for overall, long-term health.

 

[Drummer]

I discovered recently that most - if not all of the spices I use on a regular basis are supposed to be helpful in controlling blood glucose.
My curries are served with chopped cauliflower rather than rice, bubble and squeak is leftover swede, I eat mushrooms and stir fries, low carb veges and salads.
I tend to wince at the term 'healthy' as I was pressured into eating a healthy diet for almost half a century and ended up hugely overweight rather unwell and a type 2 diabetic.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thank you very much for the welcome and words of encouragement. I’ve already started cutting carbs but feel a bit empty after eating and wonder whether that’s normal and if I can adjust my new low carb way of eating

Welcome to the forum @Exflex

Some members here who opt for a lower carb approach find it helps to fill up on veggies, and ensure they have adequate protein and good fats (eg oily fish, olive oil, avocado). Protein and fat help you feel fuller for longer.

Hope you are able to adjust your menu to keep you satisfied and help steer your glucose levels away from a diabetes diagnosis 🙂

 

[Exflex]

Just a follow on from the helpful replies, as a pre-diabetic do you think it’s worth me - or anyone else in the same situation - getting a blood glucose monitor. They’re cheap enough. I don’t think I understand how they’re spot checks for glucose levels whereas HbA1c is a record over 3 months. It’s all blood being tested so how do they differ?

 

[Leadinglights]

Just a follow on from the helpful replies, as a pre-diabetic do you think it’s worth me - or anyone else in the same situation - getting a blood glucose monitor. They’re cheap enough. I don’t think I understand how they’re spot checks for glucose levels whereas HbA1c is a record over 3 months. It’s all blood being tested so how do they differ?

The 2 types of tests are different as they are measuring different things. The HbA1C measures the amount of glucose that is stuck to your red blood cells, the more excess glucose there is in your system the more stick and the HbA1C is higher.
The blood glucose monitor is a moment in time of the amount of glucose in your blood and will vary throughout the day and night depending on a number of factors, mainly what you have eaten.
So that is a useful tool to enable you to choose foods which your body can tolerate without increasing blood glucose more than an amount suggested as being one which will result in a normal HbA1C if that is maintained for the 3 months prior to the test.

 

[Exflex]

Great, thanks @Leadinglights. Sounds like what you eat, particularly carbs and sugars, get through the digestion system and are ‘free flowing’ in the blood, before getting stuck to the red blood cells. So the finger prick picks up the ‘free flowing’ recently introduced sugar. Is that in simplistic terms correct?
Sorry to bother you, you’ve been very patient and I do appreciate your help. It’s a bit of a mind field for us newbies.

 

[Leadinglights]

Great, thanks @Leadinglights. Sounds like what you eat, particularly carbs and sugars, get through the digestion system and are ‘free flowing’ in the blood, before getting stuck to the red blood cells. So the finger prick picks up the ‘free flowing’ recently introduced sugar. Is that in simplistic terms correct?
Sorry to bother you, you’ve been very patient and I do appreciate your help. It’s a bit of a mind field for us newbies.

This link gives you the explanation on the main DUK site

What is HbA1c?

HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%) or below. If you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, your target HbA1c level should be below 42mmol/mol (6%).

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Exflex]

Thank you @Leadinglights

 

[JWHP]

Just a follow on from the helpful replies, as a pre-diabetic do you think it’s worth me - or anyone else in the same situation - getting a blood glucose monitor. They’re cheap enough. I don’t think I understand how they’re spot checks for glucose levels whereas HbA1c is a record over 3 months. It’s all blood being tested so how do they differ?

I was pre-diabetic and got one. I did find it useful in seeing what happened when I ate and, as I lost weight, it was very motivating to see the spikes after 2 hours decrease (which they did).

This - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c - explains it. As I see it, it's a bit like those 'average speed checks' on the road - the glucose monitor tells you your speed when you look at the speedometer, but the HbA1c is your average over the whole distance, and so a couple of spikes here or there is not significant. That may be wrong though!

 

[Exflex]

I had a blood test performed on Tuesday this week, 4th June, HbA1c is now 39, down from 44 back in January this year.
Whilst I’m pleased, I had expected it to be lower than 39 given the reduction of carbs and weight loss. If I continue with my diet as is I guess I can not expect blood sugar to drop further? I’ve lost a stone in weight, down from 13 - 6 to 12 - 6. I’m not sure I want, or can afford to lose any more weight.

 

[Drummer]

I had a blood test performed on Tuesday this week, 4th June, HbA1c is now 39, down from 44 back in January this year.
Whilst I’m pleased, I had expected it to be lower than 39 given the reduction of carbs and weight loss. If I continue with my diet as is I guess I can not expect blood sugar to drop further? I’ve lost a stone in weight, down from 13 - 6 to 12 - 6. I’m not sure I want, or can afford to lose any more weight.

Blood glucose levels and HbA1c are not linked all that tightly - I tried to get down into the 30s of HbA1c by reducing my intake of carbs.
My test showed 42, so I reduced carbs from no more than 50 to no more than 40gm per day. I saw a reduction in post meal numbers and a year later my HbA1c was 42.
Weightloss might be significant if very over weight as I was, but eating more protein and fat should maintain if loss is not required. Those are the raw materials of our bodies and the various systems keeping us alive, after all.