Thank you to those who have responded so far. From the observations made, and my initial meanderings through some of the threads on the forum, I see three schools of thought emerging which might inform my next steps. I have summarised these approaches in order of increasing intervention.
1. Watch and wait; that is continue to monitor my HbA1c levels, and take action in the future only if they continue to rise significantly. This is based on @childofthesea43’s view that [given my age, modestly elevated HbA1c level, low BMI, otherwise reasonable health and moderate physical actively] I am not pre-diabetic.
2. Accept that I am on the road to T2D, and progressively reduce my carb intake. This is based on several observations. Firstly, there is some history of diabetes in the family (an aunt and an uncle had it, and I suspect that my father did, though it was not formally diagnosed). Secondly, my wife has a virtually identical diet, higher BMI, and is not so active, but her HbAc1 is comfortably within the normal zone. Thirdly, my three HbA1c results show an increasing trend. And fourthly, whilst I think my diet is not bad, qualitatively at least, my initial calculations suggest it is too carb-rich. Specifically, my default breakfast (half an orange, porridge with chopped banana and nuts, slice of wholemeal bread with dollop of peanut butter) provides some 67% of my daily carbs (against a target of 130 g). I am guessing this is not ideal (!), and I accept it would do no harm to reduce the portion size. If I take this approach it seems that I face two options: (a) do I plug the calorie shortfall with additional protein and good fats to maintain my modest weight (8 st 10 lb), or (b) do I allow myself to lose some weight? Until finding this forum I had always assumed that I could not afford to lose weight, but maybe I can, and should. My current BMI (NHS calculator) is 19.6, and it tells me I could lose 7 lb before I became underweight. And my simplistic understanding from my reading so far is that it is weight rather than carbs per se which is key: reducing carbs is the means to the end of losing some weight, and it’s the loss of weight (fat) around the liver / pancreas which is key to improving glucose control. (Please put me right if I have got this wrong.)
3. Accept that I am on the road to T2D, and start to monitor my blood glucose, with a view to better understanding what I can and can’t eat to better control my BG levels. For example, it may be that the avoidance of a particular source of carbohydrate (eg oats or potatoes) is sufficient.
On the basis of this quickly acquired, and limited understanding of things, I am inclined to pursue option 2(b) [lower my carb intake and allow loss of (some) weight]. But any observations on my logic would be welcome (though I accept that there are new posters on this forum whose situations are in far greater need to others’ attention than mine).
1. Watch and wait; that is continue to monitor my HbA1c levels, and take action in the future only if they continue to rise significantly. This is based on @childofthesea43’s view that [given my age, modestly elevated HbA1c level, low BMI, otherwise reasonable health and moderate physical actively] I am not pre-diabetic.
2. Accept that I am on the road to T2D, and progressively reduce my carb intake. This is based on several observations. Firstly, there is some history of diabetes in the family (an aunt and an uncle had it, and I suspect that my father did, though it was not formally diagnosed). Secondly, my wife has a virtually identical diet, higher BMI, and is not so active, but her HbAc1 is comfortably within the normal zone. Thirdly, my three HbA1c results show an increasing trend. And fourthly, whilst I think my diet is not bad, qualitatively at least, my initial calculations suggest it is too carb-rich. Specifically, my default breakfast (half an orange, porridge with chopped banana and nuts, slice of wholemeal bread with dollop of peanut butter) provides some 67% of my daily carbs (against a target of 130 g). I am guessing this is not ideal (!), and I accept it would do no harm to reduce the portion size. If I take this approach it seems that I face two options: (a) do I plug the calorie shortfall with additional protein and good fats to maintain my modest weight (8 st 10 lb), or (b) do I allow myself to lose some weight? Until finding this forum I had always assumed that I could not afford to lose weight, but maybe I can, and should. My current BMI (NHS calculator) is 19.6, and it tells me I could lose 7 lb before I became underweight. And my simplistic understanding from my reading so far is that it is weight rather than carbs per se which is key: reducing carbs is the means to the end of losing some weight, and it’s the loss of weight (fat) around the liver / pancreas which is key to improving glucose control. (Please put me right if I have got this wrong.)
3. Accept that I am on the road to T2D, and start to monitor my blood glucose, with a view to better understanding what I can and can’t eat to better control my BG levels. For example, it may be that the avoidance of a particular source of carbohydrate (eg oats or potatoes) is sufficient.
On the basis of this quickly acquired, and limited understanding of things, I am inclined to pursue option 2(b) [lower my carb intake and allow loss of (some) weight]. But any observations on my logic would be welcome (though I accept that there are new posters on this forum whose situations are in far greater need to others’ attention than mine).
