Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire School me on prediabetes

Got my annual blood tests back. Got 7.2 on my glycemic. I’ve flirted with the line a couple times but never crossed it. Now I have.

I know what the problem is, too much junk, too little exercise. I started a month ago to fix the exercise part, and really, the junk is easy. I just told Slavyanka either to not bring it in the house or hide it. I won’t go looking for it but will eat it if it’s there.

I’ve tried finding a decent app to track my carbs etc, but anything I’ve looked at seems focussed on barcodes. We cook virtually everything (except the junk) from scratch. And I don’t eat the same thing week after week, so it’s not like I can load custom meals in. I’d drive myself nuts.

Any suggestions appreciated. I’ve always said cancer or a heart attack will kill ya, but diabetes makes ya suffer. Don’t want to go there.

Simple rule if it.s white don't eat it

Processed foods suck, corn syrup sucks and Soda is poison. Stay away from extremes like thinking I’ve been good for a month so now I’m going to have McDonald’s and a hot fudge sundae.

Exercise and eat fresh vegetables, meat, seafood. Breads, potatoes and other starches do more harm than good.

If you’re talking about a 7.2 A1C reading, that’s diabetes range, not prediabetes. Same advice applies. Limit carbs (think sweet foods and white foods). Most of us just really eat too much food. See your doctor regularly. Take care of your feet and eyes. Consider spending some quality time with a diabetes educator. Become an expert. It’s your life. You can do this.

There are a lot of good meds to control it now. You'll hear lots tell you to not go on the meds and just try to control it with diet, meanwhile it's tearing up your body. Go on the meds and keep it under control, you'll live a long and better life that way. Meanwhile work on the diet and if you can come off the meds then great, but keep it from doing damage with medicine in the meantime.

A diabetes educator as well as a diabetes dietician is time well spent, I also had my doctor refer me to a regular dietician. It was the most educational hour and a half I've spent in becoming educated how a diabetic should eat. An easy rule regarding carbs is anything that's white is a carb. No need to become draconian in avoiding carbs, just become aware of the carb content of what you eat. I gave up white bread totally, now eat wheat, rye and pumpernickel. Limit portions of potatoes and rice, switch pasta to wheat pasta, small portions and only once a week or so. I have been living with type II diabetes now for nearly 15 years and by following these guidelines have managed to keep my a1c below 7.0 sometimes it has been as low as 6.0. I've also managed to lose 60#, excess weight and diabetes do not work well together. Many of the body's systems can be damaged by high blood sugar, diabetes is a condition you must take seriously. I do and at age 73 I've just had my visits with my endocrinologist, internist and opthamologist and was given great reports from all. Had an echocardiogram on Monday and the cardiologist report showed my heart to be normal. Now's the time while you're still pre-diabetic to begin the education process and apply what you'll learn.

Before my wife’s hip replacement, the docs told her that they’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no such thing as “pre- diabetes”….you either are or you are not.

You are correct, pre-diabetes is something of a misnomer. You're already headed down the road and unfortunately there's no cure for diabetes, no going back. Take heed of the advice being offered and get busy today implementing the changes you must make. My father did it, he lost 100# when he was diagnosed as being diabetic, he worked out on the rowing machine at the Y several times a week. He kept his diabetes well controlled and lived to be 89. If it's your regular doctor telling you that you're pre-diabetic, ask for a referral to see an endochrinologist. Their medical specialty is the management of diabetes, they have special education beyond that of an internist or general practitioner.

Do this, and do it Monday.

Your doc will probably prescribe metformin. It’s generic, safe, and effective. 1,000 mg, not 500. Get serious on the diet and exercise. 7.2 is not a small number.

When I say Monday I mean 9:00 am Monday.

Look at the labels. Avoid anything with added sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup. Soft drinks are a killer. They're nothing but sugar water.

I don’t drink any soda except the occasional G&T in the summer. Otherwise, 95% of my liquid intake is water (the rest, black coffee and an occasional Scotch).

For years I did the “don’t eat anything white” rule, but after getting with Slavyanka, potatoes are a sacrament to her. I’ve told her she can eat as much as she wants, but I won’t be.

Hoping those changes and junk going away will turn me around. I really love to cook and love to eat, so it’s going to be tough losing weight, but I can eat healthier and get fitter.

Portion control, eat the right things watching for excess carbs and exercise. The weight will come off, don't obsess about it. Don't worry about your weight plateauing, mine did for a year after I got started. Just keep doing the right things, I did never backslid and now I'm within 10# of reaching my goal which is to weigh what I did when I got married 35yrs. ago. Good luck I know you can do it.

Are you overweight? I'm type 1, diagnosed at the age of 2. I don't know any other life except for supposed self control, massive Dr appointments, check ups and prescriptions.

There’s a lot of dogma in diabetic treatment. Don’t fall for it. Check this out:

Besides dietary changes, start trying to understand what affects your glucose levels. Test yourself throughout the day and keep notes. You’ll find there are times of the day your glucose will be high regardless of whether you’ve eaten or not. Once you find a pattern, avoid eating when your glucose is already high.

I don't know if you're overweight or not but one of the key things is losing weight if you are. I had A1C's in the 8s and high blood pressure. Losing 50 pounds brought the A1C down to 5.2 and blood pressure to normal. No more metformin. I still eat too much carbs but the A1C stays normal now.

aint rocket science. Amazing how people tend to complicate to justify their lack of self control

no breads, no rice, no beans, no pasta, no fruits, no beer, no soda. no wheat, no corn, no grains, no sugar


Greens, and high quality proteins and water


no breakfast needed. intermittent fast every day 18 hours. super easy

walk at least 3 miles a day.

super simple

If you are prescribed Metformin initially, they will most likely start you off with standard Metformin to begin with, so you might want to ask (and maybe even demand) Metformin ER which is "Extended Release", otherwise you very well may experience persistent and sometimes even uncontrollable diarrhea, often multiple times a day, to the point where you won't want to be any farther than a few seconds from a bathroom.

I am a type II diabetic. A low carb diiet goes a long way towards controlling your a1C. I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for about 5 months now. I get my a1C tested again 12/9 to see if it’s working. I’ve lost 20lbs in 5 months. It’s called an 8/16 diet. My eating window is 12p-8p, then nothing but water or black coffee from 8p until Noon the next day. Once you get used to it, it’s easy. I feel great on this diet. My doctor suggested that I give it a try.

Ron

Not making excuses, but I’ve been on 8/16 for a year, don’t drink pop, very little beer (a couple a month - actually lost my taste for it) and used to avoid carbs. Never lost a pound.

Plan going forward is to get back on the no carb wagon, portion control and exercise. Covid made me lazy, I’ve been following Slavyanka’s lead on eating too much carbs, and the 8 hour window is a free-for-all. That and junk.

I think I’ve got all the pieces, just got to put them together the right way.

For the record, I’m 5’11, 230 lbs. and sedentary. Back at the gym now doing 5X5. I was on it before and was in the best shape of my life in my 50’s, despite still being in the 220 range. Lift heavy.

Me in SA in 2013 220lbs



Me today 230lbs