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

7.2 is full on diabetes. 6.5 would be considered pre. You might want to consider taking Metformin to protect your kidneys and regulate your sugar temporarily until you get it back down.

In the upper midwest, the Kwik Trip chain of stores is directly responsible for an impending diabetic pandemic, imho!

The best exercise for you is cardio. Strength training is good, but steady elevated heart rate will be the best for you. Try to find some kind of cardio that you enjoy.

45 minutes of bench, military press, dips and curls followed by a high intensity 15 minute period of cardio/ rest ( example 30 sec rowing machine 30 -45 sec rest ) that will burn more calories than 60 minutes of straight cardio and will continue to burn calories after the workout where as straight cardio only burns calories during the workout.

You need to think about it like being a little pregnant. No such thing. You are a diabetic.
Some people in the first stage get it somewhat under control with diet and exercise. But most fall off the wagon. All the time this nasty disease is doing damage. Hasbeen

Don't kid yourself, you are diabetic. When I hit 6.1 I started testing my glucose with a cheap Relion tester from WM to see how my body reacted to various foods. Lower the carbs.

Yes, I am type II and have been for about 15 years. LOWER THE CARBS. Especially sugar. Use Splenda or some other sweetner, diet drinks, or just plain water. Avoid white bread, rice, potatoes. Or, eat very sparingly. Eat more meat and green vegetables, or low carb vegetables like carrots. Use whole wheat bread. Avoid cakes, candy, pies, etc. Eat fruits raw. I put the breaks on sugar alone and lost 10 lbs. real fast. Eating an Atkins, South Beach, or diet like that. I modified the Atkins and ate a little carby foods and lost another 10 lbs. Never got hungry. Eat snacks like Slim Jims or pork skins instead of potato chips. Eat less if possible.

Lots of good advice on this thread but you are already on the right track. A bit of exercise, don't eat sugar in any form and watch your carbs. For a sweetener I like sucralose ( Splenda) and theres lots of sugar free options out there...jams and jellies, pancake syrup etc. Eat more protein.Don't eat anything white, whole grain stuff is mo' betta and you'll develop a taste for it quickly. I was diagnosed with type II diabetes six years ago...changed my habits and am on zero medication for it..numbers are still good.

I was in the same situation about 15 years ago. I watch my total calories and carbs, walk a few times a week. My A1C runs in the low 5’s every check, I’m down to 170 lbs from a high of 240 lbs.

My goal was to do anything I could to avoid the drugs.

Oddly enough, being diagnosed with diabetes may have saved your life. Sometimes a wake up call is a blessing.

If blood sugar goes up or down you are dead.
So blood sugar is tightly regulated with insulin.
After years of eating carbohydrates and higher and higher levels of insulin, the body has become insulin resistant.
Insulin is inflammatory. This can aggravate or cause most modern diseases.

I count it as a blessing, no doubt in my mind it saved my life. My Docs were surprised I could get it under control in such a short period of time, I was down 30 pounds in three months and decided to keep at it. Many can’t discipline themselves well enough to stay at it.

OP thanks for posting this. I am borderline my Dr. has me coming in every 3 months for blood test. I been cheating and eating to many sweets lately need to stop that. My Dad was diabetic and so is my brother he's in bad shape at 65 has kidney & heart problems also has neuropathy so bad in his feet he can barely walk without the help of a walker. At 61, I don't want to end up like my brother.

"Prediabetes" was wholly created by the pharmaceutical industry to sell drugs.

Started DIY keto a year ago. Lost 40lbs. A1C test results from October were 3.

No bread, white, whole-grain, whatever. Fiber-schmiber, they’re all sugar in the end.

No potatoes

No pasta

No rice

Low-carb veggies only, except in serious moderation. Carrots and tomatoes are among the high carb offenders.

If you drink, switch to booze from beer and wine, especially sweetish wines.

Staying under 20 carbs is how I lost the weight.

Protein and fat are what you’ll live on. Don’t know your cholesterol situation; mine is somewhat high, but I have zero calcium in my heart, so I ignore it. Now that I’m close to my goal, I’ve started eating more carbs, but try to stay under 50. However, I’m also stuck at my current weight, so have to buckle down again to about 20 to move the flags. I used to be Mr. Bread, but I quit cold-turkey and it was easier than I thought.

This guy is only one of dozens of keto “experts”, but I found him very helpful and practical, and he explains the science. He’s also not selling anything.

Change your life to a strict low carb regimen or die.
I had to.
I've never felt better.
A1c is now 5.5.

Pre diabetes is the sneaky killer.

Still eating carbs, but the blood sugar is still regulated as the insulin need to regulate blood sugar goes Higher and higher until one day... type 2 diabetes.

The cholesterol hypothesis is nullified.
The insulin hypothesis is evidence based.

I am eating 7 prunes a day, and blowing my whole carb budget:(

Any advice on the “count carbs” front? Like I said, not finding helpful apps, or even some place where I can find out what has carbs and how much to even begin to understand it.

Edit. OK, found this https://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/MEND/CarbList.pdf. Seems awful difficult to stay under 20. I guess greens and meat it is.

Get a scale and weigh all your food. Most people have no idea what 100 grams of rice or potatoes looks like.

Theres a whole lot of TRUTH there...they will tell virtually anyone they are prediabetic.

No carnivores are pre diabetic.

Overlay the % of population that smoked on that graph.

And height. And probably several other factors.

Twinks love the bullshit bmi scale lol

If I ate seven prunes every day, I’d blow more than my carb budget 😱