Pre-Diabetes

Mottie

Mottie

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After my general blood test yesterday, I've just had a text from surgery telling me I'm at the "Pre-Diabetes" stage! Blood sugar level of 43. I've checked online and the range for Pre-Diabetes is 42-47 so I'm only just in it. I've got a list of things to do to improve things but I wonder if anyone on here has been 'in the range' and if so, what did you do about it?
 
I'm type 2 and was pre-diabetus in the early 2000's and then in 2010 was full type 2

weight loss - is pretty key
exercise
then food consumption , and types of food - whole change around food

still need to loss weight and last annual check i was over around 9, so now relooking at consumption and weight loss again
 
Surely everyone who is not diabetic is pre-diabetic? It seems to be the latest fad like cholesterol was a few years ago. Once again the "cure" will be to give up eating anything that you enjoy.
 
Mottie said:
After my general blood test yesterday, I've just had a text from surgery telling me I'm at the "Pre-Diabetes" stage! Blood sugar level of 43. I've checked online and the range for Pre-Diabetes is 42-47 so I'm only just in it. I've got a list of things to do to improve things but I wonder if anyone on here has been 'in the range' and if so, what did you do about it?
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yeah mine came back as pre diabetes last year.

the Surgery has just texted me to request a blood sugar test to check it again



Ive lost some weight, was just under 14 stone about 3 years ago, slowly reduced, now at 12 stone.

and lost a bit around the waist, was 36" now a loose 34" -good but annoying to get a pair of trousers out of the cupboard and find they just fall off; I have quite a few 36", some brand new that I cant wear at all now.

I'm working hard to avoid snacking and trying to eat apples and dried nuts etc rather than crisps etc -Its getting used to feeling hungry

currently trying to get to 11 1/2stone and 32" waist this year, not sure Ill manage it, but trying
 
The food that you have eaten in recent weeks can have an effect. Also in my case, marginally high I mentioned to the GP that having given up sugar a long time ago now I can't eat sweet things any more. He mentioned that readings tend to get higher when people age and suggested avoiding stuff that breaks down too quickly - spaghetti mentioned. Read highly processed flour containing products. Bread is one these days. My weight etc had been pretty stable for a long time. Tried reducing carbs and lost some - go too far with that and start loosing muscle.

My wife had a high reading. She had eaten a bunch of grapes a week before the test. 2nd test she had was lower, no grapes. Not clear that diet changes did anything as looking at our diet it was not easy to see anything that could be significantly changed.
 
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there is one thing to bear in mind, which ajohn touched on: whilst sugar is bad the real problem is carbohydrate, the body breaks it down into sugar.

One of the greatest failings in the last few decades is the concentration on fat in food in relation to health and weight, but the real enemy is carbohydrate in relation to premature death, especially processed

Ive swapped from white to brown rice which helps and reduce pastas meals.

and for breakfast I have oats rather than bread, ie porridge -well on week days, I have toast on weekend
 
If one of the things you have been advised to do is lose weight, then an easy way is just to eat more meat. But I don't mean going full Keto or Atkins or other fad diets. It helps to understand that eating more meat works simply because meat is hard to break down and it keeps you full for longer. It's an expensive way to diet but fairly painless.

If you have a sugar addiction, then that is really hard to break. Going cold turkey for three days usually does it for me but it is hellish.
 
JonathanM said:
If one of the things you have been advised to do is lose weight, then an easy way is just to eat more meat. But I don't mean going full Keto or Atkins or other fad diets. It helps to understand that eating more meat works simply because meat is hard to break down and it keeps you full for longer. It's an expensive way to diet but fairly painless.

If you have a sugar addiction, then that is really hard to break. Going cold turkey for three days usually does it for me but it is hellish.
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meat has a Glycemic index of zero so does not raise blood sugar

not particularly good for you of course if its red meat
 
pcaouolte said:
Surely everyone who is not diabetic is pre-diabetic? It seems to be the latest fad like cholesterol was a few years ago. Once again the "cure" will be to give up eating anything that you enjoy.
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No, you're only pre-diabetic if you get close to what is deemed diabetic.

I have always been below the pre-diabetic minimum but recently a bit closer. I think my current figure is 40.

They're also worried about my bad (LDL) cholesterol. The GP told me cholesterol levels rise with age, so they're keeping an eye on that at the moment too.

Mottie said:
After my general blood test yesterday, I've just had a text from surgery telling me I'm at the "Pre-Diabetes" stage! Blood sugar level of 43. I've checked online and the range for Pre-Diabetes is 42-47 so I'm only just in it.
Click to expand...

I'm gob-smacked! You're as skinny as a rake! I guess they did a HbA1c test? This is like a blood sugar test but instead of the pinprick giving you a reading as of now, the HbA1c test gives a reading based over a longer period of time.

Mottie said:
I've got a list of things to do to improve things but I wonder if anyone on here has been 'in the range' and if so, what did you do about it?
Click to expand...
As I said, I'm not in the range, but I'm trying very hard to eat less and change what I'm eating. I've cut out a lot of sugary foods, I'm eating less carby foods like chips, spuds, pasta etc. and replacing these "lost" carbs with more fresh fruit and veg (which are effectively carbs).

To help lower the LDLs, I am eating more oats, both porridge and no-sugar muesli.

Lastly (though it's hard as I adore it), I have been eating less cheese along with less butter too. Cooking with EVOO is apparently the way to go.
 
The Mediterranean diet is good:

Lots of fresh veg and fruit, olive oil, seafood wholegrains, and beans and nuts, with red wine and coffee in moderation.
 
I was prediabetic about 20 years ago. My brother was a skinny 18 year old when diagnosed as type one.
From mid 40’s I went to type 2 on meds then also insulin.

“A bunch of grapes” is a lot of sugar to a diabetic. 5 grapes would be my lot.
I’ve never been “fat” at about 75kg 5’6

I am on a CGM monitor now and it helps
 
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