6.5 A1C

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Bclinker
Bclinker Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just had a physical and my A1C came in at 6.5, Glucose at 156. Follow up with doc in a month. I have had a terrible diet for the last 6 months. Lots of sandwiches and OJ, no fruits and veggies. Plus zero exercise. I started walking yesterday.
I'm pretty well versed on nutrition, so I think I know what to eat, but my question is how much? I am probably 10-20 lbs overweight. I know I need a higher protein, low fat/carb diet. But what goals should I set for calories and carbs?
Any help would be appreciated.

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,988 Member
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    Put your information (weight, height, activity level, etc.) into the goals section here on MFP, and say you want to lose a half-pound per week. Follow the calorie recommendation it gives you, make sure to get at least the amount of protein and fat it says (view those figures as minimums), let the rest of the macros fall where they may, and tweak calories based on results.

    I went from a terrible (high-end prediabetic range) fasting glucose reading to a completely normal A1C in six months by eating fewer calories than I used, losing about 30 lbs, and moving more. I didn't eat high-protein, low-fat, or low-carb (I'm not sure how you even expect to do high protein with low fat and low carb). I usually have more than 200 g carbs a day. The only real changes I made with respect to macros was making sure to get enough protein (hard to be sure whether I was or not before I was tracking) and putting a little emphasis on getting more omega-3 fatty acids (added the occasional tin of sardines to my diet and the occasional frozen salmon fillet or salmon burger, ate more walnuts and flaxseed, and paid more attention to eating grass-fed animal products over grain-fed, although I don't know if the last thing makes that much difference in the vast scheme of things).
  • Bclinker
    Bclinker Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you. That helps.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    You don't necessarily need low fat or low carb. But they can be used as methods to help weight loss and subsequently lower your A1C. Making smarter choices (more complex carbs, particularly more veggies and low sugar fruits), moderate protein, plenty of unsaturated fats, along with exercise should help you achieve your goal.
  • Paulina1230
    Paulina1230 Posts: 215 Member
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    I just dropped my A1c from a prediabetic 5.9 to a very normal 5.4 in 5 months by cutting out all processed sugars...fruit only and a low fat, pretty much meat free diet. I do not drink any calories...gave up my coffee addiction cause I love full fat creamers, and went to strictly water and green tea. I started excersising every other day...treadmill and bike and the weight is just falling off. Ive lost 69 pounds. I really didnt watch my carbs at all, I just concentrated on cutting out the sugars and fat and moving more. Hope this helps you. You can do it. I work in a diabetes clinic and it is important that you get this monster under control before it does permanent damage to your kidneys and heart and vascular system. It can be reversed in most cases where its cause by lifestyle choices but not so much if its genetic...you'll just have to work alitte harder to keep it in check.
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 984 Member
    edited January 2016
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    psulemon wrote: »
    You don't necessarily need low fat or low carb. But they can be used as methods to help weight loss and subsequently lower your A1C. Making smarter choices (more complex carbs, particularly more veggies and low sugar fruits), moderate protein, plenty of unsaturated fats, along with exercise should help you achieve your goal.

    I totally agree. Fat does not affect your blood sugar. You need carbs but with low sugars. Protein is fine but too much will affect insulin levels too. I think the important thing is to concentrate on getting your sugars down by exercise and diet; cut the high sugar drinks (juice, soda,etc). Did your Dr. refer you to a nutritionist? Try to shop around for a good nutritionist to help you get your health back. 10 -20 lbs overweight is not bad but the high blood sugar and A1C is a wake up call to improve your nutrition. Also, drink your water. In the ER when people come in with high blood sugars, besides giving insulin we give IV fluids. Diet pop esp. with caffeine will not help as much. Check out the American Diabetes Association web site. Great tool. http://www.diabetes.org
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 984 Member
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    Paulina1230 wrote: »
    I just dropped my A1c from a prediabetic 5.9 to a very normal 5.4 in 5 months by cutting out all processed sugars...fruit only and a low fat, pretty much meat free diet. I do not drink any calories...gave up my coffee addiction cause I love full fat creamers, and went to strictly water and green tea. I started excersising every other day...treadmill and bike and the weight is just falling off. Ive lost 69 pounds. I really didnt watch my carbs at all, I just concentrated on cutting out the sugars and fat and moving more. Hope this helps you. You can do it. I work in a diabetes clinic and it is important that you get this monster under control before it does permanent damage to your kidneys and heart and vascular system. It can be reversed in most cases where its cause by lifestyle choices but not so much if its genetic...you'll just have to work alitte harder to keep it in check.

    Excellent advice! Good job Paulina. I have found very few people understand the dangers of Type 2 Diabetes unless they have worked with diabetics or know someone struggling with it. It really is a horrible disease but not unconquerable if you commit to making the healthy life style changes.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I found the book, Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution was very very helpful in setting up a low carb diet to control blood glucose. When I follow his plan my BG is normal now. I suggest looking at it. http://www.diabetes-book.com/
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    If you aren't very overweight, I'd still lose the weight, but I highly recommend watching your carbs! I'm a non-overweight hyperglycemic. Get a glucose monitor if you don't already have one. See how many carbs you can tolerate per meal that don't raise your BG over 200 and also go down below 140 after 2 hours. Also make sure your waking BG isn't at 130 or above. The full day's carbs the day before can affect that (darnit), especially what you eat at night.

    I have great luck with watching the GI/GL of my carbs, too. So no OJ, but I could probably eat an orange just fine :) Check it out. Things like milk do well for me, even though they have a fair amount of sugars. Most fruits, too! There are some breads I can eat and even use 2 slices, lol. Bread is the hardest, imho. The GI/GL does have some individual differences (they say) so use a monitor.

    Exercise is also very important to keep blood sugars down. It doesn't even have to be much. Give it a few weeks after starting exercise and you should see a difference.

    Finally, consider Metformin. Not allowing it to progress/damage the pancreas cells more is pretty key, so don't think it's ever too early to medicate once a problem with blood sugar regulation pops up, imho. You can go back off if your numbers get really low :)
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    Is 156 a fasting blood sugar or non-fasting?

    Just lowering your carb intake a bit can make a big difference.
  • Bclinker
    Bclinker Posts: 5 Member
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    Fasting
  • Bclinker
    Bclinker Posts: 5 Member
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    I appreciate all the suggestions. I bought a couple of recipe books from the ADA site and went grocery shopping buying lots of fruits and veggies and meatless proteins. Gardein brand had alot of choices but you have to watch the sodium. Are there fruits I should stay away from?
    Went out to dinner last night at an Ethiopian restaurant. I was able to find the foods in the DB, and did ok. Although my fat intake was higher today, it was because I ate salmon and had half an avocado in my salad.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Fats are good if you are doing low carb. :)
    Fruits without two much sugar include berries like strawberries and blueberries (can be bought fresh or frozen).
    Other fruits in moderation.
    For protein: beans, lentils, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, fish, seafood, nuts, chia seeds, dairy. Also vegetables with protein like broccoli, kale, green peas,
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    lnknchi wrote: »
    I appreciate all the suggestions. I bought a couple of recipe books from the ADA site and went grocery shopping buying lots of fruits and veggies and meatless proteins. Gardein brand had alot of choices but you have to watch the sodium. Are there fruits I should stay away from?
    Went out to dinner last night at an Ethiopian restaurant. I was able to find the foods in the DB, and did ok. Although my fat intake was higher today, it was because I ate salmon and had half an avocado in my salad.

    You should not stay away from fruit or carbs in general, but you should portion them throughout the day. A serving of fruit should be really 1 serving and not 3, and it should not be consumed at the same type as other carbs. It is more about portioning carbs throughout your day than avoidign them completely.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    lnknchi wrote: »
    I appreciate all the suggestions. I bought a couple of recipe books from the ADA site and went grocery shopping buying lots of fruits and veggies and meatless proteins. Gardein brand had alot of choices but you have to watch the sodium. Are there fruits I should stay away from?
    Went out to dinner last night at an Ethiopian restaurant. I was able to find the foods in the DB, and did ok. Although my fat intake was higher today, it was because I ate salmon and had half an avocado in my salad.

    Fats won't affect your blood glucose and are safe to eat. It will be the carbs and protein,to a lesser extent, that most diabetics need to keep an eye on. The partial exception would be if trying to lose on a low fat diet.

    Do you have a glucose monitor yet? Testing before a meal and every half hour to hour after a meal is a great way to know if the ADA's guidelines are working for you. Good luck.
  • Bclinker
    Bclinker Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you to everyone.

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