Just found out I'm pre-diabetic what do I eat?

luvmakidz
luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
edited December 2019 in Food and Nutrition
My doctor said to come back in 6 months for another test, and to exercise and watch my carbs. I'm 5 foot 4 and 205 pounds, so I'm sure my weight (obviously from a bad diet) is the direct cause.
I know to avoid sugar, but can you suggest a breakfast and lunch to have? I'm just lost right now.

Replies

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    Breakfast- bacon and eggs, oatmeal, avocado toast, doesn’t have to be “breakfast” food. Could be salad, steak and veggies.
    Lunch- salad, protein and veggies.
    What do you like?


  • bellesouth18
    bellesouth18 Posts: 1,071 Member
    My husband had the same diagnosis a little over a year ago. He has done quite well, especially after being put on Trulicity. Stay away from juices, regular soft drinks, and sugary foods. Moderation of carbohydrates is key, along with exercise, which helps keep blood glucose in check. Eat complex carbs instead of simple carbs. My mom was an insulin-dependent diabetic. Tomatoes, onions, and milk sent her blood sugar to the moon. She could eat small amounts of pasta and potatoes without problems. If you have a monitor, you'll need to keep a record for a while of how your blood glucose is after meals/snacks/carbs, etc., if you have enough test strips allowed. Good luck.
  • luvmakidz
    luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
    Breakfast- bacon and eggs, oatmeal, avocado toast, doesn’t have to be “breakfast” food. Could be salad, steak and veggies.
    Lunch- salad, protein and veggies.
    What do you like?

    Breakfast- bacon and eggs, oatmeal, avocado toast, doesn’t have to be “breakfast” food. Could be salad, steak and veggies.
    Lunch- salad, protein and veggies.
    What do you like?


    These are all great ideas, and very doable for me. I like all of these!


  • luvmakidz
    luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
    My husband had the same diagnosis a little over a year ago. He has done quite well, especially after being put on Trulicity. Stay away from juices, regular soft drinks, and sugary foods. Moderation of carbohydrates is key, along with exercise, which helps keep blood glucose in check. Eat complex carbs instead of simple carbs. My mom was an insulin-dependent diabetic. Tomatoes, onions, and milk sent her blood sugar to the moon. She could eat small amounts of pasta and potatoes without problems. If you have a monitor, you'll need to keep a record for a while of how your blood glucose is after meals/snacks/carbs, etc., if you have enough test strips allowed. Good luck.


    Thank you for the input. I received no other instructions other than to exercise and watch my simple carbs.
    Is there a daily carb or sugar limit one is supposed to stay under as a prediabetic?
  • luvmakidz
    luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    The single best thing you can do is focus on eating at a calorie deficit to lose weight. If you can cut some carbs, great, but there is kind of a misnomer that with pre-diabetes or even diabetes you have to avoid all carbs, when that really isn't the case. Try to cut out things like sugar snacks or a high amount of refined carbs. But you cna incorporate whole grain carbs in moderation in your diet.

    My dad is diabetic, and he was casually telling me about how he's had it for about a decade and his numbers are pretty good while we were sitting at an Italian restaurant and he was eating a huge bowl of pasta followed by a giant sugary dessert. I certainly wouldn't recommend his diet to anyone (diabetic or not), but it goes to show that while the D word can sound super scary, it doesn't always mean you have to immediately completely change up your diet.

    Thanks Mike for sharing your dad's story with me. I'm terrified of being a diabetic, and this is the wake up call I needed to start focusing on my health. Glad to know it's not a death sentence, tho.

  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    edited December 2019
    Within your calorie and macro targets, eggs, fruit, bacon or smoked fish are good breakfast options. Substitute a fiber-y fruit for toast if the protein lacks the volume to make you feel full.

    Soups are often a good way to trick your system into thinking you've eaten more calories than you have, at lunch.

    Insulin resistance at the muscle cell level is the fundamental problem in type 2 diabetes. Exercise is what (sometimes) fixes it.

    Avoid anything that contains high fructose corn syrup. There's evidence showing a correlation but not strong enough to prove causation between HFCS and type 2 diabetes.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    MY focus would be on protein, fruit and veg. And while you are doing that get in to see a registered dietician who can tell you what you should be eating, and how much. That is what they train for, your doc should have referred you.
  • luvmakidz
    luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
    MY focus would be on protein, fruit and veg. And while you are doing that get in to see a registered dietician who can tell you what you should be eating, and how much. That is what they train for, your doc should have referred you.

    Unfortunately I did not receive a referral, and won't be able to see a RD. Hoping to gather as much info as I can to improve my health.

  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,056 Member
    Are you planning on losing weight? Chances are that will be enough to get out of pre diabetic range. Exercise definitely helps too! I'm diabetic and recently went off medication, I've had to add in more carbs because of hypoglycemia.

    I mostly focus on non-starchy vegetables with protein and a little healthy fat. Examples are veggie scrambles or plain Greek yogurt with berries for breakfast, large salad with tuna or chicken and sunflower seeds for lunch, salmon chicken or turkey for dinner with roasted vegetables or a soup or chili. I still eat starchy vegetables, beans and tofu, and fruit in moderation. I don't eat many grains but there's no reason not to in moderation. I wish I'd taken my pre-diabetes diagnosis more seriously and had made the changes to my life then that I've recently done.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,089 Member
    The most important thing for you to eat is fewer calories than your maintenance level. While not everyone's blood sugar will go down with weight loss, most people's will, so unless you know for certain that your problem is related to some specific foods, you would be better off focusing on losing weight by ensuring that you are in an energy deficit.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    Less calories.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    Diabetes.org has a lot of info, including food.

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • luvmakidz
    luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    luvmakidz wrote: »
    My doctor said to come back in 6 months for another test, and to exercise and watch my carbs. I'm 5 foot 4 and 205 pounds, so I'm sure my weight (obviously from a bad diet) is the direct cause.
    I know to avoid sugar, but can you suggest a breakfast and lunch to have? I'm just lost right now.

    I had pre-diabetic blood work when I started. It's not an actual diagnosis of anything...ie you don't have a disease. It's just a wake up call. Really, the biggest thing is losing weight and regular exercise. I didn't do low carb or anything like that...in fact, if anything my carbs increased because I started eating a lot more plants...veg, fruit, legumes, lentils, oats, etc.

    The cause of pre-diabetes and ultimately diabetes isn't "carbs"...the number one factor is being over weight/over fat and lacking physical movement.

    I did "clean up" my diet quite a bit...like I said, lots more plant based foods, and then more lean proteins and such. But I'd say the number one factor in getting my numbers in the optimal range was losing 40 Lbs and establishing a habit of regular exercise.

    Did you lose the weight by eating cleaner? I have 60 pounds to lose and I find that to be overwhelming at my age (46).
  • luvmakidz
    luvmakidz Posts: 26 Member
    Less calories.

    This. The problem is mainly being overweight, if you stay at that weight but “clean up” your diet you might see a little improvement but you’ll probably still be pre-diabetic. Likewise exercising but staying the same weight will help some but probably not be enough.

    My advice is to focus on losing weight the easiest and most sustainable way for you. Might be keto or intermittent fasting or plain old calorie counting. But it has to be sustainable, dropping a bunch of weight only to put it back on in a year only delays the health issues.

    Good luck! You can do it! Coming here is a great first step.

    Thank you for the support. I'm happy to be here and finally take control of my health. I'm counting calories and watching my sugar intake. I know I have a lot more to learn but this is a start. I tried joining the pre diabetes boards here but haven't been accepted yet.
    Also, I sprained my foot so I can text use til it heals. That's the next step I need to take.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    edited December 2019
    Eating cleaner (whatever that means to you) can help you lose weight, because you’ll likely reduce certain high calorie foods. You’ll probably eat more satiating foods, which helps you eat fewer calories. Eating fewer calories is the key to weight loss !
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    luvmakidz wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    luvmakidz wrote: »
    My doctor said to come back in 6 months for another test, and to exercise and watch my carbs. I'm 5 foot 4 and 205 pounds, so I'm sure my weight (obviously from a bad diet) is the direct cause.
    I know to avoid sugar, but can you suggest a breakfast and lunch to have? I'm just lost right now.

    I had pre-diabetic blood work when I started. It's not an actual diagnosis of anything...ie you don't have a disease. It's just a wake up call. Really, the biggest thing is losing weight and regular exercise. I didn't do low carb or anything like that...in fact, if anything my carbs increased because I started eating a lot more plants...veg, fruit, legumes, lentils, oats, etc.

    The cause of pre-diabetes and ultimately diabetes isn't "carbs"...the number one factor is being over weight/over fat and lacking physical movement.

    I did "clean up" my diet quite a bit...like I said, lots more plant based foods, and then more lean proteins and such. But I'd say the number one factor in getting my numbers in the optimal range was losing 40 Lbs and establishing a habit of regular exercise.

    Did you lose the weight by eating cleaner? I have 60 pounds to lose and I find that to be overwhelming at my age (46).

    @luvmakidz - 46 is a youngin! I know people that have climbed MT Everest older than you! You can do it!
  • krista896
    krista896 Posts: 76 Member
    I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a little over 3 years ago and follow a low fat plant based diet. I would recommend you check out masteringdiabetes.org, they have a lot of great into about nutrition and diabetes.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    luvmakidz wrote: »
    MY focus would be on protein, fruit and veg. And while you are doing that get in to see a registered dietician who can tell you what you should be eating, and how much. That is what they train for, your doc should have referred you.

    Unfortunately I did not receive a referral, and won't be able to see a RD. Hoping to gather as much info as I can to improve my health.

    If it were my diagnosis and doctor, I would not accept a lame "watch my carbs" and would insist on a referral to an RD, but the others are right - you can get this under control by losing weight and exercising.
  • helpfit1002
    helpfit1002 Posts: 16 Member
    You are over-weight, so that should be your main and secondary focus. Learn to count calories and eat at a deficit. That sounds easy, but that is really all you need to do. It is not easy of course. Activity helps.

    Then when you get to your target weight and your blood sugar is still high, start to think about changing to eating complex carbs over sugary carbs. But really, worry about your weight first.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,941 Member
    The Newcastle study shows type 2 insulin insensitivity is caused by excessive fat around liver and pancreas, so if you lose some belly fat it might take you out of the risk group. I reversed my own diabetes diagnosis by losing some weight and have been off medication for a few years. I went from an hba1c of 10+ to 4.5.
    https://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#publicinformation

    Exercise, especially HIIT depletes glycogen in of your muscles which when replenished in turn pulls glucose out of your blood.
    https://www.diabetes.co.uk/high-intensity-interval-training.html

    You can also google more conventional simple carb management by googling glycemic index.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,941 Member
    If you want to try conventional simple carb management, you can buy a blood glucose test kit in drugstores. The kind where you prick your finger to test where your blood sugar is. Get the pharmacist to show you how to use it. Keep track of what foods (and how much of it) raises your post prandial blood glucose to an unnacceptable level. It's been a long time since I have done this, so ask the pharmacist for advice where you should be trying to keep your blood glucose and how long after eating you should test.

    Oh, you can reduce the glycemic index of starchy foods such as pasta and rice by thoroughly cooling after cooking and reheating.
    https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/carbohydrates-and-diabetes/carbs-and-cooking
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