Prediabetes and optimal myfitnesspal settings
cjpattersonus
Posts: 1 Member
I have just been told I am on the low end of prediabetes and want to do all I can to stave off progressing to a diabetic state. Does anyone have a good grasp on what targets I should set on MyFitness pal in regards to sugar & carb targets? I'd appreciate any input.
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Replies
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Your medical team would be the ones to help you with this. While you're waiting to talk to them, I would go to Diabetes.org and use their recommendations.7
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Nice work on not ignoring it until the problem got bigger OP !
I too am on the low end of pre-diabetes. I cap my (net) carbs at around 65g if I am exercising (an awful lot of walking) and aim to keep my total sugar under 20g. I've got these targets to be in light ketosis and get the chub off and anticipate putting carbs up to 100/150g / sugar 30g once at target.
The diet that suits me is High Fat Low Carb - the diet that suits you is the one thats sustainable for your lifestyle and gets your numbers down and keeps them down
Other tips include drop booze, drop as much processed food as possible and increase your exercise. You might want to look at IF as an option with whatever plan you go for.
The diet advice you get is likely to be different for the country you (or the poster here) is in - there is definitely more than one approach that can work. Good luck !4 -
cjpattersonus wrote: »I have just been told I am on the low end of prediabetes and want to do all I can to stave off progressing to a diabetic state. Does anyone have a good grasp on what targets I should set on MyFitness pal in regards to sugar & carb targets? I'd appreciate any input.
I can't speak to the best macro distribution, but if you are overweight, the single best thing you can do to reverse your status is to lose weight. Attaining a healthy weight and becoming more active is key. I am not a doctor but I have seen lots of posters here say they reversed their prediabetes just through those steps, without changing their macros. That's not to say a particular macro distribution won't help or at the least make it easier for you to eat the right amount of calories, mind you Good luck! 9 -
I have been diagnosed and just met with a dietitian. I was told to keep my carbs down to 45g per main meal (carbs- fiber). And for snacks try to keep them at 20g per snack (twice a day) though I usually only eat one a day. I was also instructed to eat all my meals within an 8 to 9 hour window so that my body has more time to process the food and fast before eating again. Like the others have said-get active and concentrate on losing weight.
Good Luck!2 -
Losing weight and getting in regular exercise is going to have the greatest impact. My blood glucose numbers used to be 110...they are optimal now after losing 40 Lbs and getting in regular exercise and maintaining my weight for 6 years. I didn't do any kind of low carb diet, but I did start eating a more nutritionally sound diet.
The biggest thing I cut out was soda. I started eating a lot more vegetables than used to and eating more nutritionally sound sources of carbohydrates like beans, lentils, potatoes and other root vegetables, oats, etc. When I was dieting I had a 40C/30P/30F split...as I recall, it was called the "zone diet"
Just my opinion, but doing keto for numbers that are barely in the pre-diabetic range seems an overly aggressive combat strategy unless you really like eating that way. I more or less followed the ADA dietary recommendations. But really dropping the weight and moving more had the greatest impact.9 -
Personal account so take it for what it's worth:
I got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 35 years old, just 2 years after being a gestational diabetic during my pregnancy. My a1c was either 7.1 or 7.4 at diagnosis in 2009. I was also living a horrible lifestyle. I refused to pick up my metformin prescription (I DONT recommend this, in hindsight it was stupid) because I was hell-bent on losing weight and getting in shape. I did. I lost 80lbs and ended up becoming a marathon runner. I am 5'6" and was weighing in at about 135-139lbs, and running about 50 miles a week. The lowest I could get my a1c was 5.4 but usually, it ran at 5.7 which is just a whiff under pre-diabetic. I hovered there until 2017. My 13-year-old daughter got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (our family is cursed with diabetes). About 3 months in she told me, "I cant keep eating like this, mom. I'm going to die." This is in reference to what the endocrinologist and diabetes team suggested which is basically: eat all the carbs, inject all the insulin. It leads to terrible blood sugar swings.
So, we all went very low carb, less than 50g TOTAL a day. I was just thinking of my daughter and her future. I didnt care about me at this point. To my surprise, at my next a1c check 6 months later, it was 4.8. My doctor gave me a high 5. I told her what I had changed and we both came up with a saying, "if you dont have a fire extinguisher, dont go setting fires." Meaning if you cant metabolize carbs, dont eat em. Also, this is also with me running about 25 miles a week and weighing about 146-150. So I am a bit heavier AND exercising a little less and still my a1c is better with just the carb adjustment. Oh, and my lipid panel/cholesterol is absolutely fine also. As far as the running, I actually got faster! So, again, take it for what it's worth, just a personal experience I wanted to share.
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mindycreed wrote: »Personal account so take it for what it's worth:
I got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 35 years old, just 2 years after being a gestational diabetic during my pregnancy. My a1c was either 7.1 or 7.4 at diagnosis in 2009. I was also living a horrible lifestyle. I refused to pick up my metformin prescription (I DONT recommend this, in hindsight it was stupid) because I was hell-bent on losing weight and getting in shape. I did. I lost 80lbs and ended up becoming a marathon runner. I am 5'6" and was weighing in at about 135-139lbs, and running about 50 miles a week. The lowest I could get my a1c was 5.4 but usually, it ran at 5.7 which is just a whiff under pre-diabetic. I hovered there until 2017. My 13-year-old daughter got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (our family is cursed with diabetes). About 3 months in she told me, "I cant keep eating like this, mom. I'm going to die." This is in reference to what the endocrinologist and diabetes team suggested which is basically: eat all the carbs, inject all the insulin. It leads to terrible blood sugar swings.
So, we all went very low carb, less than 50g TOTAL a day. I was just thinking of my daughter and her future. I didnt care about me at this point. To my surprise, at my next a1c check 6 months later, it was 4.8. My doctor gave me a high 5. I told her what I had changed and we both came up with a saying, "if you dont have a fire extinguisher, dont go setting fires." Meaning if you cant metabolize carbs, dont eat em. Also, this is also with me running about 25 miles a week and weighing about 146-150. So I am a bit heavier AND exercising a little less and still my a1c is better with just the carb adjustment. Oh, and my lipid panel/cholesterol is absolutely fine also. As far as the running, I actually got faster! So, again, take it for what it's worth, just a personal experience I wanted to share.
Mindy - thats amazing !2 -
I also recently got diagnosed with prediabetes and I was started on metformin. I previously had gestational diabetes, it runs in my family on both sides and I’m overweight so I have pretty much every risk factor. I’m being mindful of carbs, and eating a well balanced diet, but what I believe will have the biggest impact is adding exercise to my routine and reducing stress. Stress/ anxiety would make my blood sugar soar, when I had GD. If I was stressed at work and had to test my sugar a bit after a meal, I would test normally. If it seemed high despite eating a balanced meal with low carbs, I would do some deep belly breathing and mediate for a few minutes, then retest. It would always lower it pretty significantly. It’s just something to keep in mind.3
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greyhoundwalker wrote: »I was diagnosed pre-diabetic in January. I was told to lose weight (about 40 lb needed to go I’m currently 18 lb down so nearly halfway) minimise added sugars and minimise “white” carbs and fruit juice but keep including high fibre carbs veggies and fruit. Due for a re-test in July. So far I’m managing well, I find the combination of protein, fat and moderate portions of fibrous carbs within my calorie goal keep me well satiated (in the past trying to include higher sugar items in my calorie allowance led to me crowding out more satiating foods and I’d get too hungry and give up) so this seems more sustainable. Exercise is also important but I already do more than their recommended minimum so no changes needed there for me. Good luck!
Well done on the weight loss !2 -
Hi, How is everyone doing! Just got my numbers and in the low end of pre-diabetes. My mother was diabetic but she had other health issues, smoked, drank pop and coffee like it was going out of style. Basically just dis what she wanted. I don’t do any of that. I’m looking for a meal plan that doesn’t include nuts or beans. I’m used to cooking everything but addicted to sweets. But then who isn’t? 😃1
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In fact, nutrition is very important. Thanks for the tips and recommendations. It has become much easier for me in combination with Diaform!1
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