Prediabetes & Carbs

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fabiosmexy
fabiosmexy Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am prediabetic, which has made it hard for me to reach my carb goals to help me push heavier weight. Any food suggestions with decent, safe carbs for prediabetics?
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  • tusroger714
    tusroger714 Posts: 1 Member
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    Don't have the answer, but curious how you came to be prediabetic as I also am but rarely eat actual sweets. I'm guessing I can over eat carbs which then turns into sugar?? I know other things like cereal has sugar but I do control that.
  • hersheythecat
    hersheythecat Posts: 128 Member
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    As someone who's constantly on the cusp of diabetes 2, unless you read the labels of absolutely everything you put in your mouth, you don't realize how many carbs are in there. Things that you would just assume are low carbs because there's "no sugar added" can still be HIGH in carbs. I find to keep my sugars on the lower end of the spectrum that if I need a sweet, I pair it with a protein. 3 hershey kisses + 3 cubes of cheese - make me a happy camper.
  • Fit_b4_fifty
    Fit_b4_fifty Posts: 8 Member
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    Grenade protein bars very low in sugar 1-3g a bar.
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
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    Cheese is always a good snack, laughing cow, babybels, or string cheese. Beef jerky is also good and filling. One thing I did learn is that exercise contributes a great deal to lowering your A1C. I found that the days that I walked, hiked or took a class at the gym my blood sugars were lower. I asked my doctor and she said that exercising helps your cells to function more effectively, and process better. Also, keep in mind how much sugar is in alcohol.
  • creativecook18
    creativecook18 Posts: 4 Member
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    I was also surprised I was diagnosed as pre diabetic recently. I am losing weight as I read that losing 5-7 % of weight can lower it to normal. I was BMI 25 but think I may have had too many carbs. My LDL was high eventhough I switched to vegetarian diet months before. Frustrating but I am committed to be even healthier in my diet and Fitness Pal is helping. I hit a plateau but lowered calories to 1100 and I don’t count exercise. I’m 65 female so figure that goes with age too. I’ve lost 5 lbs in 5 weeks but going for at least 4 more.
  • BethNY71
    BethNY71 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi everyone! Glad I found this board. I just found out yesterday I am prediabetic. My mother and aunt both have type 2 so I REALLY need to watch myself. Sadly, already have some neuropathy in feet/toes which I read can happen in prediabetics...not just diabetics. Wish I knew this sooner. 😩. Anyway....onward and upward. I just feel so lost as to how to start planning my meals. My dr told me not to worry about counting calories at this point, but to save my carbs (potatoe,pasta, bread) for one meal of the day. Within reason of course. Does this sound reasonable? I’d feel better if I knew numbers....like how many grams of carbs is ok. Know what I mean? So confused. Help! 😂
  • Jbrehm87
    Jbrehm87 Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm a nurse, and I was diagnosed with Pre-DM. My A1c was 5.7, and my post-prandial CBG was 220.

    I read a book called The Diabetes Code, which is written by a nephrologist who specializes in DM. He advocates for intermittent fasting and explains in detail the science behind how it works.

    I maintained the exact same dietary choices as when I had an A1c of 5.7, but I limited my feeding window to 4-8 hours per day depending on how I was feeling. I ate anything from healthy lean meats, veggies and whole grains to massive quantities of fast food junk.

    My A1c over the course of months went from 5.7 to 5.4. My post-prandial CBG now never goes above 100, and I can go hours without food without feeling weak or tired.
  • SweatLikeDog
    SweatLikeDog Posts: 272 Member
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    Interesting spin on carbs https://youtu.be/da1vvigy5tQ
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 876 Member
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    Be sure to always pair any higher carb item you're eating with protein and fat to help regulate your blood sugar.

    Also -- it seems like there is some decent evidence that consuming resistant starch can be helpful in regulating blood sugar as well.

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31168050/
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,081 Member
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    Also, keep in mind how much sugar is in alcohol.

    Strictly speaking, there's zero sugar in alcohol. Alcohol is its own pseudo-macronutrient, with 7 calories per gram - it isn't a carbohydrate, fat or protein. Some alcoholic drinks, like wine, do contain sugars or other carbohydrates, in addition to alcohol, and can contain other macros, too, of course (such as some mixed drinks).

    Alcohol is potentially risky for any of us, but for diabetics, it can actually trigger low blood sugar, especially on an empty stomach, because of how it's processed in the liver. Alcohol is weird stuff, in the body.
  • eckmancl
    eckmancl Posts: 5 Member
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    A diabetic friend shared this advice with me from a dietitian: When looking at packaged foods, the number of grams of fat+fiber+protein should be equal to or greater than the number of carbs.
    I just started trying this.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,986 Member
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    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    horsewishr wrote: »
    I’m a nurse/diabetes educator with prediabetes.

    They say that everyone will get diabetes eventually—if something else doesn’t kill you first. What does that mean? It means that your pancreas (your insulin-producing organ), like every other part of your body, will eventually give out. How fast it wears out is a question of lifestyle. If you “challenge” your pancreas by eating tons of carbs and being physically inactive, it will burn out much faster than if you eat a healthy diet and stay active.

    Focus on real, whole foods. If you’re tempted to eat more fat (in order to avoid carbs) please be aware that saturated fats (mostly from animal sources) make insulin resistance worse. This is the opposite of what you want.

    Don’t be afraid of any type of food. You need them all (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins). Just choose wisely from all categories.

    A final comment: Prediabetes is an indication that pancreatic function is already in decline. It needs to be taken much more seriously at age 25 then at age 65. By 65, it could almost be considered part of the normal aging process. Our eyesight gets worse, our hearing declines, our skin sags, and our pancreases don’t work as well.

    I disagree with this. None of my grandparents ever developed pre-diabetes, and they lived into their 80's and 90's. It's a lifestyle disease. The reason most people will develop it as they age is because we, as a society, eat like total crap for the most part.


    No it isnt solely a lifestyle disease - although lifestyle factors obviously play into it.

    and OP was right - everyone would develop diabetes eventually—if something else doesn’t kill you first

    of course many people live into their 80's or 90's and don't develop diabetes - and die of something else before that happens

    If you read what OP wrote she explains what that meant - that the pancreatic function declines as we age.

    Just like renal function, cardiac function etc - really it would be more surprising if pancreatic function did not decline over time and people of 80 or 90 still had the full function they had at 25

    Just knowing how the body and aging works, that wouldnt be realistic, would it?

  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
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    I am 39 and I went in for routine bloodwork because I was feeling fatigued after eating-extreme fatigue. Started testing my fasting blood sugar and it is always 100-120. My blood work showed high insulin. I go back in this week to do more blood work and get a A1c test done. She suspects prediabetic.
    The problem I am having with this is I am already at a BMI of 20-5'7 weigh 130. I exercise almost every day-eat 3 meals a day with four small snacks and try to pair my meals with carb, protein, fat. I eat very healthy so I don't know what more I change.
    My uncle was diabetic as well as my great grandma so I am wondering if this is just not preventable.
  • naturallykat
    naturallykat Posts: 115 Member
    edited June 2022
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    Even though diabetes type 2 is considered preventable, genetics do play a factor. What our parents and grandparents ate is thought to have an influence on if we get pre-diabetes or not. Something like 1/3 of adults in the UK are pre-diabetic.

    I am on a diabetes prevention programme at the moment. Mine is definitely from over eating sugar and starchy carbs and under exercising (thanks to chronic illness). Some people on the programme were adamant that they weren't doing any of the things that we were being taught to change - some of them I believe, others, well..

    We are taught that various different diets are healthy, and it's hard for some people to re-learn that whilst it may have been healthy for XYZ reasons, their vegan raw food diet was actually quite high in starchy carbs and sugar, (one lady quit the program in disgust after being ever so gently challenged in eating 9-10 fruits per day), or that they might have had huge success losing a phenomenal amount of weight on slimming world, but that the uncontrolled amount of starchy carbs they were eating was having an unintended nasty side effect.

  • naturallykat
    naturallykat Posts: 115 Member
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    The summary of what the NHS program in the UK promotes to address pre-diabetes is:

    Lose weight (5-10% to see improvement in pre-diabetes bloods).
    Exercise more. Throughout the day, and after having eaten is superior to one chunk early in the morning, in terms of managing blood sugar.
    30g or less added sugar per day
    No more then 7 portions of starchy carbs per day (a portion is 2 tablespoons of rice for example).
    Higher fibre foods are better than sugary or starchy versions
    Healthy fats are helpful. Omega 3s. Saturated fat is unhelpful.


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