prediabetic food questions

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TammyLynne71
TammyLynne71 Posts: 184 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello!
Just was told that I was a prediabetic and sat up an appointment with a different doctor for later this month. Just wondering if there where any other prediabetics here. Where u able to get your blood sugars back in the normal ranges? What did u eat? Not eat? Any input would be great.

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  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    did they say anything about *insulin resistance* or *hyperinsulinemia* ?

    I was told that I was pre-diabetic 7 years ago. Before putting me on medication, my doctor asked me to try cutting my carb intake down for a few months. I did, and I lost 20 pounds...and got pregnant. After my baby was born, and weaned, I still occasionally have the blood work done, but it has never showed the wonky insulin levels again.

    In the last 4 years, I have gained about 70 pounds or so due to other factors in my life. I have been trying to lose the weight, but it wouldn't come off. In 3 months I only lost 7 pounds...I cut my carbs, and in a month I have lost another 7-8 pounds. Seems to me like my body likes the lower carbs levels...

    your best bet is to get a copy of the Atkins book and read it. It tells you a lot about how the metabolism works, and how to make low carb work for you. It isn't about NO carbs, it is about making better choices of carbs, and eating fewer of them ( the average diet is 250-300g of carbs a day. My doctor suggested 50g a day to me....right now I am aiming for 50-75g a day)
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    Hi protein/fat and low carbs. That is the way to go for pre-diabetic diet.

    After 7 months and almost 100 lbs down I am back to normal levels. I do take Metformin but that is for my insulin resistance. Some people find it very difficult to lose weight and not because they don't try. Because their bodies will not let them. Insulin resistance is one medical issue that will make it hard to lose. The medication and low carb will keep that in check so losses are possible.

    If they want to put you on that I would say do it. It has helped me a great deal with my weight loss. The first few weeks were brutal until I got used to but some have no issues. You definitely want to cut all breads and grains. Get your carbs from veggies mostly and maybe one serving of fruit a day.
  • TammyLynne71
    TammyLynne71 Posts: 184 Member
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    She did not say either of those. She really did not say nothing. Just to set up an appointment with another doctor.
  • TammyLynne71
    TammyLynne71 Posts: 184 Member
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    Thank u for the advice. Abit of a problem is I am a huge oatmeal eater.
  • SafireBleu
    SafireBleu Posts: 881 Member
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    The American Diabetes Association is a great resource http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/diabetes-meal-plans-and-a-healthy-diet.html These are their recommendations.
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
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    Pre-diabetes just means that your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetic. Your doctor will probably want you to lose about 7% of your total body weight to begin with, and watch your carbs. You will still be able to eat your oatmeal, but you may be asked to reduce your carbohydrate intake in general.
    If your doctor doesn't include some nutritional counseling, please ask for referrals.
    Good luck, you don't want this to turn into diabetes, and weight control is key.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Thank u for the advice. Abit of a problem is I am a huge oatmeal eater.
    That'll have to go. It's a carbohydrate, you have an illness of carbohydrate intolerance.

    You wouldn't eat something you are allergic to, which is the equivalent of eating lots of carbs if you're running high blood sugars and not able to control the,.
  • patchesgizmo
    patchesgizmo Posts: 244 Member
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    Hello!
    Just was told that I was a prediabetic and sat up an appointment with a different doctor for later this month. Just wondering if there where any other prediabetics here. Where u able to get your blood sugars back in the normal ranges? What did u eat? Not eat? Any input would be great.

    I was just diagnosed the same, infact tonight is my first diabetes class. I am working hard on reducing carbs and sugars and so I am tracking besides calories, carbs, sugars, proteins and sodium (for my blood pressure). You are free to look at my diet to see if it helps a little. I have been way to heavy on the fruits so my sugars are high, but my carbs are low.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    I was recently diagnosed with prediabetes, too. I had insulin requiring gestational diabetes during my last two pregnancies (my youngest child is almost 8 months old). I went in for a check up to make sure my BG was normal again and my fasting number was high. The doctor told me to keep checking my BG a few times a week and if things were getting worse to go back in. Otherwise, I don't need to go back for a year. She said to keep following the diabetic diet, lose weight, and exercise at least 30 minutes each day. The diabetic diet she wants me to follow is roughly 12 carb choices per day (typically 2 for breakfast, 3-4 for lunch and dinner and 1-2 for each snack). Choose foods that are lower on the glycemic index and watch fats. They say that a carb is a carb, but different foods react differently in the body. I know that for me, any time I went out to eat I would have high numbers afterwards, even if I was technically within my carb limit. Probably because of the fat in the food. The fat doesn't break down as easily so your blood sugar stays high longer.

    ETA that a "carb choice" is a food that is equal to roughly 15 grams of carbs (about what is in 1/2 c of cooked pasta or one slice of bread).
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    In regards to the poster that talked about being allergic to carbs and ditching oatmeal--this is just bad advice. Do you have diabetes or have ever been to a diabetes education class?
  • DoOrDoNotThereIsNoTry1
    DoOrDoNotThereIsNoTry1 Posts: 149 Member
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    You don't have to go on the Atkins diet or any other low carb diet. This too can have a damaging effect, such as Ketoacidosis.
    You want to eat balanced meals...carbs with proteins...helps reduce the blood sugar spike.
    GTF chromium.
    Cinnamon
    Low Glycemic LOAD index carbohydrates.
    Exercise
    Weight Loss
    Avoid fruit juices
    Fruit taken with protein and in moderation...may not be CARB but still sugar which does affect the blood sugar levels.
  • bane0317
    bane0317 Posts: 60 Member
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    be thankful that your doctor is addressing this! I asked my former doctor about this for at least four years. She kept brushing off my concerns, some of which included: not being able to stay awake after eating a high carb meal, getting the hot/cold flashes with shakes and sweats after some meals that could only be helped by peanut butter, crackers, juice etc. and the weight gain. This doctor NEVER tested my A1c and only checked my glucose once. When she actually gave me a glucose meter I told her that my fasting sugar was over 125 every morning for almost a month. she told me to look up how to eat low glycemic foods. THAT WAS ALL! As a side note the same doctor ignored my requests for a sleep study even though my mother has sleep apnea and I complained of horrible snoring and daytime sleepiness.

    I changed doctors in January. She immediately did an A1c test and scheduled me for sleep studies. I was told my A1c was 6.5, which meant I was over the line and into diabetes. Currently treating with Metformin 500mg /day. I was also diagnosed with sleep apnea and told that between 8 and 20 times per hour I was stopping breathing enough that I had to wake myself up to start breathing again. I believe that if she had addressed both of these concerns when I brought them up I would not be in the position I am in with Diabetes or excess weight as the sleep apnea can contribute to both. I take responsibility in saying that I got myself at least part of the way but she didn't help keep me from slipping farther down the slope.

    My advice is to take the time between now and your appt. with the other doctor and arm yourself with lots of questions. Make a list, I always forget what I want to ask if I don't have a list. Also - take a digital recorder with you to any of the visits that may have a lot of info passed on to you. I did this when I met to discuss how to address my diagnosis. It made me feel better to think that I could go back and review my recording and not worry that I missed something while digesting life changing news.

    Good luck with trying to address and reverse this! You can do it!
  • pallypunch
    pallypunch Posts: 28
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    Pre-diabetes just means that your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetic. Your doctor will probably want you to lose about 7% of your total body weight to begin with, and watch your carbs. You will still be able to eat your oatmeal, but you may be asked to reduce your carbohydrate intake in general.
    If your doctor doesn't include some nutritional counseling, please ask for referrals.
    Good luck, you don't want this to turn into diabetes, and weight control is key.

    The short answer is that one just needs to lose weight to get out of the pre-diabetes range.

    I was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes as well (just last week). I emailed my doctor as my test results came back (I noticed the glucose stuff- but was concerned with the fatty liver results because this has shown up before). I looked at the results- and the descriptions with them- and panicked a bit (diabetes runs in the family- apparently on both sides).

    With this, I reactivated my gym membership and decided I needed to lose weight. My doctor initially emailed me back and said that this was the direction the results were heading but wanted to wait for one more test. A couple of days later he emailed me back and was like, yeah you have pre-diabetes and fatty liver. He was in agreement with my weight loss steps and recommended that I go to a pre-diabetes class (Kaiser offers these, it's 3 hours and I am going to it tomorrow night)- and that, if needed, I could schedule an appointment with a dietician.

    Oh, and he is going to reach out to me after I complete my at-home sleep test.

    He also included this information from the KP site which encouraged losing weight, eating a balanced diet (low in carbs- mostly so that the carb intake is even & reduces spikes in blood sugar), exercising for 30 minutes a day (can just be low impact) and NOT SMOKING.

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