Has anybody reversed prediabetes?

[WinnerTakesAFall]

Would anybody be willing to share what they did?

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed & don't know where to start really.

I have an appointment with the GP nurse but not for 5 weeks.

@WinnerTakesAFall I'm ging to risk a flaming here and say that sugar free fizzy drinks aren't a terrible option if it helps you transition away from sugary fizzy drinks. Yes, I know they're full of UPFs and all manner of shit, but change will be so much less difficult if it's not a radical overnight change of replacing everything you've ever enjoyed. I'm not touting Coze Zero as a health food just because I have a dependence, but if it helps make the change sustainable for you then its better than three weeks of lettuce leaves and tap water followed by a complete return to your old diet because it was (understandably) miserable!

Sorry to hijack the thread but I have a related question. My husband was told his blood sugar was pre diabetic and he's been cutting carbs a lot. That's to say, I've adjusted the way we eat to facilitate this. This has been quite good for me as I had a couple of kilos to lose but he was skinny anyway and now his clothes are falling off, he looks gaunt, etc. He's now under 70kg and 6 foot. We had a very good diet anyway with tons of veg, scarcely any sugar, etc so cutting carbs seems the only way for him to improve it. I've been replacing some 'pure' carbs with pulses to provide hopefully more wholesome bulk. This seems like a really atypical situation (it seems likely the blood sugar issue is partly hereditary and possibly exacerbated by other meds). But does anyone have any tips for lowering blood sugar while NOT losing weight? Tips that aren't just silly (eat half a jar of peanut butter). Ways to make real food more calorific without dowsing it in cream and cheese. There's only so much good animal protein one can eat, not least for economic reasons! I wouldn't dare post this if it were me rather than my husband because it sounds like an awful humble-brag.

@Donostiera That sounds tricky! Others may well have more expert advice than me, but could you add nuts and good oils (avocados, olive oil etc) to his diet as well as full fat dairy products like gold or blue milk, and cheese? Increasing the number of meals he eats might also help, so eating more frequent (but slightly smaller) meals throughout the day? You can also buy fortifying supplements to add to drinks if that might help

I got it down ( was 61 at time) from 44 to 38 in 4 months- went gluten free, ( not necessary but mentally helped as made a lot of bread and cakes etc not interesting) hugely cut carbs to less than 75g a day - walked more and lost a stone and a half, it has varied since between 37 and 40 - I eat more protein, more fruit , less ready meals,more salad and veg, less carbs and rarely have deserts, cakes or biscuits .i also drank more water and herbal tea.

if i can just mention about needles - they really are nothing like the horrendous blood tests I had years ago - more like the Covid jab - i honestly was chatting away to the nurse and didn’t even realise she had already been in and out!!

Doesn't help that he's a bit of a Jack Spratt when it comes to cream, butter, soft cheese, chicken skin, delicious fatty bits on steak! (Though luckily hard cheese seems to be ok) But I've got him eating a handful of nuts a couple of times a day (expensive!) Maybe a glug of olive oil poured over every meal is the next option - easier in summer with salads etc. I'm just hoping the blood test after 9 months of the annoying NHS app programme will be great and he can start to relax a bit.

@Donostiera if you've gone low carb then you will really need to up the fat. That's where the extra, necessary calories and nutrition will come from.

I wonder if he might be able to get a referral to a dietician, who'd be able to give him diabetes-friendly advice for a fortifying diet?

I have to avoid drinking with my meals due to my tiny stomach pouch - would it be helpful if he avoided drinking with meals so he could prioritise food intake at mealtimes? You haven't said whether or not he's eating large portions, I'm just chucking out random ideas as they occur to me!

Yes, I have. It’s been hard work. I have always been very slim and do a lot of exercise so I was really shocked to find I had it, but my mum had type 2 and it can be partly genetic. So now I has to eat extremely healthily and I am borderline underweight (BMI just under 19 and I’m 50) but it worked. I eat mostly the same things each day and actually it’s fine now, I just have to get on with it, and it better than having diabetes.
I eat: scrambled eggs for breakfast (usually 3, no butter or milk, just salt and pepper), a coffee with milk and sweeteners, lunch is at home every day so I have Greek yogurt with blue berries and nuts and literally half a teaspoon of honey, then dinner is relatively normal but very healthy eg vegetable curry and brown rice, egg fried rice, jacket potatoes - I still eat some carbs as I am a marathon runner so need some, plus I like to eat roughly the same as my family. However I don’t ever eat chocolate, biscuits, cakes - literally never. It took a month or so of cold turkey and now I don’t even want them.
my bloods are back in the normal range but still higher than you would expect - it’s just the way it is. I don’t mind tbh now I’m used to it, and also at least all my clothes fit well.
good luck - if you are willing to take it seriously if can be done but it’s for life, so has to be seen as non-negotiable.

That's exactly what I keep telling him!

The portions seem quite reasonable, and he claims to be full. I think maybe more meals / larger snacks might be helpful. My cat agrees with this approach...

I did really well after my initial diagnosis, went from 210lb to 180lb by change in diet and walking more. I found the diabeticsUK website really useful and based my changes in diet from that. I managed to get my levels down out the prediabetic level.

Then I changed jobs, much less active now, and I put on 15lb, I actually ended up tipping into Type 2 diabetic range (just). Back down 5lb now and back into prediabetic. I'm finding it so hard to lose weight but I've been tracking my meals and its all because I'm regularly 300 calories over my goal, so thats what I'm working on now along with trying to hit my step goal.

I was on statins that are known for increasing blood sugars, and no matter how sensible my diet, no fizzy drinks, low (brown) carbs only, the number kept creeping up. I changed to a different type of statins and took cinnamon supplement daily and carried on with the diet changes. That bought my sugars down from 45 to 41. Then a year later lost almost 5 stone on monjouro and now they are at 29.
My mum was pre diabetic and introduced me to cinnamon as it got her out of the pre range too.

If you look up Dr David Unwin, he is an NHS GP who put his own type 2 diabetes into drug free remission and has helped a lot of patients do the same.

https://phcuk.org/wp-content/uploads/A_5_page_low_carb_diet_leaflet_Unwin_2021-converted.pdf

He's written a book and is on YouTube/has a website

@Donostiera he sounds a bit like me - see my above post! I’m 5’9 and only 57 kg now to keep mine below pre-diabetic levels. I eat Greek yogurt and nuts a lot, but am vegetarian so not sure how else to get protein and obviously I don’t want to get much fatter and watch my levels go up again.
I spoke to an NHS dietician who was pretty useless to be honest - I think they largely didn’t understand why I was even pre diabetic anyway at my weight and didn’t take me very seriously- it was a phone call and I tried to explain I was thin anyway and I think she thought I was delusional. I wanted to know how to maintain energy levels etc and not get too thin but she just spouted ‘don’t eat fried foods and takeaways’ and things I never eat anyway. Sorry, that’s not much help to you but I understand your dh’s predicament.

My DH did, he has never been overweight at all and always fit , he cut out all sweet stuff and white rice and pasta. He did have quite a sweet tooth before but probably had less sugar than I did. It can happen to people with a lowish BMI as well

Thank you for the posts, everybody. Lots to think about.

WorstPaceScenario It's already Pepsi max but I know what you are saying. I'm trying to not actually refuse myself anything as I know that I will fail then.

How often do you get a blood test once you are prediabetic?

My DH did, with a combo of Michael Moselys fast 800 and Mediterranean diet. He lost 3 stone along the way.

My adult DS is a long distance lorry driver so in his job he has to sit still for hours on end and he has long days. Last year he was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. He had to see the muse who terrified him by telling him he'd be prone to erectile distinction if he became diabetic as well as have issues with his eyes and feet. He came home and cut back his 2 pint of alcohol in midweek evenings. He cut back on takeaways and started buying healthy food and cooking. He upped his veg and started taking a homemade packed lunch, salad in a box with chicken most days. He tried to up his exercise at weekends. He went back 6 weeks later and he was no longer pre-diabetic. He also borrowed my exercise bike and did 30 mins each day.

Mine are in my birth month, annually.

If I manage to come out of the range by this December, I’ll still have to go yearly in case I go back into it, as apparently many people do.

caringcarer That's an absolutely amazing success story! Thank you for sharing that, you must be so proud of him.

Honestly, all of you on here have blown my mind. I never knew that it was possible at all.

Thank you, ChunkyMonkey36.

Yes. I stopped eating carbs. Didn’t take long.

No me but several people at the slimming world group I attend have.

Yes. I was offered a lifestyle coaching programme called Oviva.
I followed their recommendations for healthy eating (think big salads or veggies, protein and small portion of carbs) for about 3 months until I reached my first weight loss plateau. Then I dialled in and went hard on cutting carbs (no grain, fruit or starchy veg) which wasn’t on the list and not approved of, however I cut another few kg of fat loss and improved my HbA1c from 42 down to 33. My coach said she’d never seen that done so quickly. I still monitor what I eat but I’m not as strict any more. My HbA1c hovers at around 36-38 now for the last 2 years with no other issues

if your GP refers you to a lifestyle programme I’d highly recommend. They’ll give you lots of support and ideas and I had a 1:1 coach to talk through my issues with.

My brother did it under a medical trial. He lost 11 stone in a year and reversed it completely. He was on under 500 cals a day for 9 months - brutal - but thank god he managed it. He was over 30 stone aged 20-26 but has managed to get down to 12 now and he is SO HAPPY it is lovely to see.

Well done that lad- !!