Hello, All. I've been told that my A1C is 5.9%, which is solidly in the prediabetic range. I'd really like to avoid metformin for a whole list of reasons, but, as a 68+ year-old male, I already weigh only 156lb at 5'9" tall.
I row about 3 million meters/year, in addition to daily walks of a couple of miles. Additional weight loss or exercise is not realistic or desirable.
My diet isn't perfect, but a typical dinner for my wife and me would be a spinach or romaine salad with either fish or chicken. I do like my chocolate (dark only) and I average one alcoholic drink a day, either wine, beer, or single malt scotch. I don't drink colas or other soft drinks.
Given my current status, would you say that I likely will have to either give up the chocolate and alcohol entirely, or get started on meds?
I am, of course, consulting with my physician, but I'm wondering if anyone here has had success with a similar situation.
Thanks.
Any prediabetes success?
Re: Any prediabetes success?
You failed to mention what your other meals are like, every time you eat, your insulin will spike.
even if it's sweetener & cream in your coffee. I'm 6'5" & currently at 246 down from 305.
my A1c was 8.4 at it's worst. The Only thing that has worked for me is OMAD one meal a day.
with strict 20/4 fasting. for 20 hrs NOTHING but water or green tea plain. No food = no insulin spikes.
As for your vices , chocolate or single Malt . One or the other not both! and figure the carbs into your
daily total. And keep it within the 4hr. feeding window. Personally I'd go with the Single Malt !
I love my 15 yo. GlenCadam
even if it's sweetener & cream in your coffee. I'm 6'5" & currently at 246 down from 305.
my A1c was 8.4 at it's worst. The Only thing that has worked for me is OMAD one meal a day.
with strict 20/4 fasting. for 20 hrs NOTHING but water or green tea plain. No food = no insulin spikes.
As for your vices , chocolate or single Malt . One or the other not both! and figure the carbs into your
daily total. And keep it within the 4hr. feeding window. Personally I'd go with the Single Malt !
I love my 15 yo. GlenCadam
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foreverfreedom
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Re: Any prediabetes success?
I have been where you are and the cure is to lower your carbohydrate intake. Metformin is not a cure - it merely manages the symptom; the problem with metformin is that it causes weight gain - about 10lb a year. Your problem is almost certainly chocolate and alcohol, and those "hidden carbs" in healthy(!) whole grains etc. If you are really serious about the problem, you have to weigh your food, start a food diary and aim for a maximum daily carb intake of 50g.
Dr. Robert Cywes put it very succintly - "There are two types of Type 2 Diabetic, addicts and performance athletes". By addicts, he was not referring to heroin etc., but carbs and as to performance athletes, Sir Steven Redgrave is an obvious example.
Dr. Robert Cywes put it very succintly - "There are two types of Type 2 Diabetic, addicts and performance athletes". By addicts, he was not referring to heroin etc., but carbs and as to performance athletes, Sir Steven Redgrave is an obvious example.
Re: Any prediabetes success?
Why would performance athletes have type 2 diabetes? If this was indeed so prevalent, T2D wouldn't be considered a lifestyle disease.
I'm sorry, but the quoted doctor sounds like a quack outside his own specialty, which is bariatric surgery. He is a surgeon, not an endocrinologist. Saying things like our bodies are "meant to run on keto diet" shows a fundamental lack of understanding of biochemistry. Glucose is the only possible source of energy for the CNS. A hunger diet or carb deficiency leads to ketosis, which is a survival mechanism - liver uses fatty acids to create ketones that can be broken down into Ac-CoA (and enter the Krebs cycle, like the Ac-CoA you would get from glycolysis or beta-oxidation of fats) outside liver to satisfy the energy requirements.
Saying things like a person should not eat more than 50g of carbs per day is just misleading. Barring any health conditions that predispose one to weight gain such as hypercortisolism or hypothyroidism, weight gain is related to energy intake, be it from carbs, fat or protein.
To OP - prediabetic means you are likely to develop diabetes in the future. Hyperglycemia itself is not bad, the bad is the effect it has on your blood vessels - accelerated atherosclerosis, peripheral neuropathy etc. All of which take decades to develop. Given your age AND the fact that you have not yet developed diabetes, I would strongly consider the pros and cons of going on fad diets. You eat a healthy diet and your weight is at a good number - more elderly people are recommended to have a bit higher BMI than younger people to prevent frailty and falls.
The treatment guidelines are evidence based and keto diets are not in there. For a reason. Number 1 thing you can do to prevent diabetes is eat well and stay at a healthy weight, which you are already doing. If your doctor feels you are moving towards diabetes nevertheless, he/she might recommend metformin as the next step to keep your A1C under control, but again - at your age I would really try and weigh the pros and cons of additional medication and internet advice.
As far as Sir Steven Redgrave is concerned, his case is really not the norm - he was at full-blown diabetes at 35 years of age and injecting insulin. Internet says it was type 2, but type 2 diabetics progress to insulin shots only late in the disease when the medication can not keep the blood sugar under control. This strongly implies Type 1 Diabetes or a genetic predisposition, such as maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) that should NOT be confused with Type 2 diabetes (risk factors for which are inactive lifestyle, high BMI, high blood pressure, etc)
I'm sorry, but the quoted doctor sounds like a quack outside his own specialty, which is bariatric surgery. He is a surgeon, not an endocrinologist. Saying things like our bodies are "meant to run on keto diet" shows a fundamental lack of understanding of biochemistry. Glucose is the only possible source of energy for the CNS. A hunger diet or carb deficiency leads to ketosis, which is a survival mechanism - liver uses fatty acids to create ketones that can be broken down into Ac-CoA (and enter the Krebs cycle, like the Ac-CoA you would get from glycolysis or beta-oxidation of fats) outside liver to satisfy the energy requirements.
Saying things like a person should not eat more than 50g of carbs per day is just misleading. Barring any health conditions that predispose one to weight gain such as hypercortisolism or hypothyroidism, weight gain is related to energy intake, be it from carbs, fat or protein.
To OP - prediabetic means you are likely to develop diabetes in the future. Hyperglycemia itself is not bad, the bad is the effect it has on your blood vessels - accelerated atherosclerosis, peripheral neuropathy etc. All of which take decades to develop. Given your age AND the fact that you have not yet developed diabetes, I would strongly consider the pros and cons of going on fad diets. You eat a healthy diet and your weight is at a good number - more elderly people are recommended to have a bit higher BMI than younger people to prevent frailty and falls.
The treatment guidelines are evidence based and keto diets are not in there. For a reason. Number 1 thing you can do to prevent diabetes is eat well and stay at a healthy weight, which you are already doing. If your doctor feels you are moving towards diabetes nevertheless, he/she might recommend metformin as the next step to keep your A1C under control, but again - at your age I would really try and weigh the pros and cons of additional medication and internet advice.
As far as Sir Steven Redgrave is concerned, his case is really not the norm - he was at full-blown diabetes at 35 years of age and injecting insulin. Internet says it was type 2, but type 2 diabetics progress to insulin shots only late in the disease when the medication can not keep the blood sugar under control. This strongly implies Type 1 Diabetes or a genetic predisposition, such as maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) that should NOT be confused with Type 2 diabetes (risk factors for which are inactive lifestyle, high BMI, high blood pressure, etc)
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Citroen
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Re: Any prediabetes success?
Steve Redgrave is a type-1 (insulin dependent) diabetic. So your argument is somewhat flawed.foreverfreedom wrote: ↑April 20th, 2021, 5:17 am"There are two types of Type 2 Diabetic, addicts and performance athletes". By addicts, he was not referring to heroin etc., but carbs and as to performance athletes, Sir Steven Redgrave is an obvious example.
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foreverfreedom
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Re: Any prediabetes success?
Just a few comments, in support of my original post.
1. WRT Dr. Cywes. Being a bariatric surgeon does not preclude expertise in other areas. E.g., Dr Jason Fung - nephrologist, Professor Tim Noakes - university professor and ultra marathon runner, Gary Taubes - Harvard trained nuclear physicist who debunked "cold fusion", and journalist.
2. Sir Steven Redgrave was diagnosed with T2D at age 35. He started insulin injections specifically for the high sugar content of his diet for the short term energy needs for his training and racing workload. His daily calorific intake was in the region of 7000 calories; https://www.diabetes.co.uk/celebrities/ ... grave.html
3. Dietary glucose is a non-essential nutrient; as all necessary glucose for the CNS can be produced by hepatic gluconeogenesis; Professor Keith Frayn - Oxford professor and author of Human Metabolism.
1. WRT Dr. Cywes. Being a bariatric surgeon does not preclude expertise in other areas. E.g., Dr Jason Fung - nephrologist, Professor Tim Noakes - university professor and ultra marathon runner, Gary Taubes - Harvard trained nuclear physicist who debunked "cold fusion", and journalist.
2. Sir Steven Redgrave was diagnosed with T2D at age 35. He started insulin injections specifically for the high sugar content of his diet for the short term energy needs for his training and racing workload. His daily calorific intake was in the region of 7000 calories; https://www.diabetes.co.uk/celebrities/ ... grave.html
3. Dietary glucose is a non-essential nutrient; as all necessary glucose for the CNS can be produced by hepatic gluconeogenesis; Professor Keith Frayn - Oxford professor and author of Human Metabolism.
Re: Any prediabetes success?
True, glucose can be produced via gluconeogenesis, but it is a necessary part of your nutrition and going the gluconeogenesis way is a very roundabout way of getting there. Kind of like instead of buying gasoline at the gas station, you just buy the crude oil and use your own refinery.