Hey Kirst, and welcome,
I'll tag
@daisy1 for her info-sheet. There's loads to learn, and it's a good place to start.
I'm guessing you're prediabetic then, but without actual numbers, I can't tell you how "borderline" borderline actually is. So from here on in, any time a test gets done -and that goes for any chronically ill person, really- make sure you get the results. I have a whole collection of print-outs myself, as you don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been.
Being overweight could be caused by certain meds and insulin-resistance. If the latter, then it's hard to lose weight because the problem lies with how your body has trouble processing carbohydrates, but all conventional diets focus on calories and fat intake...! So actually insulin resistance is the first stage to diabetes, and THAT causes weight-gain. So try not to blame yourself here, okay, because it could be induced by medication like statins or steroids, but more often than not it's genetics. (Just got a whiff of self-blame, so thought I'd nip that in the bud).
Like I mentioned, carbs are a problem for prediabetics and T2's. Almost all of them turn into glucose, and when we can't process it out again, it floats around the bloodstream, doing damage left and right, and getting stored in fat cells... Neither of which is something you want happening. Thankfully you're catching it early, so you could get better numbers, potentially lose weight (I know some psych meds will add weight too, so that might be a bit tricky, if that is the case and you use them), and hopefully, avoid becoming a full-fledged T2.
A lot of people here follow a low carb, high fat diet. Carbs are one of three macro-nutrients (the others being fat and protein), and when you cut one, you up the others, so you don't become deficient in minerals and vitamins etc, plus, it keeps you from downright starving yourself. On top of that, fat doesn't make your bloodsugars spike. Better yet, it mitigates the spike you would get from any carbs you do eat, to a certain extent.
You might want to reduce or cut altogether: Bread, potatoes, fruit (except for berries, avocado and tomatoes), rice, pasta and cereal. That leaves you with meat, fish, above-ground veggies/leafy greens, nuts, extra dark chocolate, eggs, butter, cheese, full fat greek yoghurt, olives, that sort of thing. Dietdoctor.com has a load of meal ideas, if you're interested.
For me, eating low carb/high fat made a difference of 25 kilo's dropped, my bloodglucose is non-diabetic (HbA1c is 34), my non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is getting better, my cholesterol is pretty darned good, and it has helped with my clinical depression and panic attacks. I actually walked to my doc's office alone 3 times in the past 3 months, (bladderinfection, diverticulitis, and a shot: none of them T2 related or complications from it, thank heavens.
), while I don't usually leave the house by myself. I got home with sweat running down my back and hyperventilating, but I
did go. I don't know what your issues are, but bloodsugars can and do affect mood... Just so you know. There's more than just non-diabetic levels to gain here.
Hope this'll help!
Jo
