Blood Glucose Levels - longer term

It's mainly 1) cutting down the carbs.
2) Exercise helps, but what you eat is more important.
3) Weight loss can help too, but it really depends where you lose it. Fat around the middle will impact on the visceral fat around your liver and pancreas affecting their performance. But a Low Carb diet will usually mean you lose weight too.
4) I've not had to use meds for my T2 so can't give any thoughts on that, but others might.

And yes you can lower your bs to normal range if you are T2. I have done that as have others on here mainly by adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) approach to eating.

I can't add much to what @Prem51 has said accept that lowering your bg may result in weight loss and it does for most people but weight loss alone (say with a calorie restricted diet) may not have much of an impact on bg in the long term. Weight loss is secondary to controlling your blood glucose levels.

I agree with both @Prem51 and Guzzler.
I was diagnosed on the 21st of June 2014 with a HbA1c of 10.7%
I told my Dr I did not want to go on medication, and to give me a chance to try a 'lifestyle' approach first.
I weighed 237lbs. at 5'2" that had me practically super morbidly obese.
I Parked my car, waved it 'See Ya Lerra' and walked every where.
I also did a scheduled 5mile walk every day.
I did not test then, I wanted to focus on the weight loss plus eating lower carb.
By my next GP visit 3months later it was down to 6.7%
He asked what I was doing and encouraged me to continue with it.

I bought Dr Bernstein's book, and followed his guidelines.
I went online and read + watched a lot of resources out there about the role of Insulin.
When I went back 6months later to my GP, they told me I had elevated blood lipids.
I refused Statins, and decided to add soluble fibre to my meals.
I got down to 134lbs within I year.
Thanks to Low Carb and walking plus my soluble fiber, I no longer have the runaway appetite that had me yo-yo-ing since I was in my 20s.
I started testing not too long ago.
EVERY DAY I THANK MY DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETES FOR SAVING MY LIFE.
I did not know then it was my hyperinsulinaemia that had my appetite so out of control.
I would lose tons of weight and gain it right back plus some.
I could not control my weight.
I had booked appointments for Weight loss Surgery so many times in Belgium, but demurred on account of the possible complications.
Now, I have my blood glucose in the non diabetic range, plus for the first time in my adult life, I know without a doubt I can control my weight.
Thank you Diabetes.

tubamanandy said:

If your say average BG is sitting around 7-8, how do you go about getting it regularly into the 5-6 range as you get older ?

Is it purely a combination of 1) Careful with what you eat (carbs) 2) Exercise 3) Losing weight 4) Meds ?

Can it even be lowered to a normal range if you are diagnose T2 ?

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There are many of us on this forum that have normalised our blood sugar levels to the 5-6 range, and even lower in some cases.
Age has nothing to do with it, except that as we grow old our organs start to wear out including the pancreas, so may need a bit of help from medication. I personally have never taken any medication, just low carb. My blood sugars are normal, and as a bonus I lost weight. I don't do any additional exercise. I am 69.

tubamanandy said:

Can it even be lowered to a normal range if you are diagnose T2 ?

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what do you mean by older? i was diagnosed nearly four years ago, six months before my 60th birthday. as you'll see by my stats, my levels were really high - fasting bg level was 19mmol, though i was only a little overweight. i was put on metformin, but i've been off it for a year now, and my levels are completely normal. so my personal experience leads me to believe that it is possible to have and maintain normal levels without meds - i'll find out what happens over the next ten years! but so far, going lchf and making sure i exercise every day seem to do it for me.

Guzzler said:

I can't add much to what @Prem51 has said accept that lowering your bg may result in weight loss and it does for most people but weight loss alone (say with a calorie restricted diet) may not have much of an impact on bg in the long term. Weight loss is secondary to controlling your blood glucose levels.

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I agree, totally.
In older people higher protein may be needed to keep the muscle strength. I've lost a bit muscle but slowly regaining but that's ok. I'm preparing for bariatric surgery so my aims are different.
Bg control can be found easier than lose weight, for some.
They are independant, for sure.

tubamanandy said:

If your say average BG is sitting around 7-8, how do you go about getting it regularly into the 5-6 range as you get older ?

Is it purely a combination of 1) Careful with what you eat (carbs) 2) Exercise 3) Losing weight 4) Meds ?

Can it even be lowered to a normal range if you are diagnose T2 ?

Click to expand...

I can only achieve that with insulin. I'm intolerant of most meds. Metformin is hit and miss.
Everyone has different needs but a high protein diet can help with muscle shrinkage but with a dietician supervising you, would be best?

I got my blood glucose after meals down to 8 and then just waited - I was only a few months from diagnosis, but by staying at the same level of carbs my blood glucose dropped gradually down to under 7 after meals - when I got normal Hba1c levels I thought that was good enough and - oddly enough - the amount of carbs I am eating now matches the amount I could eat and lose weight in the past. I have a lot of leeway as I could exercise more, eat fewer carbs, - but I will see if my gradual weightloss is the key first.