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HBa1C results

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simply_h

Well-Known Member
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Location
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Hello All,

Hope we are well.

Well I had my bloods gone 2 weeks ago for Cholesterol levels, but they did an HBa1C test as well but did not tell me untill today.. :-). As I have to fight to get these done, so I am happy that they have done it BUT....

My HBa1C was 45, so I think that converts to 6.3%, which was the same as last time, which was done in November 2011, so I am happy that its not gone up as it was over the Christmas period, but I am gutted that its not come down any further.

So I need to know what I am doing wrong, as I want it down into the low 5% or even better into the mid 4% ranges.

I am only on diet, I dont take the tablets.. I am loosing the weight (body fat down from 25% to 19% ish), exersise 3 to 4 times per weeks with mainly weights and some cardio. As I am trying to bulk up, so that the muscle can burn some of the sweet stuff, so to say.

Diet wise I am low carbing ect I do test as well, do I need to get really extreem with low carbing??

Cholesterol wise, my levels are below.
HDL : 1.3
LDL : 5.3
Trig : 1.0

They are not great in total, as was told they where 7.1% and need to come down, as its classed as high.

So any ideas on the diet to drop the HBa1C would be great.

Cheers
Simply_h
 
Re: HBa1C resutls

That LDL and HbA1c suggest that you are not really cutting back enough on the carbs. Try to go to Bernstein's recommended 6:12:12 pattern.
That is 6 carbs for breakfast and 12 each for dinner and lunch. If you snack, keep it to carb free stuff.
That should work.
the trouble with relying on HbA1c for information on BG control is that it doesn't show up spikes. and latest thinking is that it's spikes that do the damage.
You can have an excellent nutritious diet based on meat, fish, cheese, eggs and green leafy veggies. A little fruit is nice, but not too much as it's generally quite high in sugars.
If you like desserts, I've just come up with another. Panna Cotta made with Truvia. I already do a Pavlova with Truvia and a cream made up of cream cheese and creme fraiche, flavoured with vanilla and unsweetened, plus a chocolate mousse with dark chocolate aand unsweetened.
Hana
 
Re: HBa1C resutls

Hi simply

When you say you are low carbing how low is low in grams / day roughly do you think?
 
Re: HBa1C resutls

Hello Xyzzy,

On day that I train I would say at around 150 grams of Carbs tops

On non traing day its around 120grams of carbs.

I have in the last 3 weeks been testing a lot more 1 and 2 hours after a meal to try and keep my levels under 7.8 and 6.6mmol.

I find that if I dont top up on the carbs I run out of energy in the gym, which is a pain, as I hit a walk, so to say. :(

Cheers
Simply_h
 
Re: HBa1C resutls

AMBrennan said:
With respect, but how about not "[Refusing] All meds."?
Click to expand...

Yes. Why not take the tablets (which I assume means metformin)? They'll help bring your BG down a bit (maybe by 1mmol/l) which will have a big influence on your HbA1c, which is probably enough to change your 6.3% into a 5.8%.

Do you test your BG? What are your 2 hour scores like? A HbA1c of 6.3% suggests an average BG of 8.2mmol/l, which to me sounds very high. I suggest that you reduce your carb intake (or decrease the GI of the carbs that you do eat) until you can comfortably ensure that your BG is less than 7mmol/l two hours after you eat. I bet that's a lot less than 150g a day.

Are you sure that you really need to eat extra carbs when you work out? Unless you are going to be doing some endurance training I don't think that there is any need to carb-up before (or after) exercise. I'm on <<30g of carb a day and can run (at an easy pace) for 7-8 miles without any problem. I sometimes liver-dump when I'm running 5k races, but the only negative effect to that is that I spike my blood for a little while. I think it's much better to do that as a natrual consequence of exercise, rather than deliberately spiking your blood to prevent it happening.
 
Hello,

I dont want to take meds, due to all the issues that they can cause, but I am told metformin is not that bad ect..

I do mainly weighs in the gym, I fine that I run out of energy rather fast, then struggle to lift ect.. When I increase my carbs I have found that I can maintain my energy levels for longer.

I think that I may try and reduce my carbs even further and look at other lower carb foods as well, see how I get on with the training as well for 3 months, then when I have my next HBA1c test, see how everything is looking and then make a decsion on metformin.

Cheers
Simply_h
 
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