Hi I was diagnosed prediabetic in may hba1c of 42 and was already slim but I’ve lost more weight now doing very low carb and my numbers aren’t all that great even on low carb around 30-40 a day. I don’t really exercise and I’m guessing I need to start I’ve never really exercised except walking. But I’m worried I’ve lost muscle as my upper arms look so skinny and like there is no muscle I’m feeling very depressed about all this I already suffer with anxiety and depression and feel really bad now. I really want to gain some weight but if I increase carbs my numbers will be worse. I don’t understand I can wake up with a 6.3 fasting number and it will continue to rise whether I eat or not till midday or 1. Then my postprandial numbers don’t come down till after about 3 hours. It would have been far easier if I had weight to lose. Can someone give me some advice as I’m close to giving up with everything now
Don't panic mate, 42 really isn't so bad, certainly not the end of the world.
You are just in the borderline zone.
"Slim" doesn't necessarily mean your body composition is low in fat. It might be but you really can't always tell so easily. BMI is a good guide for assessing risks for large populations, but not always so for an individual. Some people have a low BMI and very little body fat and can still be T2 diabetic. Some can be high BMI and have a fair bit of body fat and not be anywhere near T2 diabetic. It all depends on your personal adipose fat threshold, once you exceed that you're going to start to get into trouble at some point unless you do something about it.
Building muscle is always a good idea. Bullet proof your body for older age.
If you want to build muscle resistance training is the way to go. You don't need a gym or anything fancy. Press ups, squats, inverted rows under a table .. you can get started with no equipment. Plenty of stuff out their to help e.g.
You Are Your Own Gym
You can supplement with a pair of adjustable dumbbells and get plenty done at home without wasting time or money on gyms.
For blood sugar control even a 20 min brisk walk after a meal helps enormously, Find what you enjoy and do it. Muscle is good for you as you age anyway in so many ways, but some people just don't enjoy resistance training and they then don't do it despite good intentions and feel bad. Be honest with yourself and just do
something to start with, walk if you enjoy walking, eat plenty of protein in all your meals to stimulate muscle synthesis, keep the carbs low and keep the fats healthy but also under control. Once you're moving more and feeling more positive, start adding some press ups, squats etc. as you get better at them and see benefits you'll do more, do more demanding versions of the exercises, continue to get stronger and build more muscle. I don't know what your body compositions really is. If your fat composition is too high you will need to be in a calorie deficit to ensure your body uses your fat stores as fuel. Up your protein, use protein shakes if you have to, the body becomes more anabolic resistant as we age, exercise and protein intake counter that. Don't worry so much about your A1C of 42 . Eat what you need to fuel your activity and build your body, keep the food healthy and not processed. Don't obsess about your BG levels, measure your fasting levels in the morning and see how it is affected over time as you change your diet and exercise more. Remember 42 isn't that bad .. if you start to look to skinny and feel tired or frail you need to eat more, adapt to the changes you see. Getting too fat and the fasting BGs are trending up? Eat less of what is causing that and move more, getting too skinny, too tired, not building muscle, not moving much eat more of the right things while tracking your fasting blood glucose and looking at your body composition. But don't obsess, and don't be scared, one step at a time, one day at a time. Every now and then you will need to adjust, again just do it, one day at a time. You'll be fine.