Prediabetes Will my hba1c increase with this diet change?

[Jared1]

You could try nuts (the lower carb ones - full of fats and protein but don't go mad). Avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, animal fats of any kind and the protein needn't be best steak or wild pampered salmon, it can be minced beef but not the lean stuff and fattier cuts of meat like lamb shanks etc. If you are excercing to lower your bg then you could in theory raise your carb intake slightly but without a glucometer you may not be aware that you could be one of those people for whom excercise actually raises bg levels.

Hope not just run a km down road to dairy and back since last post -yea is hard without a meter but gp tells me every time not to worry about it eat balanced diet and exercise - that's basicly all I hear even when ask. Thanks for your suggestions maybe I'll try a few new cuts and see how goes

 

[AloeSvea]

I hear what your saying - is pitty can't up load screen shot of my food diary - you would see the only carbs I'm getting are from a tiny bit of milk - a couple from Mayo (is full fat Mayo) and the rest is in vege. Would you suggest I maybe only increase meats etc not vege (by vege I'm talking Coliflower and things I would consider good) other wise in pretty much already don't what you say - I could swap milk for cream - I have eggs every day for breakfast so I'm basicly at zero it's really just the vege

Above ground veg are not your problem, I would venture to say. I cannot imagine that you will need to restrict veg! And berries. You are in the non-pre/diabetic zone now, so you are basically talking prevention, to make sure you stay there. So you want it to be sustainable for, well, for the rest of your life! Which is probably moderate carbing? If that! If you are physically active, and one of those people where physical activity is a good thing for insulin sensitivity (which is the norm isn't it?), you may even be able to be moderate to higher level of carbs.

When you get that BG meter you will feel much better! . Because you can really see how your body deals with carbs, and what level of carbing is going to keep you out of the prediabetes/diabetes zone.

Then you can do neat experiments, like, eating a granny smith, and tracking your BG level every 15 mins over 3 hours, to see how your BG regulation is working and in what time frame - those kind of neat things!

 

[Brunneria]

think of your veg and salads as a vehicle for cheese, butter and mayo.
add coconut cream to curries
choose fatty meat options like belly pork, chicken in cream sauces, fattier cuts of meat. Leave the skin on chicken. Don't trim pork chops.
look at low carb fat bomb recipes
snack on egg mayonnaise instead of hard boiled eggs
buy streaky bacon instead of back bacon
eat avocados
add in nuts and pate which are both excellent combinations of fat and protein
nut butters can be eaten by the spoon. no need for bread or crackers
desserts of berries and cream, chocolate mousse, coffee mousse, etc.

and drinks.
it isn't just bullet proof coffee that works.
you can also make hot chocolate with cocoa powder, cream and sweeteners. and if you let it go cold then it is chocolate milk.
you could make strawberry or raspberry 'milk' in the same manner, by blitzing up strawberries, ice water and cream.
golden milk (turmuric milk) is often made with nut milks, but you can do it like a bulletproof coffee if you like

where there is a will, there is a way.

But I strongly suggest that you ease into higher levels of fat intake. Don't do something silly like try and add 1,500 calories of extra food in a singleday. That will just make you feel queasy and ill. Do it gradually over several days or weeks. Just adding a big handful of roasted peanuts before each meal would go a long way to stopping your weight loss.

Also IMPORTANT:
Some people just don't find that fat will add weight, UNLESS they get the carbs right. In other words, you may need to add back in some carbs (the amount will vary from person to person) in order to allow weight gain. After all, insulin is the fat storing hormone, so we need it to store fat. If you have cut carbs so hard that there isn't enough insulin around, then no amount of fat intake is going to help.

 

[Zilsniggy]

Yea I know I think I eat pretty good atm as far as carbs see attached screen shot - that's 762 calories 14%of which is carb (approx 27g without doing the maths) - thing is I need 2500 calories or more just to maintain so if I simply increase portions up to 2500 calories in all of a sudden up to 86g carb a day - that's a pretty big jump ain't it?

Why don't you do some reading about LCHF diets or ketogenic diets? I think you need to see where people are coming from with their advice. Get yourself a meter and some test strips too,(it might amaze you to see what you eat does to your blood sugar, and help you to keep within the guidelines for good control) If you continue to eat carbs, (they are very insulinogenic), they will promote release of insulin and associated weight gain from that. Up good fats and perhaps add a little more protein into what you're currently eating. Remember fat has 7 cals per gram as oppposed to carb, which has 4.....Decide what your macronutrient intake should be(loads of apps around to help with that)to maintain your weight, and eat to that. You don't need to increase the carb intake at all.........eat fatty cuts of meat, fish etc, add healthy fats, butter, olive oil, avocados etc, and that should help add the extra you need.

 

[Jared1]

Hi thanks - I thought fat had 9 cal per gram and protein and carb both had 4. I've read about about keto diets-some what feel is getting away from my original question which is in short version is if I go from like 30g to 80 something gram carb a day is it likely now that I'm good weight that my body will react better to it and be able to cope as in is it likely that I'll be more sensitive to insulin insted of been resistant when over weight? All my carbs are from vege (the good ones) as it is

 

[Resurgam]

Without a meter to check how you respond to foods and portion sizes, you are just guessing at how you are doing.
It is like being advised not to have a speedometer in the car, just wait to see how many fines you get for speeding after three months, and work from that.
In Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution - which is available to download free if you do a search, there are some quite detailed instructions on foods and on slowing weightloss and maintaining weight.
You describe your diet as no carbs - but there are carbs in the foods you eat - so you'd need to reassess and find out exactly what you are eating at the moment, as if you don't know where you are starting from you can't set a course for where you want to arrive.

 

[ringi]

even if I still eat the same ratios of carbs (%)

Limited recent research shows that it is the number of grams of carb per day that is important not the ratios of carbs (%).

So increase your protein ("meat that looks like meat, and fish that looks like fish") along with adding a little butter and/or olive oil to your above ground veg. (Provided you don't remove fat from the natual protein, it is unlikely you will eat too much protein.)

 

[There is no Spoon]

Im only eating about 1000cal a day - according to my fitbit mostly always under 15% of that is carb (that's not net its total carb) so I guess I've been some what been low carb without nessasery meaning to.

Hi Jared,
Upping your calories will mean upping your carbs no matter how much you try to avoid this, there in everything.

Just stick to good food and make wise choices.
If I have a stir fry it used to be veg, chicken + sauce and rice (ok if I'm being honest noodles to in black bean sauce too). Now that same meal is Chicken and veg.
Slashing the carb and calorie intake drastically with out a calculator in sight.

Blood sugar levels is going to go up by definition of adding eating more food, its going to take a couple of weeks to even out. And you can use exercise to control your blood sugar levels.

with weight loss and exercise I'll be more insulin sensitive

I see what your thinking here, and your right you should become less Insulin Resistant (IR) .
It's not strictly the same thing IR vs IS but I agree it's the same effect, you'r muscles become more effective/efficient less resistant which reduces the amount of insulin your pumping out and lowers blood sugar.

So the key behind using exercise is the more muscles you use the greater the over all effect. I'm sure you can figure this out for yourself. Simple version walking uses the legs & swimming uses arms and legs = more muscles = less IR.

 

[Resurgam]

It is correct that 15percent of 1000 is 150 - but that is calories. at 4 calories per gram, that is under 40gm of carb.
That does seem fairly typical of the amount of carbs eaten to keep control, but upping the other food groups and a small increase in the amount of carbs could do the trick.

 

[There is no Spoon]

It is correct that 15percent of 1000 is 150 - but that is calories. at 4 calories per gram, that is under 40gm of carb.

Sorry your right I completely misunderstood the point there.

 

[AloeSvea]

Limited recent research shows that it is the number of grams of carb per day that is important not the ratios of carbs (%).

So increase your protein ("meat that looks like meat, and fish that looks like fish") along with adding a little butter and/or olive oil to your above ground veg. (Provided you don't remove fat from the natual protein, it is unlikely you will eat too much protein.)

Ringi - He's a Kiwi! (Like I am.) Living in Kiwiland. We have meat that looks like meat, and fish that looks like fish - tons of it, trust me . Ditto on the butter. (Isn't food wonderful??!!)

Re Brunneria's good food suggestions, there is a wonderful NZ LCHF book called 'What the fat? : Fat's in, Sugar's Out' by Schofield and Zinn with a chef that I can't remember his name providing the recipes. Excellent book. Excellent website material too, both Schofield and Zinn.

@Jared1 - if you are going to get a BG meter, ask your doctor or practice nurse to prescribe you the CareSensN model (that is 'N'!), not the lighter weight CareSens one. Say a Kiwi diabetic (with a heap of blasted 'control') who pricks her finger fairly often during experiments and when keeping at eye on it, recommends the N model over the other one. (a bit more sophisticated, easier to use, IMHO so less pain.) Then you need to make sure you get the CareSensN test strips. And if you don't do a PHO self management course - and you would had to have done that when you were in the prediabetes zone, and you aren't now (which of course is great!) - you have us now instead, so - prick on the side of your fingers, not on the pad.

I was in the local store yesterday, and my partner and I were having a lively conversation about what brand of commercial cookies and crackers to get for guests coming for afternoon tea, and a lovely woman stacking the shelves got involved, and I explained that I did in fact have lots of experience and opinions from days of old on which choccie biccies were the best, but I wasn't eating them now due to the ol' diabetes. She told me her husband had T2, and she had had gestational diabetes, so I told her about the delights of fake sweeteners, and directed her to the stevia sweetened chocolate chips for homemade keto chocolate mint chip cookies. I said - you have to try out the different artificial or novel sweeteners (plugging stevia of course) and see how they affect you (as in her hubby) by using your BG meter. He didn't have one, so I then discussed how to get one on prescription. I tell this story as it really brought home to me how you can't talk about knowing your body and how it responds to different foods without the testing. (Yes, I'm dropping off the recipe for keto mint chocolate chip cookies today!)

I think I may have been a plug for LCHF/keto myself, as she did look rather closely at my ol' bod, during this conversation. (I'm normal weight, with muscle, no fat gut anymore.) (She was definitely looking at my middle!) (yeah, it was weird.) You forget until you have these conversations, how the lower carbing, the testing (the ol bods doing well!) - is all part of the same deal.

For you, Jared, it seems this would be about maintaining your wonderful non prediabetic state, making sure you are insulin sensitive by not overdoing your carbs. The meter would reassure you. As would every three month tests. And would inform you what level of carbs is good for you to continue to be healthy.

I have friends and family members who make small adjustments only, much to my amazement, and get out of the prediabetic zone (in NZ that is 40 and under). Their doctors only test them once a year (which is not the official recommendation at all), and these folks do not know their HBA1c at diagnosis when they had prediabetes, nor their non prediabetic one, when I ask. They don't count calories (which I wouldn't do anyway nor recommend) and they take minimal notice if any on their carb levels. (I fear for their longterm non prediabetic prognosis! But don't tell them I said that!)

That is not you Jared! You are super conscientious. You have even been semi starving, which is so high end T2D dietary treatment I can't say! (I can say, as I have done it myself.) But you got there. You can eat to satiation. (ie forget about calories!) Just find out your carbohydrate tolerance level, and go with that. And the only way to do that, really, short term (ie other than testing every three months via a blood lipid test and the HBA1c, which actually would be AOK for you, if it wasn't for the worrying about carb levels?) is to test your own BG after eating something with varying levels of carbs in it.

 

[Doubting_Diabetic]

Yea I used to eat shocking but I'm quite happy with the change I've made quite like it - pretty easily keep with eating the same as do now - just need to up the calories or ill waste away. Guess what I'm saying even though I eat low carb now if I double the calories then it's double the carbs-I'm not so worried about the calories it's just if I have 50g carb a day it will end up more like 100 and don't know what impact that will have - all my carb is basicly from vege and without cutting some pretty nutritious things out prob can't get to much lower my daily diet is eggs--chicken and Mayo--and mince stew( tomato, onion, kale) with Coliflower.

The exercise thing is still hard but realise I've got to do it-today for example im up to 7500steps and 50 floors so far - basicly walked up a big (really big) hill in the forest - that was sweat .... So much so I was contemplating just rolling back down for a while lol

I would suggest adding the calories in fat not carbs. Also, you might want to research intermittent fasting for overall better results. My personal goal is 10 grams of carbs per day and 2000 calories and only eat three times in any two day period. When you befriend fat the cravings and hunger are not there. I have lost 149 pounds (American) and thrown out all diabetes medicine. HBA1c is 5.4 (American)

 

[AloeSvea]

@Doubting_Diabetic - only 10 grams of carbs per day - wow!

I have a horrible feeling I might be heading in that direction myself if I am ever going to get out of the 'intermediate hyperglycemia' zone.

What were you at diagnosis? (And, are you really going to make us look up the conversion charts re your numbers to go American in a European-based forum? .) (But don't worry, I have a deep understanding that the www is global....)

Lost 149 lbs/67kg - wow wow wow!
And for that too - what were you at diagnosis if you don't mind me asking?

(Yours is a very dramatic diabetes story, from the look of it. And love your handle!)

 

[ivan 2]

I had similar question here. Lost over 40 lb, but cannot lose weight forever.Meaning, caloric intake should be increased and I was told to add more proteins, then fat.But never, ever return back to carbs.
E.g. I had one egg for breakfast, now I have two.I eat more fats from fish and nuts.
Again, forget the carbs.

 

[Alexandra100]

I need to add 1500 calories calories though

Fat is very high in calories. One tablespoon of olive oil will give you 120 calories. Just stand the usual rules for healthy eating on their heads. No more Lite, Healthy Option, Be Good to Yourself products, which have added carbs and less fat. Instead, you can enjoy full fat cheeses (100g cheddar cheese has 33g fat, 416 calories), butter, fried eggs, fried everything! A can of mackerel in olive oil will give you 19g fat and 122 calories (I just ate this for lunch - delicious!) I am trying to gain weight, so I add grated cheese to almost everything. To salads I add Hellman's Real Mayonnaise (NOT the Lite sort!) which contains only 1.3g carbs per 100g but 79g fat and 721calories!!! You get the idea! Just keep reading those labels, because some cheeses, brands of mayo etc are much higher in carbs than others.

 

[Alexandra100]

I had similar question here. Lost over 40 lb, but cannot lose weight forever.Meaning, caloric intake should be increased and I was told to add more proteins, then fat.But never, ever return back to carbs.
E.g. I had one egg for breakfast, now I have two.I eat more fats from fish and nuts.
Again, forget the carbs.

Exactly! Before, I would have eaten half a tin of fish at a meal, now I polish off the whole tin. Or a whole large chicken leg rather than eating the drumstick and saving the thigh. Extra calories to keep my weight up, and also extra protein to preserve my muscles.

 

[Alexandra100]

Just to maintain weight or I'll just keep losing it

What is your BMI? Sometimes, because we are surrounded by over-weight people in our populations, we see ourselves as under-weight when we're not. Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you can manage to exercise that could improve your weight (and appearance!) without eating a single added carb.

 

[Alexandra100]

@Doubting_Diabetic - only 10 grams of carbs per day - wow!

I have a horrible feeling I might be heading in that direction myself if I am ever going to get out of the 'intermediate hyperglycemia' zone.

Me too!

 

[Zilsniggy]

Up the fat. 9 calories per gram of fat as opposed to 4 calories per gram of protein or carb. but don't increase carbs, especially if you are not able to test blood sugar. My guess is that you'll ruin what control you had and then be on a slide back to a higher HBA1c.

 

[hooha]

JARED : You dont say how tall you are. Do your BMI equation, find your ideal weight . Put it in pounds. Multiply by 10 this is your BASIC calorie need [ done by the dummies method - reasonably accurate ]
then for office work multipl by 1.3
for active life by 1.4
for heavy exercise by 1.6
this gives your calorie daily needs. Then eat what ever you like, as long as it is low carb. look up websites for low carb foods- high healthy fats. veg and salad etc until you are not hungry. You wont ' waste away ' unless you are ill. good luck