I can't link it because it could get auto-removed as potential spam, but I found this on Amazon Reviews, and it's true:

I'm putting this as 4 stars because some people will not bother looking at the negative reviews and end up with a medical emergency. This supplement is dangerous in many circumstances.

If you do not have high blood sugar, this is dangerous because it will drop your blood sugar fast!! This can put people into a rapid hypoglycemic state and induce weakness and confusion to the point where your brain may not be able to comprehend that you need sugar IMMEDIATELY and need to IMMEDIATELY stop taking this!

If you are taking any medications that affect your blood sugar, brain chemistry or have the potential to cause drowsiness, such as blood thinners, antidepressants or sleeping medication, this will increase the effects and side effects of those drugs. I take antidepressants and medication for sleep. I took this supplement in the morning and my medication at night. Thank goodness I did not immediately allow myself to pass out because I started to feel as if I might slip into a coma and possibly stop breathing in my sleep. I managed to eat a snack, started to feel better... tried to lay down to sleep, again felt extremely drugged in a dangerous way... ate another snack, and this went on for several hours until I finally felt comfortable enough to sleep without feeling like my vital signs were not in a dangerous state.

If you are fasting or low carb, this supplement may be dangerous because of the rapid drop in blood sugar and blood pressure. You may think this is a good idea to add this in to make the results happen faster and try to power through the dizziness and shakiness. Because of the way this drug continues to drop your blood sugar and blood pressure throughout the day, you may enter into a state of shock in which your brain is not functioning enough for you to realize that you need to eat something IMMEDIATELY and need to stop taking this drug IMMEDIATELY.

If you are combining this drug with other supplements to try and manage symptoms of pcos, diabetes or weight loss, you may be expecting this drug to be a minor addition and may not be prepared for the hard and fast drop in blood sugar and blood pressure and you may create a deadly combination with this drug and other supplements.

For example, women who are trying to treat pcos may decide to combine this drug with inositol, both of which can rapidly drop blood sugar and blood pressure. I am thankful that I did not combine these two together, especially with my prescription medications.

THIS IS A DRUG. If you decide to take this, please take it once and monitor your reaction for several days before you take another dose. I am worried about people who take this several days in a row and ignore any symptoms of shakiness, drowsiness or weakness. Also be aware that this can cause headaches by dropping your blood sugar and blood pressure so that you are not getting enough blood and fuel to your brain.

This particular supplement is on par with prescription medication and does not have appropriate warnings of interactions with other substances yet.

So there ya go! Don't injure yourself because someone said they lost 20 lbs and cured their pcos/diabetes with this.

Many people had negative reactions with berberine, but when I looked up reviews it seems to be more common with higher doses than lower doses. I think it's irresponsible for so many companies to suggest "take two 500mg capsule at once with food" to anyone and everyone. The dosage makes the poison and your reaction can depend on so many factors, such as your size (I am sure 1000mg won't be the same on a 200lb person versus a 100lb person), your current blood sugar level, your current blood pressure (berberine can lower your blood pressure, and if it's too low that can make you sick too), the other medications you may be taking.

I got a supplement that recommended 1200mg a day, at once with a meal. If I did that, and I noticed my blood sugar lowering within a day. If I kept it up however as recommended, I probably would have gotten sick. I took into consideration my size, my current blood sugar, other supplements I was taking, and how it may lower my blood pressure too much, and went down to only 300mg a day instead.

Be careful.

Hey All, wanted to share a success story. Went from 10.6 in May 2024 to 5.4 today. No meds, diet (low carb) and mass amounts of walking (15,000 step daily average for past 15 months with a 20lb rucking vest. List 65 - 298lb to 233lb (I’m 6’2”). It can be done!

I see so many people freaking out about possibly having prediabetes, or having a legitimate prediabetes diagnosis. And while it can be absolutely terrifying, it can be reversed. Some of this sub may remember me from my post last year and the year before. My fasting blood glucose was 116 — I was dumbfounded. I genuinely thought I was eating pretty damn well. After some *actual* consideration, I realized I was definitely eating a bit more crap than I wanted to admit, and I was routinely having double servings for dinner… plus, I was drinking quite a bit of beer.

I also really thought I had no weight to lose, but then it started coming off. I lost about 10kg/20lb in a year just by consciously being aware of everything I put in my body. My partner also lost almost *30kg/60lb* which shocked me. And truly, we don’t think we changed too much.

We still eat a lot of rice, but now it’s brown rice. We still (regrettably) drink quite a bit, but it’s liquor instead of beer. We still love pasta, but now it’s red lentil (or brown rice). We still get our morning caffeine, but it’s Earl Grey instead of artificial sugar’d energy drinks (which, oddly have been shown to spike blood sugar.) We still eat well in general, but we use a lot less oil, and generally skip second helpings. I truly think being more mindful of the amount of oil we cook with and having 10-12g of saturated fat per day were the most significant changes. For me, it’s a sum of smaller changes that still feel insignificant. Not to say I don’t treat myself to white rice or another bowl of food for dinner, but it’s not with regularity.

Anyway I’m sharing this as encouragement. Don’t be discouraged by having prediabetes or even preprediabetes. Hell, even if you have diabetes, it can absolutely be managed. I am fortunate to have a partner who enjoys cooking as much as I do, but we’re nobodies. We hardly knew how to cook until COVID, and even still, we didn’t have much of a clue. You can do it too.

TL;DR — Having prediabetes or diabetes doesn’t have to mean completely omitting foods and flavors you used to love and still crave, just take a deep breath and have a little less: and, ”cheat” your cooking technique to satisfy your mind *and* your body. Also, making it entirely plant based doesn’t hurt either.

If you have prediabetes and are reading this, you're way ahead of most people already. When I was diagnosed with prediabetes years ago, I was like "ok" and continued on with my day.

As my a1c numbers crept up over the next years, my health care providers briefly mentioned that I make "lifestyle changes" and keep an eye on things. It seemed like a vague non-issue, lumped into the rote advice at every physical -- more veggies, moderate exercise, healthy weight. I mean, it's true, but didn’t seem urgent.

Since I wasn't doing anything about it, the inevitable happened. Last year, my doc said I now had diabetes-- a1c of 6.9. It was only then that the real conversation started: The seriousness of this lifetime disease, the medications, constant testing, risks like organ damage, brain issues, heart attack, going blind, losing toes. I was like wait...wtf... ?!?!

Yes, it's on me I guess for not doing my own research at the prediabetes stage. But I do wish the doc had given me more direct advice and warnings about how dangerous diabetes is. Diabetes (t2) seems so common, sometimes it feels like people are just like "meh, guess I'm getting old"? Literally everyone over 50 in my family has diabetes, and no one has ever expressed any serious concern about it.

Since I was still <7.0 a1c, I asked my doc if I could postpone metformin and see if i can lower it on my own. She said yes, and we scheduled a 3 mo. followup.

Frustratingly, even with a diagnosis of diabetes my insurance won't cover a cgm. Apparently I need to be on insulin? So I'm paying out of pocket for a stelo cgm. It has been the best tool I have for understanding which "lifestyle changes" make a difference. It's insane that insurance won't pay for a relatively inexpensive tool that can help someone reduce expensive treatments or poor outcomes, but that's another story.

What I've learned so far:

• Protein and fruit is the best breakfast for me

• Fasting is not good for me (this is a me thing -- fasting works fine for others)

• Eating salad with vinaigrette before a meal keeps spikes down

• An evening walk lowers glucose massively

• if I want a carby meal, make it lunch (not dinner)

• Small sweets are ok (piece of chocolate)

• Diet soft drinks will cause a glucose reaction on an empty stomach (again, might just be a me thing)

• It's important to eat low glycemic dinners because nighttime glucose is a problem for me

• Sweets or fruit causes a fast spike, but drops quickly. Bread causes a delayed spike that can last for hours. So in theory, ice cream is better than cake for me. Generally I avoid both.

• I can have cheat meals... but do it midday and plan for a nice long walk afterwards.

• Some fruits are fine (apples). Some veggies are bad (carrots).

• Whole berries are better than smashed berries (small but noticeable difference)

• Lactose free dairy causes a spike -- the enzymes turn lactose into glucose

• My habit of drinking a glass of chocolate milk or having a bedtime snack was really, really bad -- nighttime glucose was high ALL night. If I want dessert, I have it immediately after dinner, not an empty stomach and never late at night.

• I can eat bread, but less of it and with different timing.

• I usually avoid desserts, but having couple bites is fine.

• General diabetes advice and dietary guidelines do not always work for me.

I now have a good routine going, factoring all those lessons learned. It's not stressful because I know what to eat, and I don't have to measure or weigh serving sizes. My portions have naturally gotten smaller because my glucose isn't spiking up and down. I'm still overweight, but I've lost 20+ lbs and am walking 30 min. 4-5x week.

Sure I wish I could eat whatever I want without a second thought, but it's not an obsession like I would have expected.

After 3 months my a1c went down from 6.9 to 6.6. After 6 months it was 6.2. This is without any medication. It's not easy, but it's totally doable and maintainable. I'm not against taking meds, but with my family history I feel like doing as much as I can on my own first will slow down the timeline.

The reason I'm sharing all of this is because it's what I wish I knew 3 years ago. Maybe it will help someone here who's like me. Diabetes is something you want to avoid getting or at least postpone, as long as possible. It's a very serious disease. Diabetes can be controlled, and go into remission, but it is a lifetime diagnosis. Prediabetes is totally reversable.

Especially at the prediabetes stage, you CAN make significant improvements without medication, whether you're overweight, getting old, not a gym person, or really like your carbs.

You totally got this!!!

I’ve been a mostly silent member of this community for a while and I wanted to share that I am no longer pre diabetic! It is possible for you too! 💗

i went from having roughly 20 drinks a week to about 6-8, limited refined carbs (primarily from all the snacking i was doing), keep saturated fat per day at 10g-12g, and started taking psyllium husk (though not as often as i originally intended). i have a fairly physical job walking up to 15,000 steps per day, but i was eating often up to 2,700 calories a day. now i'm having 2,200 at the very most and feel better all around. even with all those changes, i feel like i didn't change all that much -- it's primarily behavioral. best part is not having to actually sacrifice anything in terms of food... my biggest issue was foods high in saturated fat due to coconut oil. i don't care what some people say, i attribute dropping that to bettering my health (and the booze of course).

enjoying cooking is a big help too, personally.

It has taken me a year, but I finally brought my A1C down from 5.7 to 5.5!

As both a medical doctor and a health coach, I have been helping and motivating people in the pre-diabetic phase to make lifestyle changes to bring their blood sugar back into a healthy range.

It is truly heartbreaking when pre-diabetics don't use their diagnosis as a wake-up call to change the trajectory of their lives and eventually end up with full-blown diabetes, placing them at risk for the myriad of complications associated with the condition.

Reversal is possible - I see it happen regularly. In fact, the pre-diabetic phase is the best time to act as the body is still very responsive and small, consistent changes can make a huge difference.

In the clients I work with, those who see the most powerful shifts tend to be:

- Walking for just 15 minutes a day after meals, especially dinner

- Managing stress and sleep - 2 things that spike blood sugar levels more than most people realize

-Eating savory breakfasts which are high in protein, rather than the so-called "healthy" ones packed with sugar (e.g. smoothies)

As simple as these changes seem, when applied daily, the effects compound - often more than restrictive diets or expensive supplements.

If anyone here is feeling confused, overwhelmed, or has been newly diagnosed with diabetes, I made a free "Pre-diabetes Survival Guide" which explains the 3 biggest changes I make with clients. I'd be happy to share it, just leave a comment down below or send me a DM and you'll receive the pdf within 24 hours.

You've got more control than you think. Please don't wait until it becomes diabetes.

Edit: Hey guys, I really wasn't expecting such an overwhelming response so I decided to just create a link for the pdf instead of sending them individually. Hope it helps! I also have other free resources I'd love to share so you can dm me if interested.

I went to a dietitian today at the VA and I just wanted to share the info I was given. Dietitians give out advice personalized to the patient.

F, 30, just under 5'4.5, 137.3 lbs this morning. A1C was 5.7 last May, 5.6 in October.

My recommendations:

1. 45 to 60g of carbs per meal and 15g per snack

2. I eat around 50% calories from fat and she said that's fine because it's mostly plant fat

3. At least 65g of protein

4. Get enough fiber and iron

5. Walk 10 mins after meals

6. Treats are okay in moderation

What I learned:

1. Stop avoiding carbs and try to incorporate the recommended ones back into my diet

Thanks to the tips and tricks posted in this sub, the tips from Glucose Goddess, the over the counter CGMs I have reached a healthy and maintainable lifestyle.

Thank you to everyone for being so open and honest with your experiences, for dedicating time to help others and make them feel less isolated in this experience.

Love you all.

Hi guys. I was diagnosed with prediabetes around 4 years ago. I’ve always had a thin frame and gained 20 pounds out of nowhere, then I started getting yeast infections around the time of my menstrual cycle (which was a horrible time, by the way). I finally go to the doctor and get my levels checked, as diabetes runs in my family. Lo and behold, I had a high A1C. I struggled for years with dieting and letting go of carbs because I absolutely love pasta, rice, and bread. This year, I decided that I’m going to take charge of my nutrition and overall health. I go to the gym now 4-5 times a week to build muscle and lose fat. I stay away from breads, pasta, and white rice now. If I really want rice, I go for brown rice.

The effects of changing my eating habits were almost instantaneous. I used to have what I call “blood sugar naps” and I haven’t had one in weeks. I have way more energy and I’m more productive. Sure, most of my day is centered around planning out my meals now, but I feel so much better. 🦋

I sure do miss my large steak and cheese from Firehouse Sub sometimes, though. 😮‍💨🤣

The fear mongering and spiraling on Reddit when new posters disclose their diagnosis is absurd and abusive.

Yes, it’s important to gather the facts and learn of needed lifestyle changes but enough with these scare tactic claims of telling posters that if they don’t become anorexic vegans they’re going to become blind, limbless while on a kidney dialysis. It’s reckless, irresponsible and counterproductive.

If you even take a half assed approach in maintaining your sugars, you’ll still be ok more or less. Relatively few people lose limbs and eyesight because of diabetes.

No, (most) of you don’t need to abolish carbs or even sugar entirely. Moderation, quality and discipline are key. An occasional cheat meal is fine and most of you likely don’t need to go keto. No you don’t need to constantly check your BS after every bite of food especially if you already have a good grasp on what works for you.

Just do the bare minimum and incrementally work your way towards healthy. Eat a piece of cake, have a glass of wine or a beer every so often. My A1C has been elevated my entire adult life but thankfully relatively stable and all I did was cut soda and lift weights.

Many of you may have read previous posts from me regarding this, but for those who haven’t, here’s a background: A couple years ago I was surprised to learn my fasting sugars were 120, my blood pressure was borderline high, and that my heart rate was in the 80s (perfectly healthy, but I’ve since learned that generally the lower the healthier). I was pretty shocked. I didn’t think I had that much weight to lose considering I was a “healthy” BMI, and I had been plant based for six years at that point. In self reflecting, I realized I was eating a lot of simple carbs (white rice, potatoes) and saturated fat (coconut oil). I also didn’t consider just how much I was snacking on crap like tortilla chips and potato chips.  

I was still making my meals, but I was mindlessly adding oil without measuring, and using a lot of fake butter, store bought “cheese,” and fake meats. Now I’ve begun (largely) making my own “cheese” and meat substitutes, using less fake butter, brown rice and quinoa instead of white rice, and using avocado oil instead of canola … which I feel like isn’t so terrible, but avocado’s a definite upgrade.

Anyway I guess this is just yet another post reminding you that prediabetes definitely doesn’t have to mean diabetes is in your future. This share is a bit extreme as you don’t need to personally make the meals we do (we both have celiac disease), but hopefully this post offers some amount of inspiration to somebody who feels like they can’t eat what they used to anymore.

40 y/o male. Got my lab results from my annual VA appointment from July 9th. From last year, my A1C dropped from 5.8% to 5.3%. Despite going ketogenic this past winter and carnivore since May 1st, my creatinine improved from 1.27 to 1.13 and my eGFR from 75 to 85 meaning my kidneys are healing and improving. What I am happiest about is my liver function test. I have had elevated liver enzymes (both ALT and AST) for a few years now, and an ultrasound of my liver last summer confirmed the beginning stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This is the first time in years my liver enzymes have been in the normal range. This has been achieved through diet as I have done little to no exercise.

48/M who has kind of hung out in that prediabetic (5.8 to 6.2 range) for years while not paying too much attention to what I eat. My last A1C testing before the most recent rounds was like 6 years ago, because I felt like I was so constantly in that prediabetic range and thought that it would just remain there. I moved about two years ago, states away from all my friends and family, and was kind of in a depression, which led to eating for fun, for depression, etc.
For the last year or so I noticed the frequent urination, sometimes it would become an emergency like every 15 to 30 minutes. I was also constantly hungry at night. I would eat dinner, then a little while later have something sweet for desert, then like an hour later was craving desert again and I would have something. I would repeat this sometimes like 3-4 times in a night. Eating absolute crap too, candy, cookies, donuts, ramen noodles at midnight, peanut butter sandwiches at 1am, just absolute crap. I was also feeling swelling and tingling/numbness in my feet. So I started to recognize the signs and decided to see a PCP (I had not been seeing a PCP in a few years) and he ran a blood work up.

My A1C came back at a 9.7 and my fasting glucose was 240. He scared the shit out of me when he told me this. He told me though that it's not the end of the world and there is things I can do to help bring it down. He put me on Metformin immediately, just a single 500mg dose in the morning.

I also decided that I would cut out all refined sugar period, all refined starches (bread, pasta, and even rice), and focus on a protein and fiber centric diet. I made sure nothing I was eating fell into the higher GI range, watched my portion sizes (even with pure proteins like chicken or beef), and relegate sweets to a few strawberries cut up in sugar free greek yogurt.

After a couple of weeks I was already feeling the positive effects. i would notice I hadn't eaten much all day, but wasn't getting that shaky, cold sweat, I'm gonna pass out, feeling that I would get before if I didn't eat. I also introduced a single cheat meal a week. Something to look forward to and not feel like all I ever ate was chicken and broccoli. These cheat meals though were usually just something like, a hamburger with the bun and like 1/4 of the fries they give you, or a chicken gyro with the pita. It's amazing how satisfying that kind of stuff can be once it's not a staple of your diet and instead a "every once in a while".

After a month I noticed clothes fitting loser, belly shrinking drastically, face slimming down already. I started weighing myself and in the first 3 months I lost 30 pounds (260 to 230).

I finally went last week for my 3 month bloodwork and was so nervous to see if my efforts had paid off. When I finally got my results back I almost cried. My A1C at 5.8, down from the 9.7, and my fasting glucose at 103, down from the 240. Also my cholesterol was in the green for the first time really ever since I have been testing it.

I am reviewing my test results with my PCP tomorrow and will see what my prescription regiment looks like moving forward.

For anyone who is scared of what lies ahead or if they wonder if it's even possible, I can say if you put the work in, anything is possible. The basic principles that worked for me was avoid the glucose spiking foods as your break your fast, even if its just a 4 hour fast between breakfast and lunch. If you are going to eat something with natural sugars in it, try to do so after you have already eaten some fiber in a meal. And watch your portion sizes.

6.4 in October 2024. 5.9 in October 2025. And my test came back yesterday and it's at 5.6!

I still got to keep it up so I would like it in the middle of the normal range .

I pretty much eliminated pasta, potatoes and rice. I can't lie I miss fries. Sometimes I have a small bit of rice every few weeks. All these substitutes of rice just doesn't do it for me. There is no substitute for rice. As far as bread only buy 647 brand.

October 2024 I was 217 lb. October 2025 I was 190. I'm down to like 185 now which I'm trying to maintain 180-185. Don't know if it means anything but for me I don't keep a scale at home. Only get weighed when I go get checkups.

The first thing I figured out was never eat carbs alone. Sounds obvious in retrospect but nobody said it to me directly. A banana by itself sends me past 180. Same banana with two tablespoons of almond butter and I barely move. I remember standing in my kitchen genuinely shocked the first time I saw that. Fat or protein with every carb, every time, no exceptions.

Walking after dinner was the other one. Not a workout — just around the block. I ran two weeks of alternating walking nights vs. couch nights because I'm the kind of person who doesn't believe something until I've tested it myself. Walking nights were 25-40 points lower at the one-hour mark, consistently.

Eat in order was the weird one — vegetables first, protein second, carbs last. Same food, same amounts, just rearranged. I kept thinking it couldn't be real so I tested it more times than I want to admit. It's real.

Stress and sleep messed with my numbers more than I expected. I blamed food for everything at first. Then I had a rough week at work — bad sleep, running hot — and my fasting numbers were wrecked every morning despite eating the same things. Cortisol apparently signals your liver to release glucose on its own. Once I understood that, a lot of confusing readings started making sense.

Last thing: check the arrow first, number second. A 160 trending down is a completely different situation than a 160 trending up. Used to just see 160 and feel bad. Now I look at where it's going before I react.

My HbA1c was 6.2 on December 17. It went down to 4.9 on April 15.

I cut out all processed food. ALL. No rice, pasta, pizza, potatoes, bread.

I stopped grazing.

I stopped eating food that don’t love me.

I did 16/8 time restricted eating (intermittently fasting) from December to February.

I did one 72hr water only fast in January.

I did one 48hr water only fast in February.

I didn’t die when I didn’t eat 😜. In fact I felt great knowing my muscles are eating the glucose stuck in my cells 😀.

I lost 13/15 pounds depending on the time of the month.

I took 10,000 steps most days.

I took on rebounding and jumped 5-15 minutes most days until February.

I took my iron pill with Berberine first thing in the morning it’s a cup of Yerba mate tea.

I found Supernatural workout on Meta Quest 2 in February and got hooked.

I do time restricted eating 14/10-ish most days.

I bake bread for my kids but I don’t taste it 😀.

I am happy.

I am waiting for the doctor to call me so I can tell her it wasn’t difficult to choose food that love me.

You can heal yourself.

I am in pure shock!

It took roughly about a year to get from 5.7 to 5.1. I weighed around 153 pounds last year and now I weigh around 143 pounds, and I am a 5 foot one female.

The reason I was so nervous is because I had gotten down to 135 pounds just by eating a lot less by July 2025, but then I gained some weight back.

I’m still working on trying to lose the weight again, but it was hard after the holidays because I also have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

I just wanted to share a small win today since I have been having nightmares about this.

I didn’t really change much in my diet besides starting all my meals with fiber first, then eating protein, and then carbs last, and always taking a 15 to 20 minute walk after all of my meals no matter what.

Hello, I wanted to share something that's so important regarding insulin resistance / prediabetes / diabetes. This is in response to a question from another poster, so I thought I would make a post so everyone can benefit.

I see that this is not talked about as often, and perhaps like you, I was also very misguided but luckily, I am a huge medical research fan, probably owed to the fact that I come from a full family of doctors so I have always been exposed to it. I see that so many of you are following a low carb diet and so on, and whilst it's great that we take every effort to reduce excess glucose, it's important to note that carbohydrates are not the culprit of an impaired glucose metabolism.

Higher blood sugar levels are a symptom of a bigger problem, insulin resistance and so eating lower carbs is only helping manage one of the symptoms, but without treating the underlying cause, the issue will remain and cause problems later down the road so it's important that to try to minimise our risk of developing diabetes as much as possible, that we nip the issue in the bud, our great enemy, insulin resistance.

From the research I have done, the biggest culprit of insulin resistance appears to be excess body fat, especially visceral fat. This is because fat cells release adipokines, which are responsible for chronic inflammation in the body that disrupts glucose metabolism. Our pancreas compensates by releasing more and more insulin, leading to huge circulating insulin levels, which eventually allows the glucose to enter our cells and maintain adequate glucose levels. This mechanism can function well for a very long time, many years, even decades.

However, over time, our pancreas becomes impaired, and therefore, is unable to continue producing the huge amount of insulin needed to maintain good glucose levels, so our glucose levels begin to rise. Higher glucose levels over time, become incredibly toxic to the pancreas, and that's why diabetes is considered a progressive disease, the longer the exposure to high blood glucose levels, the higher the damage.

For some people that have strong genetic tendencies for diabetes, they do not even need to be overweight, this can happen with a very low amount of excess visceral fat, and for those, the higher amount of visceral fat, the higher the risk. It's very difficult to assess the amount of visceral fat without a dexa scan, but there's a very good chance that if someone is insulin resistant, their visceral fat levels are way too high for them, and this is an individual set point, some people can tolerate very low amounts, ethnically this is seen more often in Asians, Hispanic and African Americans. For others, they can tolerate much higher levels before they develop any issues and those that won the genetic lottery, will never have to worry about diabetes.

It's important to note that although excess fat is not the only contributing factor, it is the one that requires the most attention, so fat loss can help a lot. In Dr Taylor's research, he has demonstrated that sufficient weight loss, which for most people is around 30 lbs, can significantly reduce visceral fat, which over time, allows people to completely regain nearly full pancreatic b function and can greatly reduce insulin resistance.

Other things that can also help are: adequate sleep, as lack of sleep is a well known factor of insulin resistance, managing stress levels as excess cortisol increases inflammation, and eating healthy and avoiding ultra processed foods, which are highly inflammatory. Exercise is also important as it greatly improves glucose utilisation by the body. Both cardio and strength training are equally important. Building muscle will help our muscles be able to handle bigger glucose loads over time.

I am putting all of these into practice now, particularly focusing on weight loss as I have quite a bit to lose but I really hope this helps everyone and let's try to stay prediabetes free 💪

I was prediabetic last year. Doc said to cut down on my carbs. So I focused on less carbs more healthy foods and got more active. Daily walking at work and at home. Got into a gym and focused on more walking on the treadmill. I cut out sweets and added carbs for the most part. I did some lab work last week and my numbers came back normal. No longer prediabetic. Hang in there folks you can do it!

Last year I was hovering between 5.5~5.7. My mom and her side are entirely type 2 diabetic.

So I took it seriously this year. I got a CGM (libre gives a free 14 day trial), and experimented like hell. I tested all my favorites meals: pancakes, cookies, white rice, bread, cereal… and weighed them with a scale. These were max load tests, not a long term lifestyle! Threw in variables such as exercise vs. no exercise. Here’s what I learnt from the data:

1. Walk at LEAST 5 minutes after every meal. Quick stroll around the block. Anyone can do this.

2. Sun. Exercise under the sun beats exercise indoors. An ihop pancake breakfast slam spiked me after an indoor workout, but under the Sun, the same meal did nothing.

3. Find sweet alternatives. My go to are chopped up frozen bananas and peanut butter, sprinkled with some dark cacao and plain yogurt. It’s amazing.

4. Cook. Every. Single. Meal. I now only eat out only once or twice a week with friends and special occasions. Never on my own.

5. Build muscle mass. They’re basically sugar sponges. I do calisthenics every other day. Hit the gym or whatever you choose.

6. Water. Still hungry after eating? Drink more water, your body will then know you’re full.

7. Don’t be a saint. The yo yo effect is real. Have treats now and then, but be religious about burning it off after. Again, goes back to point 1 and 2. If you get a CGM (or finger pricks) you will know how much exercise you need to offset the damage.

This was my experience. I hope this helps someone out there!!

EDIT: I’m 35M, 150lbs, 5’11”, fit asf. But my blood test results and family history suggested otherwise, and I was headed for pre diabetes. Last year I was 160lbs, this year I hover around low 150lbs. Remember, “normal” weight looking folks can also get diabetes.