As you have already understood, the process is divided into two parts – lifestyle changes and medical treatment (recommended by the doctor only). If not adhered to, the condition will only worsen, and prediabetes will quickly turn into diabetes. Your doctor can recommend and provide a prescription for Metformin if needed, but at the same time, you must help yourself by making changes that reduce glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in the blood. Here’s what you need to do:
Physical activity: It is recommended to perform physical activities for a cumulative time of 150 minutes per week. For example, this can be broken into 30 minutes of exercise daily for 5 days a week.
Healthy eating: You need to eat balanced, healthy, and whole foods and avoid processed foods.
Reduced carbohydrate intake: Choose your carbohydrates carefully and prefer complex carbohydrates, which you can find in vegetables and whole grains. Avoid sugar, sweetened juices, white bread, and white rice, as well as honey, which, although it raises sugar levels moderately compared to regular sugar, is still considered a simple carbohydrate.
Maintaining weight: Physical activity and proper nutrition will help you maintain a healthy weight and even lose weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), losing 5-7% of body weight helps reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Getting sufficient sleep: Our body performs many important tasks during sleep, such as hormone regulation and metabolism. Lack of sleep can lead to insulin resistance, increasing the risk of diabetes. Therefore, it is recommended to sleep 7-9 hours each night.
Avoiding smoking: Studies show that smoking increases the risk of diabetes, so it is highly recommended to quit this habit to prevent the condition from worsening.
Avoiding alcohol consumption: Not only should you avoid alcohol, but it is also recommended to increase the amount of water you drink throughout the day, as it helps the body control blood glucose levels.
It is very important to track your progress and help yourself stay on the right path. As we have already mentioned, this is a long process, but if you follow your progress, you will see it and gain motivation to continue acting in ways that benefit your health. Record your glycated hemoglobin and blood sugar levels from your blood tests, and check whether and how much they decrease over time. These are the parameters that indicate prediabetes:
Glycated hemoglobin between 5.7-6.4%.
Blood sugar between 100-126 mg/dL while fasting.
