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Getting a prediabetes diagnosis is worrying, but it’s not a guarantee that you’ll develop diabetes as a result. Instead, you should treat it as a warning sign. With the right treatment and lifestyle changes, you can actually prevent diabetes from occurring. Here’s how you can do it and improve your overall health.
What Is Prediabetes?
Firstly, you’ll need to understand what prediabetes is. Prediabetes is the diagnosis you’ll receive if you have a higher blood sugar level than normal, but not enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In these cases, you haven’t yet developed diabetes, which puts you at risk of it.
How To Reverse Prediabetes
The good news is, you can reverse prediabetes. You’ll need to make some changes, and with them, you’ll stop diabetes from developing. Here’s how you can do so.
1. Lose Weight
Here is one of the best ways to help your insulin levels. You may feel like it’s a hard task and will take a long time to do safely. In fact, you may not need to lose as much weight as you’d think. For example, if you weighed 200 pounds, you may only need to lose around 5% to 7% of your body fat, which translates to around 10 to 14 pounds.
If you want to start a weight loss regimen, you’ll need to consult with your doctor first. They’ll be able to advise on a safe way to do so and give you ideas and tips on how to lose weight.
2. Have Regular Consultations With Your Doctor
If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes, your doctor should want to see you more often. This is a very good idea, as you’ll be able to work with them to create a plan and stick to it. Typically, you should be checking in every three to six months. They’ll be able to test you to see how your blood sugar levels are doing and talk to you about what you’re doing.
They’ll be able to offer guidance as you go through this time, and offer help if you do get off track. As such, you’ll want to keep your doctor in the loop.
3. Get More Exercise
Exercise will be a part of your weight loss plan, but it’s something that you’ll want to consider on its own merits. Exercise will help decrease body fat and help you lower your blood glucose levels, making it essential to your plan.
“If you’re not normally active, you don’t have to suddenly become a gym bunny. Instead, build more activity into your day so you’re moving more. This can be anything from taking the stairs instead of the elevator to parking at the back of the parking lot so you have to walk to get to where you need to be,” says health blogger Adrian Danvies, from Eliteassignmenthelp and UKWritings. These are good ways of building up to 30 minutes of activity a day. It soon adds up, and you’ll be able to build up your fitness levels. Talk to your doctor about an exercise plan, so they can help you come up with ideas or highlight any limitations you need to watch out for.
4. Get Enough Sleep
That’s easier said than done, but getting the right amount of sleep is vital to your health. When you’re not getting enough sleep, for example, you’ll find it’s much harder to lose weight. “Too little sleep also makes it harder for your body to use insulin,” says Harriet Moore, a writer at Oxessays and Studydemic. “As such, it makes it more likely that you’ll develop diabetes.”
As such, you need to take steps to improve your sleep. Getting more exercise will help, as you’ll be more ready for sleep at the end of the day. You’ll also need to stick to a sleeping pattern, getting up and going to bed at the same time every day. Also, avoid any activity that will keep you awake for at least an hour before bed.
5. Take Care Of Your Diet
Finally, you’ll want to look at making changes to your diet, in order to help control your blood sugar levels. This is typically something that your doctor can help with, so ask them about any help that they can offer.
Improve your nutrition by loading up on vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, green beans, and carrots. You’ll want around three servings a day to get the right amount of nutrition from them. Also, look at swapping out high-calorie foods. Lower fat versions of food like cheese, milk, and salad dressings will help you in reducing your calorie intake.
With these steps, you’ll be able to take control of your health and stop diabetes from developing. Talk to your doctor about creating a plan using these tips, and improving your health.
