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Pre-Diabetes: Can You Prevent It From Becoming Type 2 Diabetes?

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Pre-Diabetes: Can You Prevent It From Becoming Type 2 Diabetes?

The line between “pre-diabetes” and “type 2 diabetes” is a very thin line. According to the American Diabetes Association, an A1C between 5.7 to 6.4 percent will earn you a diagnosis of “pre-diabetes.” Anything above 6.5 percent will be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

In terms of blood sugar readings, a fasting blood sugar between 100 to 125 mg/dL qualifies as pre-diabetic. Anything above is considered type 2 diabetes.

Learn more about your A1C here.

The unfortunate part of that very thin line between “pre-diabetic” and “type 2 diabetic” is that your blood sugars just need to run a smidge higher in order to qualify you for an overwhelming and life-changing diagnosis.

The benefit to that very thin line is that it shows just how little change needs to occur in your A1C in order to prevent your status from escalating to “full-blown” type 2 diabetes.

Certainly, there are many mysteries that still persist when it comes to understanding type 2 diabetes, such as why changes in diet and exercise are enough for some people to manage healthy blood sugar levels while they’re not enough for others. Research continues to dig into why people who are thin and active can develop type 2 diabetes, and on the contrary, why obesity alone does not indicate diabetes since not all people who are obese present with high blood sugars or insulin resistance.

It’s actually far more complicated than simply what you eat, how much you exercise, and what you weigh.

But for many, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of developing pre-diabetes, and, if given that diagnosis, there are things you can do to reduce the likelihood of it progressing to a status of type 2.

What Causes Pre-Diabetes?

Marcey Robinson, CDE, RD & diabetes coach

“It’s the job of the body’s pancreas to make insulin to be used to bring glucose that results from our body breaking down the food we eat to our body’s cells where it can be burned for energy. In people with insulin resistance/pre-diabetes, the body is not able to utilize the insulin efficiently and thus the pancreas begins to make more and more insulin,” explains Marcey Robinson, MS, RD, CSSD, CDE, BC-ADM of Achieve Health & Performance who works with patients across the country in-person or over the phone.

“Over time, this can put too much stress on the pancreas and eventually it cannot keep up with the demand which leads to the development of full-blown diabetes. Therefore, by making changes to the way you eat and participating in regular exercise, you can improve your body’s sensitivity to insulin, thus decreasing insulin resistance.”

Robinson explains that research does support the theory that insulin resistance is the trigger for the development of type 2 diabetes.

Download this free PDF on insulin resistance to learn more. Download this free PDF on carbohydrates to learn more.

How Can I Reduce Risk of Pre-Diabetes Becoming Type 2?

A diabetes diagnosis of any kind can be incredibly overwhelming. Suddenly you’re being asked to change everything about what you eat, how you cook, how much you eat, and your activity level. Weight-loss is challenging for anyone let alone for those combatting increasing levels of insulin resistance, only making weight-loss more difficult.

“I usually start my initial session with a client by explaining to them that even though they have pre diabetes, it does not necessarily mean they will develop full blown type 2 diabetes,” explains Robinson, trying to emphasize to her patients how much power they do still have in their diagnosis–hopefully also decreasing feelings of overwhelmed anxiety.

“They can cut there risk in 1/2 by committing to regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and maintaining a desirable weight.”

While this approach is certainly not a 100%, guaranteed effective treatment for everyone, research continues to show that it’s a crucial and significantly important part of any treatment program for a pre-diabetic or type 2 diabetic patient.

“The powerful effects of diet and exercise have been well proven through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP),” explains Robinson, “and structured programs are actually offered by local groups across the country. The most amazing data that has come from these programs is that lifestyle changes were more effective than medication in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.”

The 3 Most Effective Things You Can Do

You’ve heard the typical song and dance before of “eat healthy, exercise more” but Robinson offers real-world advice on 3 steps you can take to truly improve your own levels of insulin resistance, and hopefully, reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by lowering your blood sugar levels.

Move more. “Research is saying ‘sedentary’ is the new ‘smoking’ in terms of how detrimental it can be to your health and that is especially true in the case of developing type 2 diabetes,” explains Robinson. Exercise is the only thing that offers to power of lowering blood sugar levels immediately, literally pull sugar from your blood into the cells of your muscles to use for energy for the activity you’re engaged in. “Even after the activity is over,” adds Robinson, “an improvement in the body’s insulin sensitivity can continue and be observed up to 12 to 48 hours later!”

TIP: Robinson encourages her clients to start out walking–simple, free, and relatively uncomplicated. From there, you can work towards a goal of eventually incorporating a combination of strength-training (i.e.: lifting weights or using resistance machines) and flexibility work such as stretching, yoga, or pilates.

Improve the way you eat. “Food is medicine!” says Robinson. There is no arguing that how you feed your body has one of the biggest impacts on your overall health. Is your diet full of fast-food and highly processed products? A month of eating more whole foods that you prepared yourself might do wonders not only for your blood sugars but also for your energy, your mood, your sleep…your everything!

TIP: Instead of trying to create the perfect diet and eat 100% healthily every single day of the week, instead try to “focus what is not on your plate.” Robinson recommends ensuring that 1/2 your plate is vegetables as an easy way to instantly improve your nutrition. By simply focusing on increasing your vegetable intake–and increasing your fresh, whole fruit intake as well, albeit don’t go crazy since fruit can raise blood sugar–you’re thinking about what you can have instead of a long list of things you think you shouldn’t have. “For example, if you are going out for a steak dinner (think huge steak and huge baked potato filled with butter and sour cream) you can improve it by starting with a salad, eating 1/2 the steak and 1/2 the potato, and adding grilled asparagus (making 1/2 your plate veggies),” explains Robinson.

Here are a few links to start learning more about carbohydrates and how they impact your blood sugar:

How to Start a Low-Carb Diet

What Are Carbohydrates?

Reading Nutrition Labels

Carbohydrate Confusion!

Carbohydrates: How Low Can You Go?

Decrease your stress. “Stress can be a key trigger in the development of many diseases including diabetes,” explains Robinson. “In fact, the word ‘disease’ can be split and defined as ‘dis-ease’ which is another way of talking about stress. It can be social, physical, environmental and/or emotional stress and even ‘good’ stress (like planning a wedding) can wreak havoc on the body if not managed.

TIP: “I encourage finding or incorporating ‘ease’ into your life daily. It may be simple, like assuring you get plenty of sleep, increasing your intake of water or listening to music on your way home from work instead of the troublesome news.” If you believe your stress is related to something larger, such as an unhappy marriage or an unhealthy job environment, perhaps it’s time to truly address that part of your life? It may be wreaking more havoc on your entire well-being than you realize.

Here are some exercise types and tips from Aayu Clinics Lakeview Immediate Care

Making Changes You Can Stick To

One of the most important things to keep in mind at all times is that change is a gradual process. Changing the way you think about and relate to food is not something that happens overnight.

“Change is hard, it’s important to be honest about that, no sugar coating (pun intended),” adds Robinson. “I’m here for support but my clients must be ready and committed to do the work. We set goals together (SMART) and meet regularly to evaluate them. It’s imperative to take small steps so that it’s not too hard but instead an achievable challenge each time we meet.”

Remember to give yourself time. A weight-loss goal that is expecting unrealistic results from the human body is only going to leave you discouraged despite that all your actions and efforts were still well-intended!

Susan Weiner, CDE, RD & diabetes coach

Susan Weiner, MS, RDN, CDE, CDN of Susan Weiner Nutrition, says the most crucial part of seeing long-term results is about focusing on the positive. “Sometimes, your doctors and health providers might focus far too much on the negative,” she explains, such as high blood sugars or high blood pressure. “I never weigh a client at the start of a session, and for some, we might not ever weigh them at all! If behaviors change and your mentality stays positive, the weight will come off and it will stay off. If there is a blip here or there, who cares? Focus on the positive.”

“We focus on any small positive behavior and stick with the good vibes,” says Weiner. “Also, find something that you like about yourself ‘physically,’ and admire it. Your eyes, your ears, your nose… skin…whatever. Admire your happy feature and take the focus off of the scale, off the pressure of eating the perfect diet all the time.”

Patients with Long-Term Success in Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

Is there something in particular that those who succeed in preventing the progression of their pre-diabetes diagnosis truly do differently than those who find themselves with a type 2 diagnosis?

“They commit to the program and come to their appointments or scheduled calls,” explains Robinson. “For some it’s easy to get the information and just jump all in, giving up carbohydrates (pasta, bread, desert–all the foods they love), join a gym, and achieve some weight-loss…only to find out that after 3 months they can’t maintain it that level of intensity. Everything goes back to the way it was before. It’s important to have support from a diabetes educator who is trained not only to educate but also knows how to adapt and individualize your program in order to achieve long-term success.”

Still, yes, Robinson confirms that for some prevention is unlikely.

“It’s usually in patients with a strong family history of diabetes and with extenuating circumstances (additional medical problems, lack of resources, etc.) that the development of diabetes is inevitable. However, even then, small improvements in lifestyle can delay the diagnosis and minimize need for medication when progression does occur.”

In other words: whether your pre-diabetes progresses to type 2 or not, all of the healthy changes you’ve made are worth it and will continue to be worth it the longer you live those changes.

“Pre-diabetes is a warning sign and can be a good wakeup call,” explains Robinson. “It’s a matter of perception. It’s not time for shame and blame. It’s about using the information as a motivator to achieve a healthy lifestyle and improve your body’s ability to manage its blood sugar levels. It is my personal passion to promote nutrition and exercise as the powerful tools that they are to build/re-build a healthy body and prevent disease.”

Photo credit: AchieveHP.com, SusanWeinerNutrition.com, Adobe Stock Photo

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