In This ArticleView AllIn This Article1. Stop Focusing on Numbers2. Walk More3. Eat an Early Dinner4. Stop the Before-Bed Email Check5. Eat More Raspberries (and Fiber in General)6. Practice Self-Care7. Start Strength Training8. Shift Your Mindset
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Stop Focusing on Numbers
Walk More
Eat an Early Dinner
Stop the Before-Bed Email Check
Eat More Raspberries (and Fiber in General)
Practice Self-Care
Start Strength Training
Shift Your Mindset
Close
Your doctor broke news you didn’t want to hear: You haveprediabetes, a condition where blood sugar is elevated, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. The thing is, with that info, you’re one of the lucky minority. Prediabetes is common, affecting 96 million American adults, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, but just 20% are aware that they have it. Knowing that you have prediabetes can be enough to push you to make the changes you need to reverse it, according to research published in 2019 in theJournal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
While genes strongly influence whether someone develops prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, you have some control, says Jill Weisenberger, M.S., RDN, CDE, author ofPrediabetes: A Complete Guide. “Even for those with a strong family history, lifestyle habits can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. And a delay can mean less medications for fewer years and fewer complications,” she says. “The prediabetes stage is the best time to reverse course,” Weisenberger adds. In fact, lifestyle changes have been shown to reduce the risk of prediabetes progressing to type 2, per a 2022 study inBMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.
The goal: Reduce insulin resistance and preserve beta cell function (beta cells are pancreatic cells that produce insulin). Losing just 5% of your body weight can decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, says theCDC, in part because a healthier weight generally means better insulin sensitivity. However, improving insulin sensitivity goes beyond the number on the scale.
Learn more:These 8 Things Could Make You More Likely to Develop Prediabetes, According to a Dietitian
Intermittent fasting(IF)—where you restrict your food intake to a specific window during the day—is on-trend right now. And there is some indication that IF may actually be useful if you have prediabetes. A 2022International Journal of Endocrinologyarticle that reviewed eight years of research found that IF is helpful for reducing fasting blood glucose, lowering glycosylated hemoglobin—a compound that measures three months worth of blood sugar levels—and reducing insulin levels.
This diagnosis is your wake-up call to ditch the habits that you know cut into good sleep, like staring at your phone and tapping out just one last email while in bed. “Sleep is not optional, it’s a necessity. Sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” says Weisenberger, who adds that sleep deprivation reduces insulin sensitivity even in adults without diabetes. Sleeping less than five hours a night is associated with a greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes than getting five to seven hours of shut-eye over a 16-year period, according to a 2023Endocrinologyand Metabolismstudy.
Pictured recipe:Muesli with Raspberries
Daily stressors are a given, but how you deal with them is what counts. What self-care looks like—spending your lunch break in the sunshine, scheduling walking dates with friends—doesn’t matter as much as doing it regularly. “Emotional stress has a way of distracting us from good habits and our health goals. It may also affect glucose metabolism in some people,” says Weisenberger.
If you’re already walking more throughout the day, add in strength training too. According to a 2021Sports Medicine-Openreview of published studies on the topic, resistance training was effective in lowering blood glucose levels as well as body fat in those at risk for type 2 diabetes. You don’t have to bench heavy weights to reap the benefits, either. Start out with simple bodyweight exercises (that are easily modifiable) like lunges, squats and push-ups.
Achieving a glycosylated hemoglobin level of 5.7% or below, which is considered normal, may bring you back from the brink of diabetes, but thinking only in terms of those numbers can veer you off course. “A lot of people get off track because they focus more on the [weight loss or blood sugar] goal and ignore the process. But it’s focusing on the process that helps us get to the goal and stay there,” says Weisenberger. By being journey-oriented, you can build healthy habits into your life, like making time for movement that feels good to your body or figuring out how to throw togetherquick dinnersduring busy weeks. “Your emphasis should be on habits, not weight loss,” she says.
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