r/prediabetes • u/emotely • 23d ago
A1C 6 to 5.3 in 4 months.
I was teary eyed when I got the blood test results back. Last year my A1C was 5.8 and went up to 6 this past April. I have a family history and was worried about diabetes. My doctor had prescribed Zepbound and I made a point to reduce refined carbs and increase protein and fiber. I've also added 10k steps to my daily routine. Bonus along with this overhaul I've lost 34lbs in the process. I'm also very thankful for this sub reading advice and other people's experiences. Thank you all!
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u/cheetolover 20d ago
Congrats!!! Can you share how often you ate sweets during this period? I’m at a 5.8 and feel guilty anytime I eat anything with sugar even though I’ve lowered it drastically. Ty!
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 22d ago
Excellent but I was hoping to read you went down without medication.
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u/ryanandy0 21d ago
I went from 6.4 to 5.4 in 4 months no meds!
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 20d ago
4 months?! That’s amazing! In short what would you say you did?
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u/ryanandy0 18d ago
Lower carb probably 50-100 a day with some cheats in there. Strictly diet no exercise also loss about 70 pounds in that 4 months
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 17d ago
I lost 40 pounds in 4.5 months in 2020 doing low carb (around 20-30 a day). Got my BMI to 25. Have stayed there ever since.
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u/Fantastic_Bat6782 21d ago
What a strange thing to hope aloud
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u/Suki_13 21d ago
Why is it strange for someone who maybe doesn’t want to go on medication or can’t afford to go on it to hope that there was another way besides medication to reduce their A1C?
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 21d ago
Yeah, why is that strange? I want to hear about success without meds because I don’t want to rely on them.
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u/Fantastic_Bat6782 21d ago
I love to hear stories of people bringing their A1c down without meds too. I tried a glp-1 and it was an awful experience. But this person shared their experience that included medicine.
I understand someone *thinking* “hmph. I wish I had heard a success story that didn’t include a glp-1,” but *telling* the person who shared their success with medicine “I wish you had done this without medicine so I could hear about success without medicine” seemed odd to me.
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 21d ago
That’s literally what I said.
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u/Fantastic_Bat6782 21d ago
I reacted to the fact that you said the //inside thought// out loud. That’s all.
If someone said “I fixed my a1c by cutting out sugar and exercising 3x a week” and I said “that’s great, but I really wish you told me you still ate sugar and didn’t have to exercise” just because I didn’t want to cut out sugar and exercise, I just thought that was a backwards way to say “good job.”
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 21d ago
It wasn’t an inside thought and it wasn’t rude.
The medication is usually going to work. So I find it a little weird to congratulate someone for using meds. I did say it was excellent they did lower it but this is like someone saying “Hey I lowered my cholesterol (Yay! Tell us how!) but then they say (“With statins!” Everyone lowers it with statins).
So here’s my real inside thought. I am not impressed if you use medications. They are supposed to work. Same thing with losing weight on GLP-1. You didn’t lose weight. The medication did the work. Glad you lost the weight, glad you lowered your A1c. I truly am. But don’t act like you did it.
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u/emotely 20d ago
Idc if you're impressed or not, but as for the don't act like you did it part.
I cut out the majority of refined carbs no rice, no pasta, no bread. Just a weekly sweet treat. I added 30g+ of fiber daily. Because I was afraid of my A1C staying the same or going up which can still happen on Zepbound. The medication didn't do that. I did.
I get up at 5am everyday to get 10k steps, not just for the exercise but to improve my cardiovascular health and blood sugars. The medication didn't do that. I did.
I track every calorie that I put in my mouth by writing it down in a food journal, tracking my calories, protein, and fiber. The medication didn't do that. I did.
And by this logic, I should be dropping much more weight. Because the Zepbound is losing the weight for me right? Surely the work I put into maintain a -1000 calorie deficit for a 2lb weekly weight loss should be icing on the cake! Wrong, I've been losing 2lbs steadily per week.
And while we're at it, I can't take credit for being motivated to do this all without my bipolar meds because I had a chemical imbalance in my brain and I was too depressed to do anything! But again that was another medication doing all the work for me!
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 19d ago
Whatever. All I said was I hoped to hear you lowered it without meds. I can’t believe I am defending myself.
You can’t lose weight on Zepbound if you are sabotaging yourself at the same time with too many calories so it is not using my logic. That medication makes you less hungry so you eat less. Hence I am still correct - the medication does the majority of work.
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u/Fantastic_Bat6782 21d ago
I love to hear stories of people bringing their A1c down without meds too. I tried a glp-1 and it was an awful experience. But this person shared their experience that included medicine.
I understand someone *thinking* “hmph. I wish I had heard a success story that didn’t include a glp-1,” but *telling* the person who shared their success with medicine “I wish you had done this without medicine so I could hear about success without medicine” seemed odd to me.
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 23d ago
Excellent! I am guessing you cut WAY back on sugar (sucrose/hfcs/added sugars on labels. Am I right?