3 Simple Steps to Reverse Your Pre-Diabetes Diagnosis

It’s scary to hear that you are on the pre-diabetes track; even scarier that 11% of people pre-diagnosed develop type 2 diabetes within a year. (WebMd.com) But instead of feeling helpless it’s time to feel empowered. While reversing pre-diabetes diagnosis can seem daunting, simple lifestyle changes can be all you need to get back to square one. 

The route to reversing your pre-diabetes diagnosis is similar to the pillars of living a healthy life; these 3 simple changes can be all that you need. Build them into your routine now and avoid diabetes all together.

Tweak Your Diet

One of the most significant reasons you are now pre-diabetes is most likely your diet. Years of ingesting fattening, high caloric foods have caused serious damage to your body and insulin sensitivity. Eating healthy will be your first step in getting it back into your control. 

• Insulin control: Diabetes occurs when your body becomes desensitized to insulin. To reverse this you need to limit your intake of sugars and processed carbohydrates.  Be sure that you’re building lean proteins, a moderate amount of healthy fat and a variety of veggies into your diet. Consider how you can tweak your favorite meals – a burger, pizza – to be healthier and still enjoyable.

Start Moving

More than likely, this is not the first time you’re hearing this – to reverse diabetes or pre-diabetes – you need to start working out.  It seems easy to dismiss that piece of advice because you hate going to the gym or running outside, but, that doesn’t have to stop you. 150 minutes of exercise a week is all you need to start reversing these effects; that’s less than 22 minutes a day. 

Instead of forcing yourself to hit the gym, consider the ways you can workout that are sustainable; things that you’ll want to continue doing as you focus on your health now and later. A few things to start with include:

• Hiking
• Speed walking
• Dancing
• Canoeing
• A game of tennis, basketball, soccer, etc

Get More Sleep

You’re probably wondering what sleep has to do with your pre-diabetes. Contrary to what you might think, it has everything to do with it. A tired body looks for energy somewhere, and you’re likely turning to high-sugar food and beverages for it. 

However, not only can sleep-deprivation be a pre-cursor to diabetes but eating unhealthily leads you to lose sleep – constant nighttime urination, for example, is a good sign that your kidneys are trying to get rid of your body of its high blood sugar. So, what is the trick to getting more sleep?

• Avoid sugars at night: While you should be eating healthy all day, it’s especially important to avoid any and all sugars or carbohydrates at night. These will raise your blood sugar, keeping you from dozing off. You don’t sleep at night, you eat sugar for energy, you can’t sleep again… the cycle goes on.

If you’ve been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, you can make simple lifestyle modifications now that will change the rest of your life. Making healthier choices, finding a fun way to stay active, and getting more sleep can all put you on the path to a longer and healthier life – without diabetes.