The Prediabetes Diet for Beginners

One of the most important decisions you can make is a Prediabetes diet to start with after diagnosis- when your goal is to reverse prediabetes or at minimum prevent the progression to Type 2 diabetes.

Studies have shown that making dietary and lifestyle changes are the most effective way to reverse prediabetes.

So today we’re talking about:

1. How your diet impacts your ability to manage prediabetes,
2. How to create and start a prediabetes diet, and
3. The biggest predictor of being able to reverse prediabetes with diet.

I’m sure you are well aware that your food choices can be the difference between either stabilizing or disrupting your blood sugar levels.

It’s important to really grasp that connection between what you eat and how your body responds to be your north star in what to do after your prediabetes diagnosis.

How food affects your blood glucose levels

Let’s start with how foods affect your blood sugar levels in general, meaning nearly everyone can expect this type of response, and then also your unique response to food.

So first of all, when you eat food, your body release insulin in response to any foods that raise your blood sugar levels. Insulin is like the key that allows glucose into the cells in your body to get it out of the bloodstream where it can start to damage your blood vessels, heart, and other organs.

In general, you can expect a low blood sugar response to protein, a low response to fat, and you can expect a much larger response to carbohydrates.

And then within the carbohydrates category, you can expect a faster and larger response to sugar and refined carbohydrates like flour and flour-based foods. Complex carbohydrates are released much slower in the blood stream as they’re digested.

Your unique body type and situation may make some of these responses more exaggerated or less. This depends on your DNA makeup, how you’ve been eating and your current lifestyle choices, how long you’ve been eating this way, and any other conditions you may have that could affect this.

So the question then becomes—how do I create a prediabetes friendly diet that will help with that goal of getting off of medication and/or reversing prediabetes, and most of all, preventing the progression to type 2 diabetes.

An anti-inflammatory diet is perfect for managing prediabetes because it focuses on balancing blood sugar and reducing chronic inflammation—both of which influence insulin resistance.

That’s where a framework that I use with clients comes in.

It’s called the CHEAT codes to wellness, and it’s an acronym. It’s a series of steps to easing into an anti-inflammatory diet that’s unique to you and your personal needs.

Right now we’re covering the C in the cheat codes framework–

So the clean eating sort of speaks for itself, but the core of this is cutting out sugar and refined carbs, as well as unhealthy fats, poor quality proteins, and basically ultra processed foods.

Any dietary framework worth following will have clean eating at its core.

That’s because the foods we’re cutting out give severe blood sugar spikes and are inflammatory, which contributes even further to insulin resistance.

So the key component to reducing inflammation is balanced blood sugar.

This will mean learning the basics of balanced meals to help you feel full longer.

Designing or choosing your meals to include a mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats helps prevent rapid blood sugar fluctuations. This approach promotes sustained energy levels and helps keep your metabolism in check.

What this means is that, for example, breakfast and snack choices like granola bars or flavored yogurts will need to be replaced with something more balanced since these types of choices are mostly carbohydrates and usually have sugar in them with very little protein, fiber, or healthy fats to create that balance, which we’ll talk more about in a bit.

You’ll also need to focus on portion control.

Practicing portion control ensures that you’re eating the right amount of food to support your body’s needs without overeating. This is gonna be key if you’re also trying to lose weight.

This can feel a little overwhelming if you are an emotional eater and hooked on sugar and flour.

So it’s gonna be important to know if you have that type of relationship with food, because eating larger portions of carbohydrates tends to be a problem for those with insulin resistance like prediabetes since we’re shifting the amounts and types of carbohydrates in the diet.

If you think you’re in that category and would like a strategy for freeing yourself from sugar and refined carbs, as well as emotional eating, check out these articles –> HERE.

How to create and start your Prediabetes diet plan around nutrient-rich foods

Now, I want to start with this- Most people want to dive into a weight loss plan from the get-go because their doctor said to lose weight.

That’s actually a huge mistake—because if you focus solely on weight loss you’re ignoring the fact that your body has severely unbalanced blood glucose and needs specific types of foods that are nutrient-rich and work to balance your blood sugar to start healing that insulin resistance FIRST.

Building a prediabetes diet plan revolves around a variety of nutrient-rich foods, and a specific distribution of macronutrients.

What this means is that – quality proteins, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and fiber-rich foods and recipes form the foundation of a prediabetes-friendly eating plan.

Eliminating sugar, refined carbs, and unhealthy fats while increasing other nutrient rich foods contribute to stable blood sugar levels. Incorporating a colorful array of fruits and vegetables adds not only flavor but also valuable vitamins and minerals that can also aid in blood sugar control.

So the biggest change to your diet will most likely be in the type of carbohydrates and balancing those.

Carbohydrates for Prediabetes

When we’re cleaning up our diet, it’s important to understand that carbohydrates are not necessarily the enemy; it’s about choosing the right ones.

Understanding the distinction between complex carbohydrates and simple carbs empowers you to opt for options that provide sustained energy without causing rapid blood sugar spikes.

Simple sugars include any type of sugar, syrup, and fruit juice. There are a ton of other hidden names for sugar. Other simple carbohydrates are flours.

Replacing all those simple sugars and simple carbs with healthy carbs like whole grains, legumes, and vegetables supports your journey toward better blood sugar control.

The BIGGEST predictor of being able to reverse prediabetes with diet

Lastly, I want to talk about the biggest predictor of being able to reverse prediabetes- which is getting your blood sugar balanced and being able to monitor and sustain this.

To do this you’ll need to make make informed choices when it comes to your prediabetes diet.

Knowing the difference between what is helping and what is just being a band-aid is extremely important.

Informed choices can include things like:

• knowing how to read food labels,
• knowing what carbohydrates are best for your blood sugar to stay stable by regular monitoring,
• and even knowing what dietary style will be best for you personally.

This is because some dietary styles will just mask the real issue (insulin resistance) and may not be sustainable long term.

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