Is it possible to lower you A1C from 48 to 41 in 3 months?

[mandm65]

A friend of mine was diagnosed with elevated (48) A1c back in November 2018. He was asked to repeat the test in 3 months’ time. He got his 2nd results back a few days ago and his A1c is now 41. Obviously, he is pleased with his efforts, I am just flabbergasted to see this amazing drop, did not think it was possible to achieve such a drop in 3 months? He attributed the drop to strict low carb diet and light exercise, did not take on anything major, like running or swimming etc! I have been following low carb diet an coupled with regular exercise routines but unbale to drop my A1C!

[Bertiedette]

I dropped my count from 48 to 41 in three months as well following a very low carb sugar free diet. I have stayed within that range for 5 years. But you can't deviate otherwise you start sneaking back up again.. I am currently at 39 so I am normal.. But I still have type2.

[mandm65 in reply to Bertiedette]

That’s great to hear that its humanly possible to reduce your A1c without taking any medication. I have been on what I believe very low carb sugar free diet, but I am unable to replicate that result. I also substitute my diet with rigorous exercise, but I am not getting the same results at all, in fact my last A1c result went up a few notches so I am back to drawing board.

I believe age, genetic makeup also plays a part in controlling your A1c with low carb sugar free diet.

[Gambit62]

hbA1C is a protein that builds up in the blood if your blood sugars are not well controlled. It is a good long-term measure of how well blood sugars are controlled - over the last few months.

It will reduce over time if your blood sugars are being better regulated - so, well done - though still more work to do.

[Mackembabe]

Yes it is possible to lower your A1c especially if you lose weight, I cut out sugar and went on a carb and protein to lose weight but couldn't, Drs even put me on slimming tablets but nothing worked I was 54 am now on tablets 3 times a day and last test it had come down to 49. if you balance your carbs with protein you do not get spikes in your sugar, so wishing you look to lower yours. Love & Hugs Xx

[mandm65 in reply to Mackembabe]

I dont think i could lose weight, i got a good BMI so no need to loose weight but yeah trying my best to bring my A1c down somehow but without taking any meds.

Thanks for your wishes

[Mackembabe in reply to mandm65]

Well I do hope you manage to get it down. Love & Hugs Xx

[nyonyo]

Ehm..what made you think it wasn't possible to drop A1c from 48 to 41 in 3 months? I dropped mine from 115 to 48, and a friend of mine dropped his A1c from even higher number to lower number in 3 months

[mandm65 in reply to nyonyo]

I did not think it was impossible, just surprised at the rapid drop, considering I have been trying to bring my A1c down and how challenging I am finding to manage the T2.

After reading that you and your friend managed to bring the A1c down from 115 to 40s is even more remarkable, you learn something new every day. Unsure if you have documented your achievement anywhere so member like me could benefit from it?

[TheAwfulToad]

It's not just possible, it's virtually inevitable unless you've been diabetic for many years and have severe organ damage.

I have an acquaintance who went from a full-blown diabetes diagnosis to "normal" in less than a year. She's still basically diabetic, but by sticking to a low-carb diet her blood sugar is properly controlled. As a happy side effect she's down to a normal bodyweight. She was on metformin for a few months and is now medication-free. She was lucky to find a doctor who knew his onions.

It's shocking how many doctors don't really know what diabetes is or how to control it. It is not caused by being overweight, nor does losing weight (in itself) correct it. Obesity and diabetes are co-morbid because they have the same underlying cause.

Mackembabe really drew the short straw there: replacing carbs with protein is pointless, because your body has to convert amino acids to ketones and glucose before it can use them (roughly fifty-fifty). You'll also feel pretty grotty because humans (unlike, say, cats) are not good at performing this particular biochemical operation at a high power output. A "high protein" diet is just an expensive, inefficient way of eating carbs. The end result is the same.

>> I have been following low carb diet an coupled with regular exercise routines but unbale to drop my A1C!

You probably just haven't gone low enough. To see a real effect, you need to go down to about 25g-50g net carbs per day, which requires some fairly dramatic dietary changes.

At that level, dietary carbs have to be completely replaced with dietary fat - because that's the only remaining energy-producing pathway available to a diabetic - but most people are terrified to do this because "fat causes heart disease". It doesn't, but you'll have to prove that to yourself by trying it, and I suggest you try it because diabetes absolutely does cause heart disease, 100% guaranteed.

If you join the LCHF group, there are at least two regular posters who control their diabetes with a low-carb diet - they might have some tips for you.

[mandm65]

>> It is not caused by being overweight, nor does losing weight (in itself) correct it.>>

I guess I couldn’t agree more with above statement, I was not over weight when I was diagnosed T2 couple of years ago, in fact being a marathon runner, weight/overweight has not been an issue for me. I was averaging 30-40 mile per week and was very careful with I was eating. I guess its true to say that my diet then was carbo loaded but then again, I was burning those carbs.

I don’t calculate my carb net gms per day, perhaps something I can do going forward, and I will also take a look at how to join the LCHF group so I can learn a trick or two, hope its not a Facebook group cos I don’t have Facebook account.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to mandm65]

The LCHF group is part of HealthUnlocked, here:

healthunlocked.com/lchf-diet

Exercising a lot definitely helps protect you, but it's the carbohydrate load itself that forces the adaptations which end in diabetes. If the rate of energy coming into your body consistently exceeds the rate at which your body can react to insulin signalling (as is the case after a carb-heavy meal), your blood sugar will overshoot. Your pancreas will attempt to clear glucose faster by increasing its insulin output, but your body's cells - which all have a certain physical rate and quantity limit - will start to develop insulin resistance.

Under normal circumstances this balancing act works fine, because out "in the wild" a human would never have had access to an endless supply of carbs, and the system would eventually swing back again with seasonal dietary changes. Years and years of relentless carbs push the adaptation mechanism to failure - there is simply no computable solution - and blood sugar regulation just falls of a cliff.

Incidentally, if you're still running, you'll love low-carb. It makes you feel like you can run forever.

Well done for not having Facebook, by the way