5 Steps to Take If You’ve Been Diagnosed With Prediabetes

Summary

In this engaging episode of the Healthy Not Complicated podcast, Kait Malthaner, a BSc Nutrition and Exercise expert, lays out a straightforward action plan for those newly diagnosed with prediabetes. Instead of resorting to conventional medications like insulin, this podcast encourages making small, meaningful lifestyle changes that naturally lower fasting blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. From dietary adjustments to lifestyle habits, Kait emphasizes sustainable approaches over crash diets to reverse prediabetes effectively and naturally, ensuring a healthier future without the burden of ongoing medication.

Highlights

• Prediabetes is not a life sentence; it's a reversible condition with the right approach! 🔄
• Over 10 years, habits, not just genetics, influence diabetes progression. 🧠
• Protein at every meal stabilizes blood sugar cravings and satisfies hunger longer. ⚖️
• Taking 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in water before bed can help lower fasting blood sugar. 🍏
• Short walks after meals help the body manage blood sugar spikes effectively. 🚶‍♂️

Key Takeaways

• Understanding prediabetes and its causes is the first step to reversing it without medication. 🚀
• Focusing on diet, particularly protein intake, is crucial for insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control. 🥩
• Eliminating frequent snacking helps provide breaks to insulin levels, crucial for health improvement. 🚫
• Exercise, especially post-meal walks, enhances insulin efficiency without additional insulin use. 🏃‍♀️
• Early dinners and fasting windows are shown to improve insulin sensitivity and overall metabolic health. 🕓

Overview

The podcast episode offers a comprehensive guide for anyone dealing with prediabetes, a state that precedes type 2 diabetes and often goes unaddressed until it's too late. Kait Malthaner provides practical insights into reversing this condition through diet and lifestyle modifications instead of relying on insulin or other medication. She highlights the benefits of understanding prediabetes, focusing on protein intake, and adjusting daily routines to manage blood sugar levels.

Kait introduces listeners to the concept of insulin resistance, detailing how years of small dietary missteps can culminate in prediabetes. Her advice predominantly leans on consuming adequate protein to balance blood sugar levels, making sustainable lifestyle changes, and building habits that last beyond fad diets. From the importance of watching meal timings to avoiding constant snacking – each suggestion aims to empower listeners with knowledge and attainable goals.

Simple lifestyle tweaks, such as including early evening meals and engaging in light exercise, offer ways to naturally reduce insulin levels, enhancing insulin sensitivity. Kait's method is not just about dietary changes but also about encouraging a mindset shift, urging listeners to view prediabetes as a signal for positive change rather than a life sentence. With bonus tips on sleep and innovative products like Good Idea drinks, this podcast is an essential resource for managing prediabetes naturally.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction The chapter "Introduction" from the Healthy Not Complicated podcast discusses the topic of pre-diabetes and outlines five steps that can be taken if someone has been recently diagnosed. It acknowledges the feelings of being overwhelmed and confused following a diagnosis and emphasizes the importance of making changes quickly to help balance blood sugar levels and reverse pre-diabetes. The chapter sets the stage for the detailed steps and advice that will follow in the podcast.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Understanding Diabetes Misconceptions This chapter addresses common misconceptions about diabetes, particularly the belief that it is a progressive disease that inevitably worsens over time. It highlights the existence of misinformation surrounding diabetes, emphasizing the importance of addressing these misconceptions early. The narrative suggests a shift in understanding and urges listeners to engage with accurate information to better manage their condition.
• 01:00 - 02:00: The Role of Insulin in Diabetes Insulin was historically used to treat type 2 diabetes under the belief that the disease is progressive, necessitating increased insulin doses over time. However, this progression is not inevitable. By adopting appropriate diet and lifestyle changes, it is possible to reduce fasting blood sugar levels naturally and potentially reverse pre-diabetic status. Nevertheless, reverting to previous unhealthy habits can negate these benefits.
• 02:00 - 03:30: Insulin Resistance Explained The chapter explains insulin resistance, its impact on pre-diabetes, and how lifestyle changes can effectively manage blood sugar levels, reducing spikes caused by certain foods. It emphasizes that while one may have pre-diabetes, proper interventions can lead to better blood sugar control, eliminating the symptoms of pre-diabetes.
• 11:30 - 17:00: First Step: Increase Protein Intake The chapter titled "First Step: Increase Protein Intake" discusses practical and sustainable strategies to enhance insulin sensitivity. The focus is on making small, manageable changes rather than resorting to extreme diets or crash dieting. By increasing protein intake, individuals can improve their fasting blood sugar levels over time, leading to better health outcomes. The chapter emphasizes the importance of implementing these changes sooner rather than later to achieve faster results.
• 19:30 - 21:00: Second Step: Stop Snacking In this chapter titled "Second Step: Stop Snacking," the focus is on building sustainable habits instead of relying on temporary diets. The author critiques crash diets like keto, noting that people often revert to old eating habits after seeing initial results, which leads to regaining weight and other health issues. The emphasis is on creating a lasting routine and lifestyle changes to maintain health and wellness.
• 21:00 - 23:30: Third Step: Eat an Early Dinner The chapter emphasizes the importance of building sustainable habits to achieve long-lasting results in managing pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, PCOS, and type 2 diabetes. Kate, a nutritionist specializing in blood sugar control, introduces herself and highlights her success in helping clients reverse these conditions naturally, without medication or extreme diets.
• 24:00 - 25:30: Fourth Step: Apple Cider Vinegar Before Bed The chapter titled 'Fourth Step: Apple Cider Vinegar Before Bed' discusses how addressing the root causes of pre-diabetes can potentially eliminate the need for medications such as insulin and metformin. The speaker suggests that many have benefited from this approach. Additionally, timestamps are provided for easy navigation to specific parts of the discussion.
• 25:30 - 27:00: Fifth Step: Walk After Eating The chapter 'Fifth Step: Walk After Eating' explains the physiological and medical background of pre-diabetes, emphasizing the significance of understanding the disease to better appreciate the steps outlined in the video. The necessity for high fasting blood sugar levels as a diagnostic criterion for pre-diabetes is discussed, clarifying that a level above 100 mg/dL or 6.1 mmol/L, checked in the morning without having eaten, is indicative of pre-diabetes.
• 27:00 - 31:00: Bonus Steps and Recap This chapter emphasizes the gradual progression of blood sugar issues, indicating that both pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes develop over many years before elevated fasting blood sugar occurs. The root cause of rising blood sugar is linked to insulin dynamics, underlying the importance of understanding and monitoring these changes over time.

5 Steps to Take If You’ve Been Diagnosed With Prediabetes Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Hello and welcome back to the Healthy Not Complicated podcast. Today we're going to be talking about pre-diabetes and five steps you can take if you have been recently diagnosed. Now, if you have been recently diagnosed, it can feel very overwhelming and confusing. It can be hard to figure out where to start. But the sooner you jump on board with making changes, the sooner you start doing things to balance your blood sugar, your fasting blood sugar is going to come down and you're going to be able to reverse pre-diabetes. But like I
• 00:30 - 01:00 said, the sooner you address it, the better. So, if you're listening to this podcast, then you're in the right place. There's a lot of misinformation out there. I think it's kind of shifting, but the old thinking and what patients were told when they were first diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes was that diabetes is a progressive disease and that once you're diagnosed with it, it's just going to continue to get worse and worse. The main treatment that used
• 01:00 - 01:30 to be used was insulin to treat type 2 diabetes. And because it was thought to be progressive, patients were told that they would just have to keep increasing and increasing their insulin over time. But this isn't actually true. If you make the right diet and lifestyle changes, then you can bring your fasting blood sugar down naturally and you'll no longer be considered pre-diabetic. Now, of course, if you go back to the old diet and lifestyle habits you had that
• 01:30 - 02:00 got you pre-diabetic in the first place, then it's going to redevelop. This doesn't mean that you're always going to have pre-diabetes because once you make the changes that we're going to speak about in today's video to bring your fasting blood sugar down, your body is going to be able to control your blood sugar better. and foods that you ate when you were pre-diabetic that spiked your blood sugar, you won't see as big of a spike once you've improved it. Now, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself, but the steps we're going to be
• 02:00 - 02:30 talking about today, they're not gimmicks. They're not based on extreme diets. They are small changes that everyone can start today that will help to improve your insulin sensitivity, which helps to bring your fasting blood sugar down over time. And again, the faster you start implementing these changes, the faster you're going to see results. Now, the strategies in the video, they're also not meant to be used as a crash diet. They're meant to be things that you can implement into your
• 02:30 - 03:00 routine, habits you can build that are sustainable. Because ultimately, yes, you can go on a crash diet. A lot of people I know they'll try keto specifically and because they're thinking of it as a diet, they will go on it for a period of time, they'll see great results, but then they'll just go right back to how they were eating and the lifestyle choices they were making beforehand and they'll start to gain the weight back. Their fasting blood sugar will creep back up and they'll become
• 03:00 - 03:30 pre-diabetic again. To see lasting results, we need to build these habits. the changes we make, they're not going to be extreme, but they're going to be sustainable, and that's when you're going to get those long lasting results. Now, if it's your first time listening to the podcast or stopping by my YouTube channel, my name is Kate, and I'm a nutritionist who specializes in insulin resistance and blood sugar control. I've helped hundreds of clients reverse pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, PCOS, even type 2 diabetes naturally, without medication, and without crash diets. I
• 03:30 - 04:00 have helped so many clients get off insulin, get off metformin, and other blood sugar controlling medications because once you address the root cause of pre-diabetes, there's not a need for these medications anymore. Now, I'm going to have timestamps on the progress bar or in the description if you're listening on Spotify. So, if you want to skip ahead to the steps, you can do that. But, I think it's really important to start off by talking about what pre-diabetes is and what causes it.
• 04:00 - 04:30 Because if you understand what causes pre-diabetes and what caused your fasting blood sugar to go up, then the steps I explain later in this video, they're going to make a lot more sense. To be diagnosed with pre-diabetes, you have to have high fasting blood sugar. So, this is your fasting blood sugar first thing when you wake up in the morning when you have no food in your system. A fasting blood sugar above 100 mg per deciliter or 6.1 millles per liter is considered to be pre-diabetic.
• 04:30 - 05:00 Now, if you've watched any of my other videos, you will know that our blood sugar can fluctuate a lot, even daytoday. But high fasting blood sugar doesn't just happen overnight. Pre-diabetes actually develops over years. Now, if your fasting blood sugar continues to go up over time, that's when you're going to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. Pre-diabetes and type two diabetes actually start years before your fasting blood sugar increases. And this is because at the root of your blood sugar going up is insulin
• 05:00 - 05:30 resistance. Insulin resistance is when the cells in your body are resisting insulin. Insulin is the hormone that controls our blood sugar levels. Now, our body always wants to keep our blood sugar balanced, if you will. So, we have hormones that are released if our blood sugar goes too high. That's insulin. And we have hormones that are released if your blood sugar drops too low. And right at that sweet spot in the middle, that's where your body wants to keep
• 05:30 - 06:00 your blood sugar. So, when you eat, that is the biggest trigger for our blood sugar increasing, particularly when you eat carbohydrates. The carbohydrates, the starches, they're broken down into sugar, and this enters your bloodstream. Now, I'm going to use sugar and glucose interchangeably throughout this video because blood sugar, blood glucose, they're the same thing. So, when you eat carbohydrates broken down into glucose, sugar, it enters your bloodstream and your blood sugar starts to go up. And this is normal. This is just your body
• 06:00 - 06:30 breaking down the food you ate and turning it into energy. Like I said, insulin is going to be released and it's going to take that excess sugar from your bloodstream and deliver it to the cells in your body that need it for energy. At which point, you'll see your blood sugar come back down. And this is normal. This is a healthy metabolic function that happens for all of us dayto-day except for type 1 diabetics. That's a whole different issue. When you're type 1 diabetic, it's
• 06:30 - 07:00 actually an autoimmune condition where your body doesn't release or doesn't create any insulin. And because your body's not creating insulin, your blood sugar just goes up up up. And it cannot be controlled. It's extremely dangerous. And that's why type 1 diabetics have to inject insulin. But the issue with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes is actually the opposite. They're caused by too much insulin overwhelming your cells. So daytoday, if you are eating a
• 07:00 - 07:30 diet that has a lot of sugar, a lot of carbohydrates, if you're eating frequently throughout the day, if you're eating meals, snacks, if you're snacking in the evening, your blood sugar is going to be constantly going up and down. You're going to be on this blood sugar roller coaster. And every time your blood sugar goes up, insulin is going to be released. Now, if you're eating frequently like this and you're eating a lot of carbohydrates, then the cells in your body, they can only store a limited amount of energy from sugar,
• 07:30 - 08:00 from carbs. They can store a lot more as fat, but there's only a limited amount that they can store from carbohydrates. So, if the cells in your body are already full, then the insulin is there trying to bring your blood sugar back down to baseline. It brings the sugar to your cells who are already full. So that's when they resist insulin. And in the very early stages of insulin resistance, your body notices that your blood sugar is still high and it releases more insulin to deal with it.
• 08:00 - 08:30 That's when your insulin starts to get a little bit higher. And this excess insulin will be able to force the sugar into your cells. This will work for a period of time. this excess insulin will be able to keep your blood sugar in check. And when that's why when I say that pre-diabetes starts years before your fasting blood sugar starts to go up, that's because you become insulin resistant up to 10 years before you'll be diagnosed with pre-diabetes. So
• 08:30 - 09:00 what's happening in the early stages is insulin levels will be high. The excess insulin is needed to deal with all the blood sugar spikes, but your fasting blood sugar will still look normal. And this is why insulin resistance gets missed because doctors only routinely test fasting glucose. So, if they're not testing insulin, they don't know that insulin is high. And because blood sugar looks normal, they think that everything's normal. But a lot of people will start to experience the symptoms of
• 09:00 - 09:30 pre-diabetes and not have high fasting blood sugar. And it's because they're insulin resistant. So this can look like carrying a lot of fat around the belly, developing dark patches of skin, around the neck, in the armpits, and around the groin. It can look like frequent energy crashes throughout the day, especially after eating, sugar cravings after eating. It can look like just weight gain in general. And a lot of people will go to their doctors with these symptoms and be told all their labs look
• 09:30 - 10:00 normal. But really, they're not looking at insulin, so that's why it gets missed. I will make a note, though, that you don't have to be overweight to have insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. Yes, a lot of people who are insulin resistant are overweight, but not everyone. And that's because it's not caused by excess energy consumption in general. It's caused by high insulin levels. Now, hopefully I haven't lost you and this is all making sense, but
• 10:00 - 10:30 basically the gist of how to reverse pre-diabetes and bring your fasting blood sugar down is to lower your insulin levels. Because if your insulin levels remain high, then insulin resistance just gets worse. And this is why people with type two diabetes who are prescribed insulin injections, that's when it becomes a progressive disease because yes, an immediate solution to your high blood sugar is injecting insulin. Like I said,
• 10:30 - 11:00 your body will do this naturally in the early stages, but yeah, it can't keep up after a point. So, if you inject it, it's a short-term fix because that excess insulin will be able to control your blood sugar. However, your cells become more and more resistant to it over time. And that's why you'll have to continually increase your insulin dose. So, the solution to bringing your fasting blood sugar down and improving your insulin sensitivity is to lower your body's need for insulin. And we do
• 11:00 - 11:30 this in a few different ways. And that's what is going to be at the root of all the steps we're going to talk about in today's video. Because it basically comes down to if you can better balance your blood sugar, if you're not experiencing big blood sugar swings throughout the day, then less insulin is going to be needed and your cells will have a chance to become more sensitive to it again. And that's why over time if you bring your fasting blood sugar down and you effectively reverse pre-diabetes, you will be able to
• 11:30 - 12:00 tolerate higher carbohydrate foods better than you um did when you were pre-diabetic because your body's insulin sensitivity has improved and because your cells aren't being overwhelmed with all of this excess insulin. So, let's get into the five steps. Step number one is to make sure you're getting 30 grams of protein at every meal. Protein is one of the three macronutrients. We have protein, fat, and fiber. And
• 12:00 - 12:30 macronutrients are nutrients that we consume in the greatest amounts and that we need in the greatest amounts. So there's macronutrients, the three I just mentioned, and then there's micronutrients, which is everything else like fats, soluble vitamins, vitamin B12, vitamin C, iodine, those sorts of things. We consume them in smaller amounts, much much smaller amounts. Now, when you talk about the three macronutrients, two of them, their main role is for energy. And the third which
• 12:30 - 13:00 is protein, its role is building things in your body, keeping your connective tissue, your muscles, your skin all healthy because all of these things are built from protein. So if you're not getting enough protein throughout the day, then that's when well, of course, you're going to lose muscle. Anyone who's tried to build muscle in the gym will know how important it is to get it in in order to build muscle. But you also need to eat enough to maintain the current muscle that you have. And even
• 13:00 - 13:30 if you're not in the gym, this is important. If you're not getting enough protein and certain types specifically, that's when your skin will start to sag. That's when you'll get wrinkles, that sort of thing. Now, of course, there's variance to this. There's a genetic component. Some people are more predisposed to wrinkles and that sort of thing. But in general, if you're getting enough protein in, then your connective tissue, your bones are all going to be stronger and function better. Now, the two other macronutrients, carbohydrates
• 13:30 - 14:00 and fat, like I said, these are our body's energy source. So, we've touched on carbohydrates a little bit. They're broken down into sugar. They enter our bloodstream. And the benefits of carbohydrates and sugar is that it's a quick energy source. Our bodies can use it very quickly for energy. And that's why for elite athletes who are competing in highintensity sport, carbs are so beneficial because these people require energy fast in order to fuel their
• 14:00 - 14:30 movements. But for the vast majority of people who are just casual exercisers or who are sedentary, they don't need this vast energy source. And that's where our secondary energy source fat can be more beneficial. So I spoke about how our body can only store a limited amount of carbohydrates, but it can store a lot of fat. Basically close to an
• 14:30 - 15:00 unlimited, but it can store a lot of fat. And it does this through body fat. And everyone's going to have at least some body fat unless you're severely underweight and severely malnourished. Men will have even extremely lean men will have at least 10% and extremely lean women will have at least 15%. And this is all stored energy which when carbohydrates and sugar are low in the body the body will switch to using fat for energy instead. And this is when it
• 15:00 - 15:30 starts to use your stored body fat, convert it to energy and fuel you. The downside to fat is that well it's kind of a double-edged sword. It is a slower fuel source, which means it takes longer for the body to break it down and convert it to energy, which isn't ideal for athletes who are trying to move quickly and need that quick energy. But because it's broken down slowly, it
• 15:30 - 16:00 maintains energy levels over a long period of time. So for the vast majority of people, this is ideal. And the vast majority of people do have excess weight that they need to lose. And this is why limiting carbohydrates, which we'll get to a little bit later in the video. And focusing on fat and protein in your diet instead, can help your body to access that stored fat while also lowering your insulin levels and allowing your body to improve its insulin sensitivity. So, a
• 16:00 - 16:30 bit of a tangent, but the first step was to get 30 g of protein in at every single meal. And the reason that this is beneficial is one, it's going to help you to maintain your tissue in the body. So, your muscle mass, your bone density, that sort of thing that we just touched on. But protein is also digested slower than carbohydrates. And because of this, it helps to lower blood sugar spikes from your food. So, if you have carbohydrates and protein together,
• 16:30 - 17:00 well, if you just eat carbohydrates on their own, like let's say you just have a banana, you're going to see a big spike in your blood sugar because bananas are almost entirely made of sugar, simple sugar that's broken down rapidly and causes a big spike in your blood sugar. But if you have that same banana with a source of protein, the protein slows down digestion. So, the blood sugar spike is more gradual and less insulin is needed all at once. So, if you can get 30 g of protein in at every meal, you're going to have better
• 17:00 - 17:30 blood sugar control. You're not going to have these big swings in your blood sugar. Like I said, less insulin will be needed, and that's going to help to bring down your fasting blood sugar over time. Now, on top of that, protein is also great for appetite control. The reason that protein can be so good for appetite control is because like I said, our body relies on protein for a lot of different things. And if we're not getting enough protein in, then we
• 17:30 - 18:00 remain hungry. But if we eat enough protein, this hunger switches off. And think about it, protein by itself is very hard to consume. I don't know many people who can overeat just plain chicken or steak or anything that's just a protein source. But when you think of something like potato chips or like French fries, which are almost entirely carbohydrates and maybe a bit of fat, how easy is it to go beyond your energy needs and to just keep picking at these
• 18:00 - 18:30 foods? And that's because they don't have any protein. So your body is still hungry for that protein, but it's not getting it. 30 grams of protein at every meal can really help with this. If you're someone who struggles with cravings throughout the day, between meals, if you have sugar cravings after you eat, you're probably not getting enough protein in. And when I say 30 g, I recommend this as a starting point because a lot of people are not getting anywhere near enough. And especially at breakfast, two eggs, for example, has about 10 g of protein. So if that is
• 18:30 - 19:00 your only protein source in the morning, then that's not enough. You need to be eating either more eggs or pairing it with another protein source. Maybe some smoked salmon, maybe some bacon without added sugar or some sausages. Also, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese. These are great protein sources as well that can help you hit that 30 g minimum. I do have other videos on my channel on how to get 30 grams in at every meal, on how to get at least 100 grams in in a day.
• 19:00 - 19:30 So, I'll link to one of those up above or I'll put it in the description box on Spotify. It can feel very overwhelming at first, but I promise you it's not as hard as you think once you kind of get an idea of how much protein is in different foods. When you start eating more protein, you are going to see huge benefits for your appetite control. Like I said, you're going to see more stable blood sugar. You're going to feel better throughout the day. So, this is the starting point. This is the first thing
• 19:30 - 20:00 you want to implement if you've been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. And that kind of leads us into step number two you're going to want to take, which is to stop snacking. Now, we spoke about how insulin resistance develops when you're eating frequently and especially when you're eating high carb foods throughout the day. So, when you're snacking in between meals, your insulin is always going to go up to some extent when you eat. So, you have breakfast, there's a bump. If you have a snack an hour or two later, then your insulin
• 20:00 - 20:30 doesn't have time to get back down to baseline before you eat again. And then more insulin is released and then you have lunch, it's still high. Then you have another snack, then you have dinner, then you have dessert, then you have a late night snack, your insulin never has a chance to come back down. And if you allow yourself to just eat two to three good meals per day with at least 30 g of protein, well, number one, you're not going to be hungry for snacks in between because you're hitting your protein target, but also you're going to
• 20:30 - 21:00 allow your body to have a break from insulin. It's going to have a chance to drop down between meals and you'll have a chance to improve your insulin sensitivity throughout the day. Because for most people, the only time that their insulin levels are somewhat low is when they're sleeping because they're not eating. So, if you can spend more time throughout the day, longer periods without eating, you're still eating enough to meet your needs. You're just getting it in at your meals, then this can be extremely beneficial and it's
• 21:00 - 21:30 going to help to bring your fasting blood sugar down over time. And that of course ties in with number one, because if you're getting enough protein, you're not going to be hungry. Step number three is to eat an early dinner. And by this I mean if you can stop eating by between 4 to 6:00 p.m. If you can allow your body to fully digest your last meal before you go to sleep, this is going to help so so much. Now, effectively what I'm talking about here is extending your fasting window. So, your body is in a
• 21:30 - 22:00 fasted state any time throughout the day that you are well, it's basically if you break your day up into when you're in a fed state and when you're in a fasted state. When you're in a fed state is from when you have your first meal during the day until you finish your last meal and then from your last meal overnight until your first meal again. That's your fasting window. Intermittent fasting, fasting in general is extremely effective for improving insulin
• 22:00 - 22:30 sensitivity because as we've spoken about, when your insulin is low, that's when your body starts to heal. That's when your insulin sensitivity improves. And if you're not eating for a longer stretch of time, this is a longer time that your insulin is low. So that is why fasting is so effective. Now, I know fasting, intermittent fasting, can seem overwhelming for a lot of people, but you can take advantage of this simply by eating your dinner a couple hours earlier and not snacking afterwards. Some people also like to skip breakfast
• 22:30 - 23:00 or push their breakfast back instead and then they just eat a little bit later. Just depends what works for you. I find that it's easier to still have breakfast in the morning, have your lunch, and then have an earlier dinner than it is to skip your breakfast or push your breakfast back. But it just depends on what works for you. The other part to this is that when you stop eating at least 3 hours before bed, this allows your body to fully digest and process that food before you go to sleep, and
• 23:00 - 23:30 you get into a fasted state quicker. Your body is able to recover for longer during the evening and you sleep better. You have more deep sleep. You have more REM sleep. So many benefits for your sleep when you stop eating at least 3 hours before bed. And sleep also ties in with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes. We'll get to that a little bit later in the video. And speaking of making your eating window work for you, I have one bonus tip I wanted to add in here that can make a huge difference for your blood sugar, and that is good idea
• 23:30 - 24:00 drinks. These are carbonated beverages that are scientifically proven to reduce postmeal blood sugar spikes. They contain functional ingredients like amino acids and chromium that support healthy glucose metabolism. They are zero sugar, zero calorie, and taste delicious. They're perfect for pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, and stabilizing energy after meals. Just drink a third of a can before a meal and sip on the rest throughout. They have been shown to reduce blood sugar spikes by up to 30%. Good Idea drinks are
• 24:00 - 24:30 available in the US only. You can head to healthcoachcate.com/good idea to check them out. And make sure to use code Kate at checkout because that's going to save you 10% off your order. Step number four is to take 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar diluted in water before bed. And I love this hack, if you will. I know I said in this video we weren't going to be talking about gimmicks, and this absolutely is not a gimmick. There is a lot of scientific research that supports the benefits of apple cider vinegar specifically for blood sugar control and
• 24:30 - 25:00 lowering fasting blood sugar. And that's because vinegar improves our cells insulin sensitivity. So if you drink apple cider vinegar before a meal, like good idea, it can help to reduce blood sugar spikes. But it's also effective if you drink it before bed. And it has been shown in many studies to lower fasting blood sugar numbers. And this is so so easy to implement. All you have to do is drink it sometime after dinner before bed and your fasting blood sugar is
• 25:00 - 25:30 going to be lower, which of course that's the whole point here, right? We're trying to bring our fasting blood sugar down so that we're no longer pre-diabetic. Now, I want to emphasize you do have to dilute it in water because if you don't, it can be very damaging for your teeth. You can also drink it through a straw if you're a little bit more worried, but diluting in water is all you need to do. Don't shoot it or anything like that. I care about your teeth. And finally, step number five is to walk after you eat. And this
• 25:30 - 26:00 doesn't have to be some long power walk. It just has to be a 5 to 10 minute walk around the block, even through your house. Doesn't matter. But just get some movement in. And this is helpful because when you're moving after you eat, your body is able to use the energy from that meal immediately. And so this helps to reduce blood sugar spikes. And it's also extremely beneficial because when you're exercising, your cells can actually take
• 26:00 - 26:30 in glucose without insulin. And that is why exercise in general is so beneficial for metabolic health, for improving insulin resistance, for controlling blood sugar. there is a tipping point. You can over exercise and that can be detrimental. But in general, the reason this is one of the reasons why exercise is so good for you because it helps with blood sugar control with insulin resistance. And like I said, your cells are able to take in sugar without insulin. Now, I know some people like to
• 26:30 - 27:00 do some squats after they eat or push-ups or anything like that. And honestly, whatever you want to do can make a difference. I just think walking is the easiest. and doesn't have to be intense, doesn't have to be fast-paced. You don't have to do this after every meal, but particularly if you do it after you have a really big meal or something that is pretty carbheavy, that's when you're going to see the most benefits from doing it. And all of the tips in this video, you don't need to do every single one every single day. The
• 27:00 - 27:30 more of them that you can do consistently, that's what's going to pay off. But you don't need to be religious about going for a walk after every single meal you eat. It's not about that. Like I said, if it's a carb heavy meal, that's when you're going to see bigger benefits for your blood sugar. Now, I thought I had sleep somewhere on this list, but apparently I don't. So, I'm going to add in another bonus tip, and that is to prioritize your sleep. Because studies show that people who are sleepd deprived, people who work shift
• 27:30 - 28:00 work are at an increased risk of insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes, and also overweight and obesity. And this can happen after just one night's sleep. Even people who are metabolically healthy, who aren't insulin resistant, if they don't get enough sleep, the entire following day, they are going to be more insulin resistant than they would be otherwise. And they might see higher blood sugar levels throughout the day. So, if you are someone who already has insulin
• 28:00 - 28:30 resistance and pre-diabetes, then this is just going to be worse. So, aim for 7 to 9 hours every single night, be consistent with it. Make sure you're going to bed within an hour of the same time every night and wake up same thing. This is going to help you to get better sleep consistently. And honestly, this is underrated. You could be doing everything else right, but if you're still having high blood sugar readings, if you're still struggling with your
• 28:30 - 29:00 weight, but your sleep is totally off the mark, then this could make a huge difference for you. And I did do another podcast episode a couple months ago on entirely on sleep and how to improve it. In that video, I also touched on shift work and how to manage that so you reduce your risk of diabetes and being overweight or obese. So, I'll link that episode up above or in the description box if you want to know more about sleep specifically cuz I know a lot of people
• 29:00 - 29:30 are shift workers and it's not really something they can change. But there are ways you can make it so it's not as much of a negative impact on your health. All right, so let's quickly recap those five, six, was it even seven steps. The first one was to eat 30 g of protein. The second one was to stop snacking throughout the day. The third one was to push your dinner a little bit earlier. The fourth one was a bonus tip and that
• 29:30 - 30:00 was to drink good idea. The fifth one, now I'm drawing a blank. Oh, the fifth one was to take a walk after you eat. And then the final one was to prioritize your sleep. Like I said, the more consistently you can do these, the bigger results you're going to see. And I think these are very attainable for the vast majority of people. These aren't extreme. They don't rely on cutting whole food groups out or anything like that. Yes, you do want to
• 30:00 - 30:30 be a little bit smarter with your carbohydrates, but if you can use tools such as walking after you eat, not snacking, if you can choose whole foods over processed foods more often than not, then these little things are what's going to add up. Pre-diabetes doesn't mean you're broken. It's just a warning sign. And the quicker you can start to make the changes, the easier it's going to be to reverse because as it progresses, once it gets to type 2 diabetes, at that point it does become a
• 30:30 - 31:00 little bit more difficult and it will take a bit more time, especially if you have been prescribed insulin. If it's gotten to that point, honestly, this is the absolute worst treatment. Now, I'm not saying stop using your insulin cold turkey or anything like that, but as long as you're using insulin, you're not going to see improvements. Now, if you guys do want a little bit more guidance and support, I do have a 3-day blood sugar reset coaching program. This is I
• 31:00 - 31:30 was going to say self-paced. It is kind of you go through it at your own pace, but it's meant to be broken down over 3 days. This program also includes a sample meal plan, a shopping list, and you get access to a private Facebook group where we can work together and you can ask questions and I can offer you additional support. So, if you are still feeling a little bit confused, you're not quite sure what to eat, definitely check that out. It's a onetime fee and you got lifetime access. That includes the Facebook group. So, any questions you have, I'm there for you. And before
• 31:30 - 32:00 you go, don't forget to check out Goodde Idea Drinks. That's healthcoachcate.com/good idea and code kate. K I can I spell my name? k aiti t to save 10%. Now, if you're not already subscribed to me on Spotify or YouTube, make sure to do that because I upload on Spotify to my podcast once a week and I upload on YouTube two to three times per week. So, if you don't want to miss out on a video, make sure you're subscribed.
• 32:00 - 32:30 Thanks guys for watching or listening and I will see you in the next one.